The Outworld Chapter Twelve- The Fifth Tournament

The morning sun rises through the horizon. As it does, all of the fighters in the cave snapped their eyes opened, some with determination, some with sorrow in their hearts.

Jax stands up while the other fighters are laying down in their sleeping bags. "Everybody get up," he said. "We have some important things to talk about before the next tournament."

Everyone slowly got up and made their way outside. Dhalsim lit the fire to get everybody warmed up.

Jax was the only one standing up while everyone else sat down. "Our friend Chun-Li has been kidnapped. Obviously, Shao Kahn knows about some of us investigating or else why would he attack us last night and the other night? I'm going to need a few brave men to go to Kahn's lair to save her. It's the only other place he could have taken her."

Ryu stood up. "I'll go."

Liu followed. "Me too."

Guile stood up as well. "So am I."

Rayden also stood up. "I will help guide you men."

Ken followed. "I want to go to."

"Ken," said Jax. "You have a tournament today. I know you want to save your friend, but you can't back out of the tournament. How about this; you win the tournament, you can catch up with the others."

"Where is Shao's lair?" Ken asked.

"Over the mountains," replied Rayden. "The walk will take all day."

Ken nodded.

"Also," said Jax. "It's been over a week since Dan and Mika left the camp. I wonder if they're even still alive. I need two people to find them."

"I'll go," said Fei-Long.

"Me too," said Sub-Zero.

"All right," Jax continued. "Don't get yourselves lost, just follow the trail. Nightwolf only lives five miles away. Be back by sun down whether you find them or not. Go."

Fei-Long and Sub-Zero got up and began walking towards the trail.

"To today's fighters, Ken, Rose, and Sonya......good luck."

***

Mika opens her eyes. The sun blares right into them and she covers them with her forearm.

"Morning sunshine," cried a voice. "Rise and shine and eat breakfast with us."

Mika moved her arm and looked over. Dan sat by the fire with Nightwolf with a smile. There were cooking something over the fire.

Mika sits up and yawns. "What's for breakfast?"

Dan grinned. "Fried rats."

Her eyes widened. "Fried what?"

"Rats," replied Nightwolf. "Good for your diet."

Mika felt her stomach turn. "I'll think I'll eat left over peaches." She looked in her bag. The peaches left over were all rotted. She felt her stomach growl. She was desperate for food.

"(Well it's either live or starve to death)" she thought. She slowly walked over to the boys.

Dan took a big bit out of one rat. "Yum! Taste like chicken. Its pretty good Mika."

Mika sat down on the ground. Nightwolf put a rat in a coconut bowl and gave it to Mika. "Here you go," he said.

Mika wanted to gag, but she figured that Nightwolf took his time to actually cook the disgusting meal, but she decided to take it anyways. She slowly took the rat, took a small bit and slowly chewed on it.

"(I want to barf)" she thought. She pretended that she liked it so she wouldn't hurt Nightwolf's feelings, especially after all he's done for her and Dan.

"So," Nightwolf said. "You're both fighting at that tournament on the other side of the island?"

"Yup," Dan replied. "We want to beat Goro too."

Nightwolf stood up. "Goro is not easy to beat."

"We know," Mika said.

Nightwolf walked over to the woods to toss the bones of his meal away. Then he came back and sat down with the two fighters.

"Goro is part of a Shokan race in the Outworld. Shokans are a race of half human and half dragons. Many years ago, Goro defeated the one called Kung Lao in an intense Mortal Kombat tournament. Kung Lao's soul was taken by an unknown being and Goro took control of the tournament. He won every tournament for the last nine generations until only a year ago. He was beaten by a monk named Liu Kang."

Dan's head snapped up. "Hey I know him!! He was with us back in the cave where we were staying."

"If Liu won," said Mika. "Then why is Goro still fighting in the tournament?"

"Simple," Nightwolf replied. "He wants to earn his title back."

"But isn't this tournament the fight to the death?" Dan asked.

"Yes, but somehow, Goro managed to live through it, even after Liu battered him, but just because Goro is two thousand years old doesn't mean that he can't die. Goro's race are mortals."

Dan and Mika looked at each other. Beating Goro was going to be harder than they thought.

***

Shang stands up from his throne outside. "First up, Ken versus Cyrax."

Ken jumped into the ring. "I'm ready for battle!" he shouted. Then, a yellow robot appears in front of him.

"A robot?" Ken said with disappointment. "I'm fighting a robot?"

"He's a Lin Kuei robot," Ken heard Sub-Zero say. Ken turns to him. "Be careful, they're fast robots."

"Begin!" Shang cries.

Ken turns back to Cyrax who jumps in the air. Ken dodges out of the way. As Cyrax lands, Ken manages to back kick him, but Cyrax was able to grab his leg and twist it sending Ken spinning in the air and then landing hard on the ground. Ken tried to get up, but out of nowhere, a net covered Ken.

"What the hell?" Ken cried. "No fair!"

Cyrax runs over to him and starts kicking him in the stomach. Ken tried to block him and get out at the same time, but neither was possible.

"(Damn it!)" Ken thought. The net was only loose enough for Ken to stretch his wrists. Then, Cyrax ends up kicking Ken in his, um, personal spot.

"YEOW!!!!!!!!!!!!" Ken cried out. He managed to roll a few feet away from Cyrax. Cyrax goes after him as Ken tries to break free from the net. Ken took the time to collect energy into his fist. He rolls past Cyrax so he could get out of the way of whatever the Lin Kuei robot is about to do to him. When Ken was ready, he punches through the net.

"SHO-RYU-KEN!!!!!!" Ken cried out. He managed to break free from the net and jump into the air. Cyrax stops in his tracks and looks up at his opponent.

Ken lands on his feet and stands in his fighting stance. Cyrax only stares at Ken. The two stare at each other for a few moments. Then, Cyrax runs after him and throws a series of punches at him. Ken blocks every one of them despite Cyrax's lightning speed. The audience watches them, their heads going side to side.

Then, Ken found and opening and punches Cyrax's face. Dips of black blood flies out of the robot.

Ken narrows his brown eyes. "I'm determined to win this tournament.....for Chun-Li!" He jumps in the air to get closer to Cyrax. He throws punches and kicks at Cyrax, but the robot blocks all of them. Ken could hear his friends cheering on for him. Ken found another opening and punches Cyrax in the abdomen. Cyrax pulls back, but Ken manages to throw more punches at him. Cyrax is now unable to block most of Ken's punches. Then, Cyrax's arm is snapped into two and the robot falls back.

"Finish him!" Ken heard Shang cry out.

Ken collected energy. "I'll do exactly what I did to Jade last night." He let's the ball of energy go. "HADOU-KEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" he shouts out. The energy hits Cyrax causing him to explode. Gadgets and black blood flew everywhere.

"Ken wins!" Shang cries out.

Ken walks back to his friends. "His soul won't be taken," said Sub-Zero. "Lin Kuei robots don't have souls."

Ken smirked. "Well, it was fun, but I made a promise to save Chun-Li."

"Good luck my friend," said Jax patting his shoulder.

Ken turned to Sonya and Rose. "Good luck in your tournaments. I hope to see you both alive when I get back."

The women smirked and nodded. Ken gets out of the way and sprints towards the mountains.

"Next!" Shang cries out. "Sonya versus Vega."

Sonya, the determination show in her face, steps into the outdoor right. Vega jumps in and smirks under his mask. "So, I get to fight a female this time. Lovely you are. Too bad you will die under my claws." He shows off his claws in front of his face.

Sonya gets into her fighting stance. "You will pay for what you did to Johnny."

"Begin!" Shang cries out. Sonya and Vega stared at each other in their fighting stances for a brief moment. Then, as fast as lightning, Vega does a couple of backward flips and then jumped in the air.

Sonya runs towards him, but Vega goes right behind her. She dodges out of the way and faces him again. Vega laughs under his mask and runs towards her, his claws raised and ready to strike. Sonya ducks and then stands right back up, her fist raised. She strikes Vega under his chin and he flies back. Vega lands hard on his back.

Sonya runs to him as Vega rolls into a ball and rolls fast at Sonya. He hits her a few times and then unrolls himself and strikes his claws. He only scratched Sonya's stomach.

"Sonya!" cried Jax.

Sonya ignored the pain and runs at him. Vega jumps in the air and lands behind her. As Sonya turned around, Vega slashes her arm. The blood flowed out.

"I'm not going to let a little weapon like yours kill me!" Sonya cried out. She tries to kick him, but Vega jumps backwards. Then, he jumps back at her again. Sonya jumps straight up and kicks Vega, this time knocking the wind out of him. Vega lands on his side. Sonya lands right on top of him and grabs his arm, which contained the claw. She twists Vega's arm snapping it in three places. Vega cried in pain. Sonya ripped the claw right off his hand and tossed it towards her friends. Honda catches it.

"Now let's see how you fight with your little weapon!" Sonya cried. He lifts him up by his broken arm and spins him around and then let go. Vega flies across the ring and lands hard on his broken arm. Vega held on to his arm in pain.

"Finish him!" Shang cried out.

Sonya runs up to him. "This is for Johnny Cage!" she cries out. She bends down and lifts herself up again, striking him hard enough in the chest just over his heart. She knew a blast like that would kill him. Vega falls back.

"Sonya wins!" Shang cries out.

Sonya looks down at the fallen Vega ready to hear his soul being taken. But then, Vega suddenly stood up.

"You really think a blast like that will kill me? Well, you're wrong." He jumps away and disappears.

"NO! GET BACK HERE!!!!!!!!" Sonya cried out. Tears formed in her eyes. She runs after Vega, but Jax stopped her. "Let me go!"

"Let him go, Sonya," Jax said. "I promise you that the next time you'll get him for good."

Sonya hugged Jax and sobbed in his arms. Originally, she had come to this tournament to destroy Shao Kahn and his Outworld army. Now, her heart was full of rage, wanting to avenge Johnny's death.

"Next," Shang says. "Rose versus Sagat!"

Sonya lets go of Jax and turns back to the ring. "(Win this fight, Rose)" Sonya thought. She became pretty close with Rose since they first met over a week ago.

Rose stands in her fighting stance and stares at the former Muay Thai champion. Sagat lifts up his fists and lifts up his heels from the ground.

"Begin!" Shang cries out.

Sagat puts out both of his hands. A boomerang shaped fire comes out of his hands. Rose ducks. Sagat bends down and does it again. Rose jumps over it. She runs after him and attempts to kick him, but Sagat blocks her. He attempts to kick her, but Rose jumps back. As she did, Sagat puts out his knee, jumps in the air and hits her in the shoulder. Rose gets up and jumps above him. She grabs him by the shoulders and turns upside down. She released some energy covering Sagat's head. After a few moments, Rose released him. Sagat, feeling dizzy, falls to the ground. Rose lands on her feet and goes back to her fighting stance.

Sagat gets up and runs after her again. He tries to elbow and knee her a few times, but Rose managed to block all of them. Then, Sagat bends his knees, makes a fist, and jumps up.

"Tiger Uppercut!!" he cried out. He hits Rose in the stomach and lifts her up. Then, Rose falls and hits her head against Sagat's head. Both fall to the ground unconscious.

"That was fast," said Guy.

"Well, at least it's a double knock out," replied Cody.

Or so they thought...........

Everyone became shocked as they heard a soft scream.

"Holy smokes!" cried Honda. "Sounds like it wasn't a double knock out after all."

The good fighters crossed their fingers hoping that Rose's soul wasn't taken. Then, they heard a groan. The audience was silent.

Sagat moved his arm.

"NO WAY!!!" cried Jax. He looked up at Shang. "It's a double knock out!"

"Not as you think," Shang said. "Sagat was only knocked out for a few moments. Rose hit her head hard enough to kill herself."

"(I don't believe that)" Jax thought as he hugged the sobbing Sonya. He looked at Rose. He could've sworn that just before her soul was taken that she was breathing.

***

"Nothing yet," said Fei-Long to Sub-Zero. It's been three hours since they were send off to find Dan and Mika.

"I believe we only have two miles to go," Sub-Zero said. "I hope we find them soon, so I can get back and kick Shang's ass for what he did to my brother." The two kept on walking.

Fei-Long looked at the former Lin Kuei ninja. "So, why did you come with me to find Dan and Mika?"

Sub-Zero smirked. "Well, I've heard a bunch of funny stories about Dan and I thought I'd meet him, plus I figured that this will only take the whole day."

"All right," Fei-Long said. Then, they heard a few footsteps behind them. The two turned around.

"Dan? Mika?" cried Fei-Long. "If you two are out there, stop fooling around and get over here. You two are missing the tournament."

Silence.

"Maybe the footsteps came from animals," Sub-Zero said.

Suddenly, the ground under their feet caved in. Fei-Long and Sub-Zero fall into the deep hole. They fell for probably a minute before landing on something soft.

"I'm surprised we didn't break a bone," Fei-Long said. The two got up and looked around. "Do you think this is where Dan and Mika fell to?"

"Maybe," Sub-Zero replied. Then, the two felt a presence from behind them.

"Someone's behind us," said Fei-Long. They turned around and became face to face with a man in a yellow Lin Kuei uniform. His white eyes stared coldly at them.

"Who is that?" Fei-Long asked Sub-Zero.

Sub-Zero narrowed his eyes. "A descendent of mine killed this man a long time ago. He goes by the name.........Scorpion."