From alt.games.mk Fri Jul 15 23:15:24 1994 Path: panix!zip.eecs.umich.edu!newsxfer.itd.umich.edu!nntp.cs.ubc.ca!psgrain!charnel.ecst.csuchico.edu!nic-nac.CSU.net!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!lll-winken.llnl.gov!fnnews.fnal.gov!nntp-server.caltech.edu!mustang.mst6.lanl.gov!newshost.lanl.gov!usenet From: yol@lams.lams.losalamos.k12.nm.us (Jonathan) Newsgroups: alt.games.mk Subject: "The Scorpion Saga" (Part 4 of ?" Date: 14 Jul 1994 06:15:57 GMT Organization: Los Alamos National Laboratory Lines: 324 Message-ID: <302l6t$o0k@newshost.lanl.gov> NNTP-Posting-Host: transitory14.lanl.gov X-Newsreader: WinVN version 0.80 Part IV Due to length, I must post 'The First Tournament' in more than one part. They will all be posted tonight, however so you won't have to wait. In the headings, I will title each of these parts "The Scorpion Saga" (The First Tournament con.) just so you'll know what I'm talking about. I will probably have to do the same with 'The Second Tournament.' The First Tournament by Jonathan Harrell I awaken early the next morning. I am lying on a cheap bed in a tiny room with only one window that's about half a meter high, and four dull, stone, walls. Not that I really expected fancy living quarters during my stay at the tournament grounds, but still, it's very uncomfortable. I dress and leave my room. The sun has just peeked over the distant horizon, shining light over the humid island. I see a figure running up to me. As he nears more details come into focus: He is a semi-tall man, dressed in black and white Japanese garments, and wearing a Samurai-style mask over his face, hiding his features. As he approaches, I can see that he is clutching a paper. As he comes even closer, I can see that there is writing on it. "Scorpion!" he calls out to me. He stops a meter away from me and bows respectfully. "Master Shang Tsung has a message for you." he hands me the paper that he has been carrying. I take it in my hand and examine it. Written on the yellowed paperin old, Oriental-style handwriting is: Battle Plan - Liu Kang Sonya Blade Raiden Kano Johnny Cage Sub-Zero Mirror Match Endurance Matches - 1.) Cage and Raiden 2.) Kano and Sonya 3.) Liu Kang and Sub-Zero Goro Shang Tsung I look at the paper, realizing that it has the order of the fights. I look back at the black and white clothed man that brought this to me. He is gone. No, wait. There he is. He beckons to me to follow him. I do. This is the first time during my story that I am told where to go, instead of already knowing. I like the other feeling much better. He leads me to a courtyard of some sort. Seated to my left are rows and rows of bald-headed monks, quietly speaking to one another. Seated high above them, in a sort of press box, is Shang Tsung, undoubtedly here to watch the fight. The warrior that led me here now clutches a long spear, and is kneeling next to two other men that look exactly like him. Off to my right, I see a slim, but muscular, Chinese man being led to the opposite side of the floor, obviously Liu Kang. I finger my spear, concealed in my ninja outfit. The spear gives me an assuring feeling, knowing that I have a deadly weapon at my disposal, whenever I need it. I face my opponent. His non-changing gaze is fixed upon me. I stare at him through cold, white, pupil-less eyes, trying to intimidate him. It is not working. This young fighter does not seem the least bit scared or nervous. Unlike me. I feel very nervous. This is not my first tournament; I have been in many before. So that is not the reason I am nervous. This particular fighter does not look like much of a threat to my immortal eyes. So I do not believe that that is the reason either. I think it's because of the mystique of this place. The strange, supernatural powers that this island possesses. That is what makes me nervous. Before I know what is happening, I hear a deep voice-- the same voice I heard in the field--ring out: "Round One. FIGHT!" This Liu Kang is surprisingly fast. As soon as those words leave the mouth of their speaker (whoever that may be), Kang sends a blazing red streak of energy in my direction. I have no time to react. The orange bolt strikes me in the chest. I scream as smoke rises from my chest, and a sizzling sound is heard. My chest is burning from the fire that has just hit it. Immediately after the fireball hit me, Kang suddenly launches his entire body forward with his right leg extended outward in perfect form. His flying kick crashes into my burning chest with such force, it knocks me to the ground. As soon as I hit, I spring forward, executing one of the quick get-ups that Kang Tsing taught me so many years before. My master must have never anticipated that this particular quick get-up would be preformed as a fireball was being launched. The moment I start this maneuver, Kang throws another bolt of energy at me, which hits me in the forehead as I begin to get to my feet. My pain right now is unimaginable, but still, I fight it. Liu Kang spins around to deliver a spinning hook kick to my face. But I quickly duck, and, as he misses me with his foot, I send my right fist up in an arch to deliver a very powerful uppercut, striking my opponent on the chin. Pints of bright red blood erupt from his body as he soars high in the air, and then falls to the hard, rocky ground below. The bald monks do not try to hide their enthusiasm and awe of this powerful move. Somewhere in the distance, I hear the voice chant, "Excellent!" As Liu Kang gets up, I deliver one of my much-practiced combinations. I begin with a jump kick, as he begins to leap off the ground. It connects, sending him reeling backwards. I follow it up with my teleporting punch that strikes him in the jugular. As soon as I land, I reach into my suit and reveal my spear and cord, and launch it towards my opponent. The spear lodges itself into Kang's throat, making him gag and choke. I reel him in for a devastating uppercut. Again, I hear "Excellent!" Then, as I move closer to my downed foe, I realize that he is not moving. I hear the voice say, "Scorpion wins!" The monks begin to clap. Even Shang Tsung claps. I raise my hand in victory, feeling very proud. I look back to where Liu Kang had been lying, and see two men trying to revive him. They succeed, and soon, Liu Kang is up and ready to fight. "Round Two. Fight!" Kang launches a fireball at the start of the match, but I am ready for it. I teleport punch. He misses me, and I strike him in the throat. I follow this up with a foot sweep, knocking him on his back. I teleport again. This time, though right into Kang's flying kick. As I get up, I see Kang jumping at me, preparing to deliver a jump kick. As he nears me, I begin punching high, catching him with each blow, not allowing him to kick, or fall. Finally, though he is juggled out of reach of my punches and falls to the ground. I teleport punch, tagging him on his face, which spews blood as I hit. I follow this up with a volley of punches aimed for his chest. Soon, I hear the words "Finish Him!!" erupt from the crowd. Liu Kang just stands there, head and upper torso swaying back and forth, side to side; dazed. Unclear on what to do, I simply deliver a backhand strike to his temple, causing him to topple over. "Scorpion wins!" the voice says again. Instead of trying to revive Liu Kang, this time the men lift his slightly-moving body off the battle ground. Slowly, the crowd of monks thins. Leaving me alone with Shang Tsung. He stands. "Well done, Scorpion," he says. "Next time, however why don't you actually finish off your opponent." "What do you mean?" I ask. "You have been given the power of fire, Scorpion. Use it. After all, these are death matches, are they not? Why don't you put a little death in your matches?" He slowly disappears, leaving me alone in the Courtyard. I have long since left the Courtyard, and am now looking over the list of fights Shang Tsung sent me. I see that my next opponent is Sonya Blade. Ha! A woman. This will be an easy fight. A woman, in a tournament of Mortal Kombat. I can win this without any of my weapons at all! I have been led to the same place through which I entered when I first came to the tournament grounds. I have been told that this place is called the Palace Gates. There is no audience to speak of, only three warriors kneeling in the distance. I come to the conclusion that these warriors are guards of some sort. I will call them 'guards' from here on in my story. I am facing Sonya Blade, who does not look like a threat to me, either. She is in excellent physical condition, however. Sonya appears to be a military woman judging from her uniform. Why she decided to enter this tournament I do not know. "Round one. Fight!" the voice says; I still do not know who it is that says these words. Immediately, I launch my spear. What the--? She flew over my spear! I tossed my spear, and she just leaped up into the air, and flew over it! I feel her legs wrap around my waist from behind. Then I feel myself being yanked backwards. My head slams against the hard ground. I scream in agony as I rise. Once I get to my feet, Sonya hits her black wristbands together, sending waves of pink energy my way. It slams into my face. It does not sting nearly as much as Liu Kang's fireball, but it still hurts. I teleport as she prepares to launch another barrage of energy waves. I hit her from behind and follow it up with a spear and uppercut combination. I jump towards her, preparing to deliver a jump kick. She launches her body upwards, and towards me, the same way she avoided my spear at the beginning of the match, and I collide with her fist in midair. I am sent falling to the ground far below. I am about a meter away from hitting when I am. . . caught? Caught by her strong legs, which then proceed to slam my face in the concrete. I lie there, unmoving. I hear the muffled voice say something like "Ona inns," which I believe to be "Sonya wins!" I feel hands on my face and upper torso, shaking me. Ice cold water is splashed on my face, at least, the part of my face that is showing. I groggily rise to my feet. I feel dizzy and queasy as I stand. I begin to sway back and forth, I am so dizzy. Hands grab my shoulders to steady me. "Can you fight?" a voice says. Not 'Are you okay?', or 'Can I help?' No. It is 'Can you fight?' I nod my head. I face off against Sonya. "Round two. Fight!" Immediately, I jump forward, ready to launch a jump kick. Sonya performs her flying punch which nails me in midair. I fall to the ground, only to be caught by her powerful legs that slam me to the ground. She fires her energy rings at me, which I instinctively duck, and counter with an uppercut, sending her flying. Blood erupts from the cuts on her face as she soars through the air. I teleport, only to be tagged by an uppercut from my female opponent. I hear the 'oohs' and 'ahhs' from the crowd as I fall, even though there is no crowd. Strange. I have no time to think about this, however for Sonya sweeps me once I get up, and follows this up with her annoying leg grab. I am very tired and hurt now. Almost too weary to go on. She gets up close to me and performs a mini uppercut to my bleeding chin. "Finish Him!!" The words strike terror in my heart, even though I've heard them before. But this time, Tsung wants her to finish me! Clouds cover the sky. What was once a beautiful day, is now a dark and gloomy one. I have no time to look at the sky, however. Sonya starts to blow me a kiss. Ha! What a fatality! But to my horror, I see a fire ball form inside her palm. She exhales, blowing the fireball towards me. I watch, helplessly as the fireball lands at my feet and starts to quickly burn my entire body. Soon, I am completely engulfed in flames. Then, nothing. Darkness. Then, as my eyes adjust to the darkness, I see a yellow light. It takes me a few moments to realize that the yellow light is coming from the moon. I am outside. I sit up and look around. I am alone. I am lying on the stone ground of the Palace Gates. I remember my match against Sonya, and her kiss of death that she so sweetly gave to me. I guess she's tougher than I thought. I rise. I am angry. I will kill her, I think. I must kill her. I pull out my crumpled up battle plan from a hidden pocket. I will fight Sonya tomorrow. And kill her. Then I will fight Raiden. Raiden . . . . . . . That name sounds vaguely familiar. Just like the name Johnny Cage. I know I have heard them somewhere before. I just can't remember where. I cannot sleep. I feel no need to. I remain awake all night long at the Palace Gates, meditating and preparing for my rematch against Sonya Blade tomorrow. Shang Tsung appears before me. "I see your immortality has paid off," he says. "What do you want?" I ask, slightly annoyed at his interruption of my meditation. He frowns, "Now, Scorpion, is that any way to treat the grandmaster of this tournament? Your host? I think not. You should treat me with more respect, as if I were a god." That's it! That's where I've heard the name Raiden: Raiden is the Japanese god of thunder. I knew I'd heard it somewhere before. But what is a god doing in this tournament? But I still can't remember where I've heard the name Johnny Cage before. "I want to fight Sonya again, and destroy her," I say. "Oh, I'm afraid that's not possible," Tsung says. "She is already going to do battle with Raiden tomorrow morning. Perhaps, however she will win. Then you may fight her. But I doubt it." "Well," I reason, "what if he doesn't kill her? Like I didn't kill Liu Kang?" "Oh, he will," his voice seems to trail off for a moment, as if he had something else on his mind. "He will." Then he is gone. I continue to prepare, even though I may not get to fight Sonya. I am now standing on a high ledge in the Courtyard next to Shang Tsung. Below me are hundreds of bald monks, engrossed in the battle taking place between Sonya Blade and Raiden far below. It is the third round, now, and Raiden seems to have the upper hand. Upon arriving at my spot to the right of Tsung's spectator's box, I find that it is more than just a place to observe the fights. There seems to be an emergency exit on the floor, right below his chair. I assume this is for Tsung to escape easily if things get out of hand with the fights. Where it leads, I do not know. Although I imagine that beneath it is a series of winding tunnels, each leading to different places on the island. I hear the monks gawk in awe at the fatal uppercut, just delivered by Raiden. "Finish Her!!" the mysterious words sound even louder up here. Raiden slowly walks up to his defeated foe. Suddenly the clouds cover the bright blue sky, as they did when Sonya killed me. Raiden draws back, and then thrusts his hands forward, while screaming something like, "Aaahrriaaliaaaaaaaaah!" Lightning flows from his body through his hands, and into Sonya, who is flashing light shades of blue from the electric shock. Then, to my utmost horror, her head seems to explode, blood erupting like a mad volcano from her neck. Her lifeless body splashes into the huge pool of bright red blood, as Raiden raises his arms to the sky, allowing lightning to strike them. "Raiden wins. Fatality." The monks clap. I look over at Shang Tsung. He is clapping loudly, a huge smile across his face. I look away in disgust. What a sick man. A sick, disrespectful man. "Finish him!!" The words ring out loud and clear in my ears. I walk up to Raiden, whos body is swaying back and forth, near the statue of himself. We are fighting in a place called the Warrior Shrine, by Shang Tsung. There are seven statues in the background, one of which looks exactly like Sub-Zero and myself. The sky turns dark. I feel my blood pounding, my adrenaline pumping. I feel power. I sleekly remove my hood, exposing my gray skull. I hear gasps from the invisible audience. I turn toward the thunder god, and unleash a streak of fire down at his feet. I hear him scream as the fire slowly makes its way up his body, burning him. It reaches his head, and then the tip of his rice gathering hat. Then, he is completely engulfed in the orange flames. Slowly the flames dissipate, revealing his charred, gray skeleton, which falls to floor. I am amazed at what I just did. "Scorpion wins. Fatality." I feel power. Raw power. Next. . . . . . 'The First Tournament' continued Jonathan