-Chapter 10: The Tournament - Liu Kang and Kung Lao-
Liu Kang found himself teleported to the midst of a tranquil kourtyard somewhere just beyond the reaches of Shang Tsung's Great Hall. The air was still, filled only with the calls of exotic birds and the tranquil rippling of a nearby waterfall. Distant towers backlit by a late afternoon sun cast long shadows across mossy rocks and shrubbery. The Shaolin found himself on a stone bridge that stretched across a koi pond. On one end of the bridge lay the island's dense jungle. On the other lay stone-hewn stairways leading to towers and fortresses.
Liu strode to the edge of the bridge, savouring the peace while it lasted. 'Such natural beauty… pity it has to be spoiled by Shang Tsung's evil.' He closed his eyes, taking a moment to meditate where he stood. His mind considered his surroundings, the tournament, the battles to come. He became one with the stillness of the air, the warmth of the sunlight. The monks had taught him that part of succeeding in kombat included a unity with the environment. As such, Liu was totally attuned when the clack of footsteps on stone announced the arrival of his chosen opponent.
Liu opened his eyes and turned to face them. To his surprise, it was Princess Kitana who approached him.
The princess walked purposefully, her expression hardened and her fingers clenched into tight fists. Liu stood calmly, his body loose and limber, ready to move. Kitana attacked first with swinging punches, blows easily dodged by the nimble Shaolin. The princess added kicks to the mix, which Liu had a very easy time parrying. Avoiding a sweep, he planted his foot against her backside and pushed, shoving her back. Irritated by his flippant dismissal of her attack, Kitana spun around and struck with three rising kicks… all of which were quickly blocked by Liu Kang.
He met her move for move, expending little energy as he parried and blocked her fists and feet. Spinning her around, he pushed her away again, fanning the flames of her growing anger. Kitana attacked again with a growl, her left hook caught by Liu's right hand as her follow-up right hook was caught by his left. He held her in place, exercising enough limb strength to cause Kitana to struggle to escape. "You are good." He complimented softly. "Show me more." With another shove he pushed her back, Kitana restanding as they squared off.
"Do not underestimate me, Shaolin." Kitana retorted in a low, threatening voice. She lunged forward to strike him with a double-axe handle, her joined fists meeting Liu's raised arms. She followed up with a kick flip, scoring her first hit against Liu's ribs. The Shaolin slid back and assumed a Jun Fan stance, cloaking his fists with chi fire. Kitana came at him with a chop and then two sweeping kicks, the Shaolin parrying with a fire-infused blow that sent her stumbling. He followed up with a right hook, uppercut and a snap kick that put Kitana on the ground.
The princess hopped back to her feet, glaring at her foe. 'I would've preferred to face Mileena, put that traitor down for good.' She rushed in, lashing out with a judo chop before conjuring wind magicks two allow her to execute two spin kicks in quick succession, clubbing Liu across the face. As he flew through the air, Kitana a pair of snap kicks followed by a low chop that sent Liu skidding across the ground. "You are Raiden's 'chosen one'? No wonder your realm has lost so many tournaments." She sneered.
Liu, however, was quick to respond with a fiery lunge kick that he quickly converted into a rising knee and then a fire-coated flip kick that knocked Kitana to the ground. "Underestimate us at your own peril." He retorted. The moment Kitana got back on her feet, she whipped out a pair of bladed fans, snapping her deadly weapons open before tossing one out. It soared through the air like a buzzsaw and Liu deftly rolled under it before throwing out a fireball in response that Kitana deftly blocked with her fan as she somersaulted forward to retrieve her other one.
Liu Kang offered no reprieve by lunging ahead to executed a double dragon kick, Kitana narrowly sidestepping him and using him as a stepping stone to jump up and drop down, driving her knees into his face. Liu recovered speedily and whipped around to throw a roundhouse kick, his foot catching Kitana across the face. He used her stunned state to his advantage and executed a quick double punch, an uppercut and then a spinning hook kick, pummeling Kitana before he executed a fiery roundhouse kick and then a final stomp, putting her on the ground. The princess executed a kip-up and promptly attacked Liu with a high kick that he blocked. She continued to press in and unleashed uppercuts and overheads, trying to offset the monk and wear down his block. But Liu waited patiently, observing the timing og her strikes before he struck with a Flying Dragon Strike, knocking her down. Kitana stumbled as Liu enveloped his hand in fire and reared back to deliver a krushing palm strike.
Princess Kitana stumbled, staggered, leaving herself open for Liu to keep going.
Liu surged forward and executed a high kick that Kitana ducked under. She retaliated by whipping up a whirlwind of conjured magicks that tumbled Liu about until Kitana threw her fans forward, the spinning bladed edges cutting deep into Liam and knocking him out of the updraft. The Shaolin groaned, forcing himself up as Kitana advanced, her fans returning to her hands. Liu stood ready and countered Kitana's swings with parried and blocks fueled by chi fire, resorting to classical kombat techniques in order to hold his ground. He parried and retaliated with a pair of jabs and a swift kick to the ribs before launching himself forward to deliver his flaming fist right to Kitana's cheek, a resounding crack filling the air on impact.
Kitana would not be outdone, however, and a swing of her fans generating enough of a gust to propell her backwards and, in the strangest of moves, drive her ass into Liu's face and bowl him over.
A thoroughly confused Liu Kang took a moment longer to get up as Kitana took time sharpen her fans, ready to continue. He shot her a curious look, pondering briefly the odd nature of her kombat strategy.
The sapphire princess continued the kombat and sent both fans hurtling towards Liu. The Shaolin narrowly avoided them, suffering only a few nicks to his shoulders. Summoning his chi energy, Liu Kang unleashed a barrage of dragon's fire towards his foe, the Outworld princess vaulting over them and coming down in a dive kick that smashed into Liu's exposed chest. Using some momentum gained from her fans, Kitana spun into a triple tornado kick that knocked the monk to the ground.
Pushing himself to his feet, Liu turned and parried several stabs from Kitana's fans. Kitana managed to stab Liu in the arm, but the monk quickly pushed through the pain and ensnared Kitana's limb, allowing Liu to turn and throw her over his shoulder and into the ground, twisting her arm. Kitana cried out, only to be silenced as Liu drove his knee into the back of her head and knocked her onto the ground. Spinning around, Liu Kang clubbed the rising Kitana in the back of the head with a hook kick and then landed a flying dragon kick that pitched her down the length of the bridge.
Kitana forced herself to rise as Liu stood in preparation for her retaliation, assuming a Pao Chui stance with chi fire surrounding his fists. Kitana determined her course and conjured a whirlwind with her fans, sending an arcane tornado down range that hit Liu with turbulent winds and sent him spinning. Whipped about by the gusting winds, the Shaolin was powerless to stop Kitana's shredding onslaught that came about as she lept into the wind column and hacked into him with her razor fans.
Using her blades, Kitana forced Liu out of the whirlwind and down to the ground, wrenching her blade free. Despite his injuries, the monk kipped up to his feet to keep going and Kitana charged in, swinging her fans like broad-headed knives as Liu ducked and sidestepped each one, finally grabbing her outstretched arm and landing a fiery vertical kick that caught her in the face. Then he spun around and snapped out his fist, striking her torso with his knuckles and generating enough power to knock the wind from her lungs. Kitana crumpled, pausing crouched on the ground as Liu reared back his fist. "You fight well. Yield. I do not wish to harm you." He stated.
"Spare me your pity." Kitana spat, striking with a rising double-slash from her fans that knocked him into the air, blood streaming from cut robes. A backflip kick struck Liu on the chin and put him on the ground, Kitana dropped down from above with fans closed into a knife-like configuration.
Liu quickly rolled back as her blades stabbed into the ground, breaking stone. Liu took advantage and struck hard with a windmill punch, battering Kitana in the torso before he converted it into a palm strike that snapped her head back and sending her tumbling. Liu steadied himself, finding his centre as chi fire blossomed around his hands once again. Waving her fans, the Outworld Princess sent a wind funnel gliding across the ground, Liu Kang leaping over it to unload a barrage of fireballs into Kitana. He then rolled forward in the air to land a heel strike on her raised arms. Back on his feet, Liu parried Kitana's thrust and turned it into a throw, pitching the Outworld woman to the ground.
Priming himself for retaliation, Liu shifted back and forth on the balls of his feet as Kitana righted herself and snapped open her fans again. She came at him again and swung hard in wide whistling motions, the blades narrowly missing the Shaolin's face as Liu nearly bent over backwards. Retaliating with twin kicks to her midsection, Liu struck with a hard overhead blow, a swift punch to her already-wounded chest and then a rising palm strike, her open hand smashing into Kitana's jaw and putting her flat on her back.
"Do not get up." Liu cautioned with fists aflame. "I take no pleasure in hurting such a worthy foe. I am impressed with your kombat, but know that I will do whatever it takes to defend Earthrealm and win this tournament." Down on the ground, Kitana realized she was resigned to her fate. Despite her best efforts, Liu Kang had bested her.
She slowly moved to a kneeling position. "Do it." She muttered.
"Do what?"
"Kill me."
"Why would I do that?"
"This is Mortal Kombat. If I have not defeated you then I have failed my father. My emperor." Kitana said bitterly, averting his eyes. Liu paused, still poised to possibly strike. He considered her words and let them sink in. After a moment, he let his fire abate and bowed respectfully.
"We Earthrealmers view kombat differently from your father. I have no desire to kill such a worthy kombatant." He replied, surprising the princess. Liu looked upon her with a sincere gaze, ensuring she understood he would not finish her. "I hope we meet again. Under different circumstances." He said, speaking truthfully. With that, he turned to depart the scene, heading for the jungle and leaving Kitana alone.
The princess smacked the ground in annoyance. Shang Tsung would not be pleased by her defeat… let alone Shao Kahn.
Kung Lao discovered the sorcerer had teleported him to one of the island's many beaches, one that seemed to be far from the original port where they had arrived. He was surrounded by sheer cliffs of dark rock that left him wedged on a narrow strip of dark sand with the open ocean beside him. The monk turned his head skyward and noticed the cliffs hid the sun, casting a pleasantly cool shadow across the beach. 'Lucky me, getting to fight in the shade.'
Seeing as his chosen opponent was nowhere to be seen, the monk sat down to meditate. Folding his legs over, he closed his eyes and let his ears take in the lapping of waves on the shore, the soft rush of air accompanied by oceans spray, and the distant cries of gulls nesting high atop the cliff.
The sounds of tranquil nature grew familiar to him… so much so that the droning of an insect swarm stirred him from his contemplative state.
Kung Lao lept to his feet while performing a spin, whirling into a ready Wing Chun stance as a cloud of insects came rushgin into the ground ahead of him. There they dissipated to reveal the chitinous body of a Kytinn; the sentient insectoid race from Interria. Kung Lao narrowed his gaze, sizing up the pale red form encased in a natural organic armor. He knew his chakram hat could cut through many different objects, but he had to wonder just how tough a Kytinn really was.
He steadied himself as the Kytinn sprouted a series of four ovipositors, each one spiked with a razor-sharp needle. "Leave while you still can. I have no quarrel with you." The Shaolin called out.
"This One will use your body to breed new members of the Hive." The Kytinn rasped.
"…I now have a quarrel with you." Kung Lao decided. "This fight will end quickly."
"You dare fight This One unarmed?" The insectoid with a vaguely feminine shape began to secret a vibrant green venom from the chitinous layers around her hands and fingers that dripped to the sand and landed with a hiss.
Kung Lao grinned and ran a hand along the razor brim of his hat. "I have a few hat tricks." With lightning speed he whipped off his hat and threw it at his adversary, his weapon singing as it sliced through the air. Sprouting a pair of wings akin to what a dragonfly possessed, the Kytinn took flight to avoid the toss, shooting an organic solvent from her hands that threatened to bind him where he stood. Cartwheeling out of the way, Kung Lao retrieved his hat and spun himself around, channeling his arcana to create a magic tornado that knocked the Kytinn out of the air.
The Shaolin closed the gap and landed a pair of chops, followed by a double punch that staggered the Kytinn long enough for him to surge ahead and land first an overhead spin kick and then a butterfly kick that clubbed her across the face, blue blood spilling from between sharpened teeth. The Kytinn was quick to respond with a palm strike and then an elbow strike before turning around and lashing out with her ovipositors. Kung Lao attempted to fend them off, but the barrage was too quick for him and he suffered multiple stab wounds. Closing the gap between them, the insectoid then struck with a low swipe before landing a rising double-uppercut as she lept into the air and sprayed Kung Lao with a burst of venom from a slit in her navel.
As he hit the ground, Kung Lao hurried to wipe away the substance clinging to his robes before he teleported away with a whoosh of air and reappeared behind the Kytinn, grabbing her shoulders as he vaulted over her and threw her to the ground where he landed two sweeping kicks to her face. Blood spurted around his heel as it crashed into her black compound eyes, staining the pristine beach sand blue, only for the Kytinn to sprout two of her ovipositors and stab his sides. Kung Lao cried out as the sharp tips grazed his ribs before the Kytinn hurled him face first into the sand in a display of impressive strength and limb control.
The monk hurried to his feet and whipped off his hat, turning it into a shield to ward off another ovipositor rush and then a spray of venom that erupted from her open hand. The monk struck when an opportunity presented itself, ducking low with a sweep of his had to slice through the Kytinn's thighs before rising up to land a palm strike that slammed into her nose. Reeling from the krushing blow, the Kytinn was powerless to stop Lao from throwing his hat out and kicking it, the buzzsaw striking the insectoid in the chest where it sliced through a layer of chitin before returning to its place on his head.
Responding with a hiss, the Kytinn allowed a part of her navel to split wide open. "Watoo wong gjaa!" Responding to her summons, a swarm of bugs erupted from within her, surrounding the Shaolin with a buzzing cloud of otherworldly critters to keep him busy while she grew a stinger out of her left palm. Striking him in the shoulder, two ovipositors struck from overhead, burying themselves in Lao's shoulders long enough for the Kytinn to slam into him with her shoulder, sending him tumbling. Swinging her ovipositors wide, the Kytinn struck him with serrated spikes before planting them in the ground to balance herself as she lunged forward and executed a dropkick that caught Lao in the chest and knocked him onto the sand.
Grabbing his hat, Lao tossed it out, aiming for the Kytinn's feet only for the insectoid to hop over and chitter to herself, as if laughing at his attempt in her own creepy way. However, using his hat as an anchor for his arcana, Kung Lao teleported right behind the Kytinn and executed a torpedo punch that knocked the bug woman to the ground. Tossing his hat out again, he let it float in a vertical buzzsaw state until the Kytinn rose, where he grabbed the threw her onto the spinning razor brim. Blood spurted everywhere as Kung Lao drilled her with a rapid-fire string of jabs before a straight kick sent her sprawling and his hat returned to his head.
The Shaolin teleported again, pressing his advantage as he exposed the Kytinn to a barrage of new tricks. Reappearing behind her, he grabbed her by the shoulders and spun her around in the air, slamming her back onto his raised knee where he drilled her with a windmill punch before a knee strik knocked her off. The Kytinn quickly took flight to avoid a follow-up strike, spinning around and executing a front flip as all four ovipositors were deployed. She struck Kung Lao end over end, battering him by the time she hit the ground. Two more swipes with her ovipositors sent him spinning, priming the monk to be stabbed in the sides again and thrown into the air. There the bug woman pounded, driving two ovipositors into his exposed back and slamming him into the ground with enough force that an audible CRACK could be heard.
Launching himself back to his feet and fighting through the pain, Kung Lao struck back with a hat toss, the sharpened blade cutting through the Kytinn's left shoulder moments before he teleported by disappearing into the ground. He shot up behind her and used his hat to cut through the insectoid's back, blood from a fresh blue line spilling across the sand as a push kick knocked the Kytinn flat on her face. He recovered quickly enough and summoned his hat, letting it orbit his torso as he advanced on his opponent with a helikick, his bladed hat slicing open the Kytinn's hand, arm and abdomen as an extra layer of offence. Her attempt to ward off Kung Lao was met with additional force as the monk struck with a chop, Lao tossing out his hat so the metal edge sliced through the Kytinn's other shoulder with a spurt of blue blood. Catching his hat back on his head, Lao drilled the Kytinn with a windmill punch before landing a spin kick that clubbed her across the head with enough force to pitch the Kytinn to the ground.
The serrated rim of his hat cut cleanly through one of the insectoid's ovipositors, his effort to reduce her amount of attack options gradually succeeding. He charged towards the Kytinn as the bug woman returned to her feet, executing a short hop kick before tossing his hat up into the air, the blade ramming into her chin like a buzzsaw. Catching his weapon, Lao spun around and sliced into her abdomen before landing a low sweep that took the Kytinn's feet out from underneath her where Kung Lao landed a crescent kick that came crashing into the back of her skull.
Skipping back and restanding in preparation for another attack, Kung Lao swing his hat and let it orbit his body like a razor shield. The Kytinn, however had other plans, and slammed her hands into the ground where she unleashed a spawning puddle of gooey maggots and other larvae. They exploded underneath Kung Lao, tripping him up as the Kytinn spawned a much larger insect from her arm to grab his hat as she pounced. Two sweeping ovipositor strikes staggered him before two more threw him to the ground where the Kytinn stabbed him repeatedly.
The insectoid then generated strands of webbing from her hands and abdomen, snaring Kung Lao's legs in the perfect trap before she hoisted him into the air and threw him at the cliffside, his body striking with enough force to make him cry out in pain before the bug woman dove in and landed a drop kick, her heels crushing his innards. Kung Lao fell to the ground, the Kytinn dropping in front of him where she kicked him into the air where it flew high and grabbed him, executing a loop to build momentum before throwing him back to the beach. She seemed to have every advantage, battering the monk with unrelenting force.
But Kung Lao was not yet out of tricks.
Through his arcana, his hat obeyed his commands, spooling up and shredding the bug keeping it down as it returned to his outstretched hand. Tossing it out, Kung Lao teleported to its position behind the Kytinn where he executed a drive kick that struck her in the spine and propelled her towards the beach. But then he threw out his hat one more time, burying it in the sand beneath them where it spun like a buzzsaw. The Kytinn saw what was happening and could only watch with wide eyes as Kung Lao helplessly rode her to the ground.
Her face slammed into the spinning edge, an unearthly shriek rising from the Kytinn as the brim of his hat bored into her flesh and scythed through layers of chitin like it was nothing. Stomping down on the back of her neck, Kung Lao thrust her head fulling into the sawblade, splitting her skull in two as blue blood sprayed everywhere.
The Kytinn finally fell still, body faintly twitching in the throes of rigour mortis as Kung Lao stepped off and retrieved his hat. Seating it back atop his head, he wiped clean the chakram edge with a smug look on his face, eyeing the split corpse of the Kytinn. Severed brain spilling out into a thick pool of blood, revealing a cranium perfectly split down the middle, including part of her spinal column. "You will not be missed." He remarked, shaking his hand free of excess fluid.
The monk turned around and studied the cliff in front of him. One fight was finished but more beckoned. "Now… how am I going to get out of here…?" He wondered to himself.
