A/N: In case you're wondering, the next 4 chapters of this fic after this one are already written and ready to go with the exception of minor edits. In other words, you won't be waiting for the next chapter for too long.
Additional notes are at the end of this chapter.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Last Day of Round One of the Shikoken Tournament...
Luzon Island, The Philippines
Cammy never realized how beautiful the tropical rainforests could be. Sure, she'd been to plenty of them all over the world since she joined MI-6, but she usually never got the chance to take in the view. All the other times, it was either too dark to see, or she was focused on whatever covert mission she and her team were sent on at the time. This was the first time she was able to take in the view, the fresh smelling mildew in the air from the rain that took place not long before her arrival. The distant sounds of various birds chirped or called out amongst the lush green trees.
Unfortunately, Cammy knew that admiring the view wasn't going to last long. She was here for a fighting match after all.
As usual, one of the two operated drones that were filming the upcoming match for the public made its usual announcement. "Welcome to the tropical rainforests of Luzon Island in the Philippines, Sonya Blade and Cammy White. Your opponents will arrive momentarily."
"Thankfully, we were picked first," Sonya said aloud after that announcement. "At least we can get this match over with sooner than later."
"Too much paperwork again?" Cammy guessed with some bemusement.
Sonya rolled her eyes. "As I'm sure you know, it never ends."
Amongst the trees and the thick, green foliage, Cammy and Sonya stood in a small clearing… enough to notice that it was man-made, but likely not making much of an impact on the forest itself (hopefully).
It didn't take long for their opponents to appear through another portal; two men in cowboy hats, one a foot taller than the other. The drone then announced, "Welcome to the tropical rainforests of Luzon Island in the Philippines, LBJ and Mikey. You may begin the match at any time."
Sonya instantly recognized the larger of the two opponents, even without his name being announced. The last time she saw LBJ was nearly two years ago - when they fought against each other one-on-one in the Blood Tournament in Outworld.
"Oh HELL no!" Sonya yelled out. She gestured a hand at him. "I have to fight YOU again?!"
She wasn't shocked when LBJ grinned at her. "Well well well, we meet again, little lady. I must say, I'm quite impressed by your… resilience. I reckon these last two years haven't been all too kind to this universe, let alone us Earthrealm people."
Sonya snorted at that statement. "You have no idea. And apparently, you're too stubborn to be killed. Or retire for that matter."
"Yeah, well, can't help it." LBJ admitted. "The truth of the matter is I got more money than I know what to do with, so I do this all for the thrill of it." To no surprise to Sonya, he gazed his eyes up and down at her with a sly grin. "The view along the way is always a bonus."
"Good for you, you perv," Cammy grumbled with sarcasm and an eye roll.
Sonya also rolled her eyes. Typical. Then she remembered something as she noticed LBJ's tag team partner. "What happened to your other buddy? The one who was with you in Outworld? Jonesy, Joe, Jones, or whatever?"
To her surprise, LBJ actually gave her an answer. "He quit after we got back to Earthrealm. Last I heard, Jones got caught up in some yellow tape at a rival company a while back."
That got a raised eyebrow from Cammy. "Don't you mean red tape?"
LBJ let out an exasperated sighed. "I know what I said! …It's a long story." He then got into a fighting stance. "Are we gonna dance the dosey doe or what?"
Cammy had to turn her back to LBJ so he didn't see her suppress her laughter at that last sentence. "Sonya, take this idiot out and quick."
"Yeah yeah," Sonya grumbled. "I kicked his ass once, I can do it again."
With that, neither she nor LBJ hesitated to sprint towards each other. As soon as they were within reach, LBJ lifted his arm up and made an attempt to clothesline her.
This is exactly how our last fight started, the Special Forces Major remembered. Rather than throw her own punch like last time, Sonya quickly ducked underneath LBJ's arm and ran right past him before she stopped in her tracks. They both turned around at the same time, which gave Sonya the opportunity to extend her arm out and shoot out her three pink energy rings from her wrist device.
LBJ was prepared for that move and swiftly dropped to the ground before the rings hit him squarely in the chest. "Not this time, little lady!" LBJ called out as he quickly got back up after.
Sonya knew what he was talking about. "Well, lucky for you, there's no ring out in this tournament this time. Unlucky for you, I plan to knock your ass down, which I should've done the first time."
"Ha! That'll be the day!"
LBJ then swiftly covered the space between them and threw a punch at her. Sonya managed to block it with her forearm. From there, the two continued their fight with LBJ on offense and Sonya on defense.
Meanwhile on the sidelines, Cammy shifted her attention between Sonya's fight against LBJ and the latter's tag team partner on the other side of the 'ring.' Mikey kept pacing back and forth and was clearly impatient to jump into the fight while they were still under the five-minute timer. He even occasionally looked at his watch before he stared up at Cammy and started to pace once more.
Cammy simply rolled her eyes each time Mikey spotted her. He's definitely going to make our fight easy, she thought.
Back in the fight, Sonya managed to find an opening just as she ducked underneath a roundhouse kicked from LBJ. As soon as his leg went over her head, Sonya slid forward and quickly threw two punches to his midsection, which forced him to keel over with an oomph! She then grabbed his face and brought it down to her knee, the impact making him yell out in pain as he stumbled back and held his nose. With that distraction, Sonya once again shot out her pink energy rings from her wrist device, which landed on his chest and knocked him to the ground and onto his back.
"Dammit!" LBJ yelled out with frustration as he attempted to get back up afterwards.
That was when a cluster of beeps were heard. It caught Cammy's attention and she turned to see where it came from. She soon realized that it was Mikey's watch. Clearly he had set a timer for five minutes. As Cammy expected, Mikey jumped into the ring and started to go after her.
Here we go, the MI-6 agent thought as she ran to meet him halfway. As soon as he was a few feet away, Cammy quickly ducked down, turned her body, and delivered an upward kick underneath Mikey's chin.
"Canon spike!" she yelled out as they both flew into the air. She heard him yell out in pain as she somersaulted backwards in preparation for her landing.
"Two-on-two battle initiated by both participating teams," one of the drones announced.
Technically, Mikey initiated it, but whatever, Cammy thought as she straightened herself back up.
To his credit, Mikey did manage to recover while still in mid-air when he flipped back and landed on both of his feet. He took a moment to recover from the landing before he straightened himself up and ran after Cammy, who stood in a fighting stance and waited for his approach.
It didn't take long before Cammy jumped up to evade a swinging fist from Mikey. She then crouched down and angled herself as she pushed herself upward to perform another cannon spike maneuver. However, Mikey managed to back up before the move connected, and Cammy was forced to flip back and land on her feet once more.
"Dammit…" Cammy mumbled under her breath.
Mikey gave her a toothy grin. "Ha! Ya missed me, ya pretty thang!"
Cammy narrowed her eyes with annoyance at his words. "Oh for the love of-"
By then, Mikey attempted to cover the space between them. He went in for another swing, but Cammy sidestepped away from the maneuver before she spun halfway and delivered a backhanded punch to his midsection, which knocked him back and left some distance between them. She then moved in to deliver a few more punches and kicks to stun him before she finally jumped up, angled herself, and darted downward feet first. The last move hit Mikey squarely in the face. He stumbled away as a result, but he still managed to stay standing. However, he was clearly dazed from the kick, which Cammy noted after she landed back on her feet and straightened herself up.
"You must enjoy being beat," Cammy mocked impassively as she stood in her fighting stance. "Let me remodel your face one more time."
That earned a frustrated scream from Mikey and he quickly shook his head and sprinted towards her once more. By then, Cammy was ready for him.
Quickly, Cammy jumped up and angled herself in a downward diagonal direction before she let herself fall and delivered a spiral arrow to Mikey's face. As the maneuver left him stunned, Cammy landed on her feet, turned to face him, and extended her leg up to kick him underneath his chin, which sent him flying upwards with Cammy following close behind. From there, she rapidly darted back and forward, hitting him with a kick or a punch each time in mid-air before she moved herself above him. From there, she turned as she let herself fall to Mikey's level before she twisted her body to deliver one last spiral arrow to his midsection. With a scream, Mikey flew past the trees of the jungle before he slammed back first into one. He then fell to the ground and landed on his side with a loud thud! By then, Cammy had safely landed back on the dirt and crouched low in a stance in case he retaliated soon after.
To Cammy's lack of surprise, Mikey didn't get up after that beatdown.
"Knockout detected," one of the nearby drones announced.
Nearby, LBJ heard the announcement and immediately turned his head to where the other fight had taken place. To his dismay, it was his tag team partner who was knocked out cold.
"WHAT?!" he shouted in anger. "How the hell-"
But he didn't finish his distraction as Sonya took his distraction as an opportunity to finish their match. She took a moment to gather some pink dust from a pouch that was attached to her belt. The Special Forces soldier then took a couple of steps forward in LBJ's direction before she lifted a hand and delivered a 'blow kiss,' the breath from her lips pushing the dust of her palm and directly into her opponent's eyes. As expected, he yelled out as the dust stung his eyes.
"AH!" LBJ screamed as he rubbed his eyes to get rid of the dust. "DAMMIT!"
From there, Sonya got in close, crouched low, then twisted her body upward to deliver a flurry of kicks, the maneuver bringing them both up into the air. Sonya then gave LBJ one last kick to the face before she flipped backwards and landed gracefully on her feet. LBJ, however, crashed face first into the small running river that ran through the jungle.
He didn't get up after that.
"Knockout detected," the drone announced. "Sonya Blade and Cammy White win the match. We also highly suggest that you turn your opponent onto his back quickly so that he may avoid death by drowning."
Sonya stood there for a moment before she sighed and walked over to where LBJ fell. "Oh, all right, I'm not that cruel," she muttered. As soon as she got into the river to reach him, Sonya pushed him onto his back with her foot. "Told you I was gonna knock your ass down," Sonya said to him despite knowing he wouldn't hear her.
"Between this match and the one at the Blood Tournament, I bet you're officially his bad luck charm," Cammy quipped from behind.
Sonya chuckled at that. "Yeah. Probably."
Underneath an Overpass, Yokohama, Japan
Yesterday, both Makoto and Leo spent the entire day at the Mishima Casino. After all, they were scheduled for their match that same day. However, it turned out that the tournament was overbooked. So when seven o'clock came around - eight hours into their waiting time, they were sent back and told to return the next morning.
Needless to say, Makoto was cranky. She went straight back to her hotel to get some sleep, only to still feel cranky the very next morning. And naturally, she and Leo were not the first to be called up. As a matter of fact, it was another three hours before the team were finally called upon to start their match.
"About damn time," Makoto grumbled as she and Leo stood up and headed to the portal.
Moments later, the two found themselves underneath an overpass that led to a large city nearby. The area underneath the overpass was… surprisingly maintained save for some graffiti on the pillars, two broken down vehicles off to one side, and some broken fence that served as a barrier from the nearby river.
One of the two drones soon made its usual arrival announcement. "Welcome to Yokohama, Japan, Kato Makoto and Leo Kliesen. Your opponents will arrive momentarily."
"Great…" Leo grumbled as they looked at their surroundings.
"What's wrong?" Makoto asked just before a loud train came running through the overpass above their heads.
"Nothing," Leo assured their tag team partner once the train above them had passed. "I'm just not a fan of cities."
"Honestly, neither am I," Makoto admitted. "Nothing beats fresh air in the middle of the big country."
Leo smiled a little over that description. "Suddenly, I'm longing to be home."
"The Mishima Forest is actually not too shabby to hang out," Makoto mentioned. "Maybe after our match, I can show you-"
Makoto didn't finish her sentence as the portal reopened to let in their opponents - a young pair around their age. The young woman wore a black tank top underneath a white jacket, which matched the pants she wore along with a brown belt, a red bandana over her short brown hair, and a pair of white fighting gloves. Her tag team partner, Isaak, had blonde hair that was slicked back and wore a dirty white tank top underneath a leather red and yellow school jacket, a ripped up pair of jeans that were in a light blue color, and a pair of black sneakers, which actually looked nice and polished compared to the rest of his tattered outfit.
"Welcome to the Kanto Region of Japan, Ruby and Isaak," one of the two drones called out. "You may begin your match at any time."
"Can I go first?" Makoto asked her tag team partner. "After yesterday, I really need to let out some steam and now's the best time to do that."
Leo nodded as they stepped back a little. "Be my guest," they replied.
Makoto's opponent, Ruby, chose to step forward as Isaak stood back. She adjusted the bandana on her head before she stood in her fighting stance. Makoto herself got into her stance as well.
"Get ready to face the best that is Rindo-kan!" she announced aloud with pride.
Ruby raised an eyebrow at that. "What the hell is Rindo-kan?" she asked almost condescendingly.
Makoto huffed with some annoyance, but managed to give Ruby a sly grin. "You're about to find out!" She then quickly jumped forward and began to deliver her attacks on her opponent, who swiftly parried them.
Makoto and Ruby went back and forward with various punches and kicks for a while, at least until Makoto broke through Ruby's defense. She then jumped up and swung her left leg until her foot was above her head before she attempted a hammer kick on top of Ruby's heart. However, her opponent managed to jump back before it connected and forced Makoto to land back on her feet.
Ruby lifted both of her fists, which were quickly surrounded in a pink aura. She then threw her fists forward, one after the other, and two pink ball-shaped projectiles shot out. Makoto managed to kick away one with her foot before she ducked underneath the second one before she darted ahead.
"Nice try!" Makoto shouted as she sprinted towards Ruby once more. "Fukikage!" From there, she performed an uppercut that knocked Ruby back a few feet. Noting another opportunity, Makoto jumped up, somersaulted back, and used her foot to bounce off one of the pillars that held up the overpass above them. She then flipped forward once more before she landed the bottom of her foot right into Ruby's face. With a cry, Ruby flew back before she hit the ground.
As Makoto landed, Ruby rolled back and held her face momentarily as she waited for some of the recent pain from the attack to subside. Makoto herself got herself back in her fighting stance.
"Honestly," Makoto started to say to her opponent. "This fight is a lot easier than I thought it would be."
That made Ruby clench her teeth with rage. "Eat this!" she screamed as she jumped forward and performed a flying kick, her extended leg surrounded by a pink aura. Makoto's eyes widened with surprise at that, but she managed to drop underneath her opponent before her face took the hit.
With a yell, Makoto quickly got back on her feet and into a fighting stance to power up her inner chi while Ruby recovered from the miss. Her skin immediately turned bright red upon doing that, which threw her opponent off a little. Still, Ruby quickly shrugged it off and attempted to cover the space between them.
Ruby attempted a forward punch, but Makoto quickly ducked underneath it before she started throwing rapid punches at Ruby's midsection before she delivered an uppercut underneath her opponent's chin with enough force to send her flying upwards. As she fell back down, Ruby let out a scream until she landed hard on the ground.
She struggled to get up momentarily before she fell back down and passed out.
"Knockout detected," a drone soon called out.
Makoto grinned over that announcement as she raised her arm up in victory. "Rindo-kan karate! Remember that!" she called out as she looked at the drone's camera.
"You're going down!" Ruby's tag team partner, Isaak, yelled out as he started to run towards the Rindo-kan warrior.
Makoto thought about taking him out, but then decided to give Leo that chance. Quickly, Makoto ran back to her tag team partner. "Your turn!" she called out as she and Leo high-fived.
In silence, Leo ran forward and met Isaak halfway. As soon as they were close, Leo performed a jump kick that hit Isaak in the chin and forced his head to snap back. Leo then went in to deliver two more punches before a knee to the stomach practically sucked the air right out of their opponent's lungs.
"Dammit!" Isaak yelled out as he stumbled back after that hit while still keeled over. Leo stood a few feet back and waited for their opponent to be ready once more.
As soon as he was ready, Isaak straightened his back and quickly cracked his knuckles as he glared at Leo. He was suddenly surrounded by a green aura before he sprinted forward to deliver more attacks at his opponent.
Leo, who was forced on defense, parried and blocked the moves with ease. They managed to note that Isaak, as fast as he was, was short tempered and brash. It was going to be easy for Leo to expose those weaknesses.
Eventually, Leo grabbed Isaak's wrist at his next attempted punch. Leo then pushed it off to the side before they jumped forward, spun themselves as they extended their arm, and backhanded Isaak in the face with a closed fist. The hit made him yell out and stumble back, which gave Leo the chance to cartwheel forward before they crouched low and deliver an uppercut to their opponent's chest.
Of course, that served to piss Isaak off. He shook off the pain and ran back to Leo. Once he was close, he threw a couple of punches that managed to land on Leo's midsection, forcing them to keel over in pain.
"Gotcha!" Isaak yelled, confident that he had the fight in the bag. He then tried to get in to deliver another punch, but Leo managed to duck down for a low kick. However, Isaak saw it in time and jumped back. As he did, Leo moved into a forward cartwheel before they stepped their foot into their opponent's shin.
Isaak clenched his teeth in pain before he glared at Leo. "That's it! I'm taking you down once and for all!"
With a yell, Isaak sprinted towards his opponent, his fist in the air and ready to swing. Once he was close, he attempted to make his hit, but Leo managed to grab Isaak's fist with ease before they shifted their blue eyes to glare at him.
"Well," Leo spoke for the first time since the match began. "Lucky me."
Isaak's eyes widened with shock at this. "What?! No way!" he shouted in disbelief.
Leo quickly grabbed Isaak's shirt and pulled him forward towards them for a moment. They then extended their free fist back, their hand surrounded in a magenta aura, before they punched him so hard that Isaak went flying back until he crashed into a pillar. As he fell face first to the ground, both Leo and Makoto noted the cracks that were left behind from the crash.
"Ouch," Makoto uttered from the sidelines. That's gonna have to be repaired soon.
Leo's opponent tried to get up after that, but he struggled to do so. "No, dammit," Isaak growled as realized that he was in too much pain to continue the fight. However, he refused to concede, therefore…
"Ten Second Countdown Over. Kato Makoto and Leo Kliesen win the match!"
"Yeah!" Makoto called out in celebration upon that announcement. A big grin came over her face. "We're gonna go far in this tournament! I just know it!"
Leo simply gave off a small smile at that. In all honesty, they weren't certain about going that far. One thing was for sure, however - the team was one step closer to G-Corporation's prize money… as well as G-Corporation themselves.
Snowy Rail Yard, Northern Russia
"Man," the wrestler Alex started as he looked up at his opponents. "And I thought we were big guys."
Alex, alongside his taller tag team partner Haggar, were practically dwarves when compared to the two fighters who just came out of the portal to begin their match. The two fighters named Frioso and Tolo were twins in almost every way - they stood more than seven feet tall, were well built, and their black hair was cut into a short mohawk style.
The only way to tell the difference between them was the fact that Frioso wore a black high cut singlet spandex and had a beard long enough to touch his collar bone. Tolo, whose beard was shaved closer to his face, wore a red FILA cut singlet spandex.
Frioso stepped forward as he cracked his knuckles in front of his large chest. "Great, you both look like you can handle yourselves," he said in a deep, raspy voice. "Too bad we're still gonna snap you both in half."
Man, even his voice is intimidating, Alex thought as he, too, cracked his knuckles. A confident smirk came over his lips. Challenge accepted!
"I got this one," Alex announced as he stepped forward towards Frioso.
"Alex?" Haggar warned firmly, but his young tag team partner didn't listen and was already a few feet away. With a small sigh, the Metro City Mayor leaned back against the railing that separated the train platform from the parked train that overlooked their fighting spot - only for his back to be met with a very cold temperature from the steel bars.
"Damn," he grumbled as he quickly pulled back from the railing. "Middle of spring, and it's still ice cold in this part of the world!"
As soon as Alex was close enough, he looked up at Frioso and gave him a smug gaze. "Hey big guy. How ya doin' up there? How about-"
"RAAGH!" Frioso screamed as he swung both of his fists at Alex, who quickly ducked right underneath them before he was hit. However, as soon as he straightened himself back up, Frioso swung his fists again with such force that, when they connected to Alex's side, the young wrestler actually went flying sideways before he crashed against the wall of the nearby warehouse that stood not too far from the fight. After that, he stumbled onto the ground and landed in the snow.
"Fuck!" Alex yelled as he started to get up after that hit. He then grumbled under his breath, "That hurt more than I expected…"
Just as Alex was back on his feet, Frioso was swiftly upon him and threw another punch to his face. Alex ducked underneath and moved around him, which caused Frioso to smash his fist into the warehouse wall and leave behind a dent. This, however, had little effect on him. He yelled out once more, turned to his smaller opponent, and attempted a clothesline.
Prepared at this point, Alex got himself underneath Frioso's arms and moved to get behind him again. As soon as his large opponent whirled around to face him, Alex swung an open palm from right to left at Frioso's chest, a yellow chi following the swing's path. The move connected as Frioso was forced to stumble away from the hit. Alex then moved in and delivered the same exact maneuver in the opposite direction. It knocked his opponent back further, though he managed to stay on his feet.
As he recovered, Frioso happened to notice an oil drum within reach. With a shout, he grabbed it with both hands and threw it at Alex with all of his strength. With blue eyes wide, Alex quickly fell back into the snow, the oil drum barely missing his face. Once it was clear, he rolled back and returned to his feet.
Damn, Alex thought to himself. That was too close.
"RAAGH!" Frioso yelled as he ran to tackle his smaller opponent. Seeing this right away, Alex sidestepped away and let the large fighter run past him. Once he was behind Frioso for the third time since the match began, Alex whirled around, jumped up, and kneed him square in the back. It actually forced Frioso onto his stomach, and he soon landed with a pained yell. Without giving his opponent the chance to recover, Alex got right on top of Frioso and linked his arms around his neck in a sleeper hold.
As Alex continued with his hold, Frioso's brother, Tolo, attempted to jump into the fight the second the five minute timer ended. Having seen this from where he stood, Haggar immediately ran into the fray and quickly delivered a clothesline into Tolo's chest with enough force to knock the bigger fighter onto his back.
"Two-on-two battle initiated by both participating teams," said one of the drones that monitored the fight.
Haggar didn't hesitate to jump forward and attempt a body slam on top of his opponent. However, Tolo saw the attack coming and rolled out of the way before Haggar landed on him. Haggar ended up diving face first into the snow instead.
As the Mayor turned onto his back, Tolo lifted a foot and tried to slam it downward, but Haggar rolled out of the way before it connected. He ended up closer to the wall and near a pile of junk that was long left behind. The older man turned his head to see if any of the junk could be used to his advantage.
Within arm's reach, and to his sheer luck, there was a lead pipe amongst the junk.
Haggar couldn't help but grin at the object. "Ah, my specialty," he murmured as he grabbed for the pipe.
Quickly, Haggar rolled back and returned to his feet just as Tolo reached him. Haggar went in with an overhead swing in order to smash the lead pipe right in his face. The Mayor, however, wasn't surprised when Tolo grabbed the lead pipe with both of his hands. From there, the two men began to struggle in an attempt to overpower the other…
Nearby, despite being trapped in a sleeper hold, Frioso managed to stand himself up to his full height. That left Alex hanging off his head, his teeth clenched with determination as he put more pressure on the hold with all of his might.
Eventually, Frioso reached behind him, grabbed Alex by the head, and pulled him right off him. With another shout, he slammed Alex into the ground before he lifted him, spun around, and tossed him across the platform before Alex crashed into the snow and just mere inches away from the railings.
"Oh, that was not cool," Alex growled in anger as he ignored the pain in his body and slowly got back on his feet even after that beating. He slammed a fist into the ground, stood in a fighting stance after, and beckoned his opponent back to him with a wave of his hand.
Frioso sprinted in his direction. By then, Alex was ready. Quickly, he jumped into the air, angled his body diagonally with his hands in front of him, and dived forward. His clenched fists managed to hit right in his opponent's stomach, which forced him to keel over in pain.
It was exactly what Alex wanted for his next maneuver.
As soon as he was on his feet again, Alex pulled him head first towards him before he grabbed for his waist. Then, to Frioso's shock, his smaller opponent - despite being six-foot-three and thick in muscle mass himself - managed to lift him up and flip him over so that he was facing upward. Granted, Alex did so with some struggle, but he succeeded nevertheless.
"How the- SHIIIIT!" Frioso screamed as Alex performed a power bomb. They crashed into the snow with enough force to render Frioso out cold.
"Knockout detected," the drone announced as Alex got back on his feet.
"Using power to my advantage is my style," Alex said in a matter of fact as he stretched his arms out from side to side.
Meanwhile, the fight between Haggar and Tolo continued not too far from the warehouse. By this point, Tolo had torn the pipe out of Haggar's hand, tossed it aside, and managed to get himself on offense, which forced the Metro City Mayor on defense. It didn't last too long, however, after Tolo clasped his fists and swung them both upward. Haggar saw an opening from there.
After extending both arms around from either side of him, Haggar clenched his hands and spun rapidly, his fists hitting Tolo multiple times. Tolo was eventually knocked back, though he was able to remain standing even after that beating.
"What the-" Tolo started to say as he quickly shook his head with confusion.
"Big muscles don't mean anything if you don't know how to use 'em, pal," Haggar told his opponent.
"That's big talk coming from you, pal," Tolo called out. With a roar, he sprinted towards his opponent. "Now I'm gonna snap ya in half!"
Here we go, Haggar as he prepared for his next move.
As soon as Tolo was close, Haggar grabbed his waist, flipped him back side down, and performed a powerbomb. That made Tolo scream out in pain, but Haggar ignored as he grabbed for his arm and, with seemingly little effort, lifted him and spun around rapidly in a circular motion, which caused Tolo to fall dizzy. Haggar followed that by tossing his opponent into the air - once more with seemingly little effort. The Mayor then jumped up, grabbed Tolo once more while he was upside down, and slammed him back down into the ground with a piledriver.
The last move rendered Tolo unconscious.
The drone made its official call soon after. "Knockout detected. Alex and Mike Haggar win the match!"
"Yeah," Haggar said as he dusted his palms off. "That's why I love wrestling."
"One round down, seven to go," Alex mentioned as he joined up with his tag team partner.
"Just remember," Haggar started to say. "The tournament is only going to get tougher from here."
Alex gave him a smug smirk. "In that case… bring it."
It didn't take long for the portal to show up to take them back. A few workers stepped out first in order to carry their unconscious opponents back to the island. The portal itself was wide enough for both Haggar and Alex to walk through at the same time. As with everyone else in the tournament, they were momentarily surrounded by a swirling blue vortex before it cleared away and returned them to the Casino.
As soon as Haggar and Alex stepped out of the portal, they were met with an audience who were all waiting for their own matches throughout the day. All of them clapped and cheered with enthusiasm. Clearly, they enjoyed the great entertainment the two men provided.
"That's always nice to see," Alex said. He turned his head to his tag team partner. "I bet it kind of feels like old times for you, uh?"
Haggar couldn't help but smirk over that. "I admit, I sometimes miss my Saturday Night Slam Masters days. It's nice to relive those days when you find yourself in tournaments like this one." He smirked even more. "From what I can gather from the audience reaction to our presence… I still got it."
Alex simply nodded at that with his own smirk. "That you do, Haggar. That you do."
Unknown to anyone in the room, Zafina, while wearing a dark maroon cloak with a hood that concealed her face, snuck quietly into the viewing room at the start of the first match earlier that morning and sat in the very back corner. Normally, she would've watched the matches on the television in her hotel room, but given the circumstances of her recent assignment upon Liu Kang's request, she figured that it was best to watch in person… so to speak.
It was Haggar's match she was on the lookout for, more specifically his tag team partner, the young wrestler Alex. Yesterday, Liu Kang requested her to observe him during the match to see if he's a potential chosen one.
Zafina heard about each chosen one having the right balance of a soul with both a good heart and the weight of their sins. Using her psychic abilities, this would be the first time she would search for exactly that in someone who had the potential to join their cause.
At first, she wasn't quite certain what she was supposed to look for, but the longer the match went on, the more she understood. Alex, to her, was brash, somewhat abrasive, and crass. He also seemed to possess a short temper and overconfidence in his fighting abilities. To any outsider - although he was a great fighter who could hold his own very well - his personality and short fuse would pose a potential problem that could complicate any future missions, especially if something went wrong.
But as the tag team emerged from the portal and back into the viewing room to a cheering audience, Zafina used her abilities to look into Alex's heart. There, she finally and truly understood what Liu Kang and the leaders of the past looked for.
There, in his heart, was a man with a softer side only shown to those close to him, someone who was willing to go to any length to protect them. He also held a high regard to those he respected, like his tag team partner Haggar. His care for others was just as high as his hubris.
The potential was there. At this point, all Zafina could do was report her findings to Liu Kang. While the audience was distracted, Zafina quietly slipped out the door and headed to the outside world.
Wiblingen Monastery Library, Ulm, Germany
The place where tag team Cassandra and Maki were fighting in during their match was quite beautiful. It actually reminded Cassandra of some of the places she previously visited near her home back in Keisei. The room was mostly white with light blue pillars etched with white wave designs, and the railings on the balcony above were painted golden and lined pink in between floors. The ceiling had a painting of various scenes with people, buildings, and plant life under the blue cloudless sky. The walls of the monastery were lined with very old-looking books. The floor, mostly covered with a black mat to protect them, was tiled in a white, beige, and gray design that gave off a 3D square effect.
Funny enough, the renaissance-style statues that were present in the room were all wrapped in both shrink wrap and bubble wrap multiple times to prevent them from being damaged during the match.
Cassandra and Maki's opponents - Venus and Mona - were nearly as beautiful as the monastery itself. Venus's thick blonde hair was pinned up in a low bun with some loose strands falling around her face. She wore a white tank top, a long black skirt with one side slit down to show off her leg, and a pair of black gladiator sandals on her feet. With her tank top, Venus clearly didn't hide the fact that she was actually missing her right arm. Ironic given her name, but it didn't seem to be an issue for her as she firmly held a kendo stick in her left hand during her fight against Maki, who wielded her two tonfas as always.
Mona, who stood on the sideline opposite Cassandra, let her long brown hair mostly down save for a small braid that went down the middle behind her head. She wore a long, dark olive green dress that fell to her ankles with a brown sash wrapped around her waist, a pair of brown gauntlets that covered her forearms and wrists, and a pair of black short boots on her feet. Tied to her sash on her left was a stiletto sword.
Despite her missing arm, Venus more than made up for it with her weapon skills as well as her agility and speed. Maki found that she had to remain on her toes with each passing second, especially once she found herself on defense.
At one point, Maki ducked low underneath a roundhouse kick from Venus. Knowing that she'd be left open soon after, Maki planted one end of her tonfas on the ground. She used it to balance herself as she pushed her lower body up, spun herself once, and swiftly kicked upward with her right foot. The move connected and Venus let out a gasp as Maki's foot hit her just below the collar bone, the force causing her to stumble back.
Maki immediately flipped back onto her feet before she quickly closed the distance between herself and her opponent once more. This time, she got herself on offense while Venus was forced into defense. Once more, the two went back and forth with their respective weapons.
Not long after, the five minute mark passed and Cassandra decided that she had enough waiting around. She quickly drew out her sword and went after her opponent, Mona. Mona initially didn't pay attention, but Cassandra's footsteps eventually gave her away. As soon as she was close, Mona quickly pulled out her sword and blocked Cassandra's shield with it.
The two immediately found themselves in a sword battle. The steel weapons clanged with each hit as both women attempted to get themselves on offense. At one point, Cassandra swung her sword a couple of times from side to side. Then, to catch Mona off guard, she lifted her foot and side kicked her in the waist. Mona gasped as she stumbled to the left from the hit.
Cassandra quickly closed in on her opponent before she had the chance to recover. "Chew on this!" she called out just as she swung her sword once more. Luckily for Mona, she managed to block the maneuver before it connected. However, this gave Cassandra the opportunity to spin low in quick succession before she extended her leg and swung around. Her leg connected to Mona's ankle and immediately tripped her.
"Ah!" Mona cried out as she landed on her side.
Cassandra straightened back up after. "Ah, too bad," she mocked.
That, of course, pissed off Mona as she quickly got up and sprinted towards Cassandra, who was ready for her. From there, the two proceeded with their swordplay.
Nearby, their respective tag team partners continued their own battle. Venus had just managed to get the upper hand as she forward kicked Maki in the stomach, just as she had done to her before. With a pained yelp, Maki stumbled back. This gave Venus the chance to kick upward and unleash a round, green projectile from her foot, which swiftly shot forward and landed squarely on Maki's midsection and with enough force to make her fly back before she landed hard on the ground.
"Dammit!" Maki growled in frustration as she got herself back on her feet despite the pain in her side. She glared at Venus, who stood in her fighting stance as she waited for her opponent to be ready. Seeing this, Maki moved before Venus had the chance to do so herself.
As she sprinted towards Venus, Maki quickly delivered a stepping hook punch forward. To her delight, the move connected and forced Venus to stumble back. Unfortunately, Venus ended up crashing back first against one of the bookshelves in the monastery, which caused some of the books to fall off onto the ground. Luckily, none of them hit Venus, but she was stunned either way.
Maki's eyes widened at that result. "Eh… oops," she muttered.
Meanwhile, Cassandra swung her sword twice in an up-down motion, which made her opponent Mona back away both times. Mona then attempted to swing her own sword at Cassandra, but the Keisei native was quick to use her shield to block the incoming move. Then, with all of her strength, Cassandra let out a yell as she pushed her shield forward, which forced Mona away from her. Mona stumbled back until her back hit against one of the pillars in the room.
Mona clenched her teeth as she raised one hand up in front of her. "Estende!" she called out in her native tongue.
To Cassandra's shock, a purple projectile shaped like a snake shot out from Mona's hand. It slithered in rapid speed through the air and managed to grab hold of Cassandra's shield by wrapping itself around it twice. It then made an attempt to pull the shield away from her hand, but the young warrior was having none of it.
"I don't think so!" Cassandra shouted with clenched teeth.
Cassandra swiftly cut down the snake with her sword and it dissipated into purple dust. Mona then tried to cover the space between them and deliver a punch with her free hand, but Cassandra evaded it by ducking below it before she extended one leg to kick her opponent's shin. That nearly tripped Mona, which gave Cassandra the chance to jump up and deliver a somersault kick, her foot landing under Mona's chin. With a pained cry, Mona stumbled back and swung herself around momentarily to take a moment to recover from the hit.
As soon as Mona was ready and turned around to face the Keisei woman again, she was suddenly met with an uppercut under her chin from Cassandra and was hurled upwards towards the ceiling with a scream. At the same time, the Keisei native jumped into the air and managed to slam her shield into her opponent's face with a yell. Mona then fell back before she crashed hard onto the floor. Cassandra followed moments later and stood in her fighting stance, ready for more…
The last move, however, rendered Mona unconscious.
"Knockout detected," one of the drones monitoring the match announced.
"MONA!" Venus shouted with worry just as she got back on her feet after Maki's last hit. While glaring at her two opponents, she clenched her teeth and she raised her kendo stick above her head. "You're gonna regret that!" the warrior promised with conviction.
"I got this!" Maki yelled to Cassandra as she ran hayagake style towards Venus once more.
"Hey, come on!" Cassandra called out teasingly as she stepped back to give the two fighters some berth.
When she got close enough, Maki attempted a flying roundhouse kick, but Venus managed to step back before she was hit. As Maki recovered, Venus stepped in and made an attempt to swing her kendo stick in a left-right swing motion, but Maki was able to block it with one of her tonfas before the move connected.
For a few moments after, the two women went back and forth with their weapons as they both attempted to get the upperhand in the battle. Eventually however, Venus swung down her kendo stick overhead and Maki managed to grab them in between her tonfas. She gripped on as tight as possible before she lifted it above her head, raised her leg, and delivered a forward kick to Venus's stomach. With a yelp, Venus was pushed back and was forced to release her hold on her weapon, which remained in between her opponent's tonfas.
A sly grin came over Maki's face as she tossed the kendo stick aside and spun one of her tonfas in her hand. "Time for you to taste my Bushin Guaiha!"
From there, the Bushin ninja threw various maneuvers with both her fists and her tonfas in quick succession. The last hit pushed Venus back, which gave Maki the chance to get in, jump, and deliver a high kick underneath her opponent's chin.
Maki stood in her stance, her tonfas raised in front of her, as she waited for her opponent to get back up. Venus got herself to sit up, but as soon as she stretched her side, a pained gasp escaped her lips and she quickly reached her arm to her side as though she was trying to contain the pain. She momentarily tested out her body, but gasped again as another sharp pain stabbed her side and she clutched on her side even more than before.
It became clearer as the seconds passed - Venus was too injured to continue the match.
"I… concede…" Venus eventually groaned almost hesitantly. As soon as the words left her, she bowed her head down in both shame and humiliation.
"Concede announced," a drone called out. "Cassandra Alexandra and Genryusai Maki win the match!"
After that announcement, Maki gathered herself momentarily before she walked to where her opponent sat and kneeled to her level. Upon noticing this, Venus glared her blue eyes at her. "If you're here to mock me, save it!"
"If this was a few years ago, I probably would have," Maki admitted with a small frown. "But I've grown up since then. Actually, I wanted to, well… pass along some kindness someone once gave to me when I lost a previous tournament." She managed to give Venus a small smile. "You're one hell of an opponent and I really enjoyed our match. I would love to have a rematch with you if we ever run into each other again someday."
Venus seemed to think over Maki's words for a bit. Eventually, a small smile in appreciation came over her face. "Thank you."
Mishima Island Forest
While floating just above the trees and looking over the island, Liu Kang sighed with relief. The first round of the Shikoken Tournament ended just a few minutes ago judging by the people that suddenly filled the streets. Clearly, most of the people planned to relax between this minute and tomorrow, which will serve as a full-day break from the tournament before the second round began the following day.
The most important thing, however, was the fact that every single Chosen One was able to move forward to Round Two.
Liu Kang softly smiled to himself at that thought. Of course they made it, he thought. It would've been more of a surprise if someone from his group did actually lose before the end of Round One.
There was a lot to be done. The tournament alone was a mission in itself; fight through it, get as close as possible to Jin Kazama, and figure out both his motives and how to stop his needless war here on Earthrealm. They also needed to make sure that Jin and his father Kazuya - aka 'the two evil stars' - never found themselves in battle. The last part was especially important in order to prevent the awakening of the demon Azazel, who had the potential of destroying all of mankind in the universe if he was ever to be released. It was already bad enough that his powers grew the longer the war went on.
There was also the issue with Quan Chi, the new Emperor of Outworld, and the Outworlds Forces' interest in the Legend of Azazel as well as his civil war with those who defected from the forces after Shao Kahn's demise.
For now, however, the Chosen Ones deserved a day-long break. After all, this journey was only the beginning.
A/N: So I'm thrilled to say that after a very long time, I'm finally back in the writing groove. For those who've waited patiently for this update, thank you.
Since it's been a while since the last update, a few changes did occur in the fighting game world and I've decided to reflect some of them in this story. Here are the changes;
1 - Some of the names of the locations in Keisei have a slight change to them. They are as follows; Ming Dynasty is now Ming Empire. Lee Dynasty is now Joseon Dynasty. And Chili-san is now Chiri-san. These changes have been already reflected in this story and will be in my two prequels once I get those edited.
2 - The names of Hakan's family have been changed to reflect the canon.
3 - The names of Scorpion's wife and son have been changed from Kana and Jubei to Harumi and Satoshi. Technically, I really should keep the former names since the Legacy series did it first, but unfortunately I have my reasons for the change. Therefore, it'll be what it is.
4 - You likely noticed this while reading this chapter - because Namco/Harada cannot seem to decide Leo's gender, I've made the decision to refer to Leo as non-binary (they/them pronoun). This change is simply based on conflicting facts and nothing more.
5 - My reconstructed website for this fic is up and ready to read. I especially recommend following it along as the tournament progresses, especially once Round 2 is underway in a couple of chapters from now.
6 - The minor Manji Clan member OC in this story, Tajna, has been renamed Dinora.
On a small note, if you guys happen to have re-read this story before reaching this chapter and notice the slightly changed name of Ruby Heart's ship, ignore it. I'll be changing it back to its original name soon enough. I had a reason for it, but I caught a discrepancy just prior to this update sooo… yeah.
And now for some general notes, some which I have to unfortunately point out because people cannot behave themselves;
1 - Updates will still be slightly on the slow side as I'm trying to balance between my hobbies, two jobs that barely pay a living wage, and adult responsibilities. I'm also dealing with a personal matter in my immediate family that I'll eventually have to attend to at some point (though it'll likely only take away maybe a month's worth of my time). So, if there's a slow-down in between chapters, that's why.
2 - With the world's chaos today, I need to say this - everything that I write does NOT have any kind of agenda whatsoever. Occasionally, I'll write a thought-provoking moment in my stories, but it's your personal choice to take it or leave it. Any social or political commentary expressed by the characters (for story telling purposes) is no reflection of my personal opinion and is not meant to lecture you. I'm only here to write a story for your entertainment and for my personal enjoyment. Nothing more, nothing less.
3 - Keeping to the canon is a good thing, and I'll try my best to keep it that way in regards to character backstories and plot. But my series - a crossover involving four fighting games no less - has become somewhat of its own saga since I began writing it, so obviously a lot of creative liberty has been, and will be, used throughout the series. Just know that I do my best to make it all make sense in the long-run, even if it doesn't seem like it off the bat. And honestly, games like Mortal Kombat have been reverting away from their own canon in recent years, soooo…
I'm sure there are other things to mention, but I'll cut it short from here. For those still reading this story, thank you for your support and welcome back! To the newcomers, I hope you enjoy this series as much as I love writing it!
Reviews of the non-flame variety are highly encouraged!