From alt.games.mk Fri Jul 15 23:16:18 1994
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From: yol@lams.lams.losalamos.k12.nm.us (Jonathan)
Newsgroups: alt.games.mk
Subject: "The Scorpion Saga" (The First Tournament con.)
Date: 14 Jul 1994 06:48:16 GMT
Organization: Los Alamos National Laboratory
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"Round one.  Fight!"  It is now the third Endurance match. 
The one that I have waited for so long.  I am now squaring
off with Liu Kang, and we are fighting in Goro's Lair, which
still reeks of decaying skin.  He performs a flying kick,
which I duck and uppercut.  Kang then sends a fireball my
way, but I teleport punch and nail him on the back of the
head.  He jumps my sweep, and kicks me in the head from
midair, but I retaliate quickly, and uppercut him out of the
air.  Kang lands on the ground.  Sub-Zero jumps in.
	He seems ready for me, his mortal enemy.  But not ready
enough for my defensive strategies.  He throws his ice.  I
teleport punch and sweep him.  He tries to slide into me,
but I jump it and kick him in the same manner that Liu Kang
did  me.  I sweep him.  He tries to freeze me, but I
teleport behind him.  My punch did not reach him, however,
so I jump forward, preparing to launch a kick.  Sub-Zero
uppercuts me out of the air, then  slides into me.  He tries
to do it again, but I block the slide this time, and spear
and uppercut him.  I teleport punch.  He tries to uppercut
me, but he is too late.  I am behind him as he throws his
punch.  I sweep him and then throw him.  "Scorpion wins!"  I
spit on his body as the guards revive him.
	"Round two.  Fight!"  He freezes me.  I feel the cold
run through my body just before he uppercuts me.  He tries
to jump kick me, but I do a round kick, sending him flying
backwards before he can do the kick.  I teleport, but he
freezes me in midair.  He then throws me and slides into me. 
He jumps back.  I throw my spear and hit him before he
touches down.  "Get over here!"  Once he is reeled in and
close to me, I  pound him unmercifully with rapid jabs to
his chest and face.  I show no mercy.  All of the anger
built up inside me unleashes itself and pounds into Sub-Zero
with every blow.  Each punch gets stronger and harder and
more painful as more of my anger is unleashed.  He is out of
punching range now.  I whip out my spear and slice his
throat as he freezes me.  "Finish him!!"  No!  No again!  I
am frozen.   I cannot kill him.  More anger.  More anger. 
Powerful, unmerciful, agonizing anger builds up inside me. 
"Rrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaoooooooooooohhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
I scream as all of the raw anger and power melt into one and
attack the force that binds me--the ice.  The ice shatters
all around me.  I scream again, channeling my anger to the
few remaining pieces of ice still attached to my body.  They
shatter and fly off, some of the shards sticking into Sub-
Zero's body.  I rip off my hood and stare Sub-Zero in the
face, a look of sheer terror frozen upon it.  
	"Rot in hell," I say evenly and menacingly as I open my
mouth and unleash flames and more flames on Sub-Zero's body. 
I keep breate fire  at his feet again and again until the
only thing left of his pathetic body is a pile of smoking
ashes.  I burn the ashes.  I scatter them all over Goro's
Lair.  I stomp on them  I spit on  them.  I shred them with
my spear.  I burn them.  "Ha ha ha ha ha!!  Ah ha ha ha ha
ha!!"  Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!  Ha ha ha!!!"  I yell in
triumph as I stand over the scattered remains of Sub-Zero's
body.  I am very satisfied.  I murdered my murderer!  I got
my revenge!
	My triumph is short-lived, however.  I hear a loud
stomping noise behind me, followed by snarls and growls, and
then finally a tremendous roar.  I turn around toward the
source of the noises.  There, standing before me is a 550
pound four-armed behemoth.  He towers over me, at least
eight feet high, maybe more.  He stretches his arms out and
then brings them in and flexes his mighty muscles.  He roars
again and gets into a stance of some sort, moving his four
arms about.  I hear the deep voice in the background chant,
"Gorooooooo."
	"Round one.  Fight!"  This time the announcement is
quick, and somehow threatening.  Goro leaps high into the
air with remarkable agility.  I attempt to launch my spear,
but he is too quick.  He lands on my shoulders, forcing me
to the ground of his lair.  Then he proceeds to stomp on my
helpless body again and again.  He jumps off and flexes for
about three seconds, obviously showing off to his master. 
Wearily, I take this ego-grabbing time to throw my spear at
him.  It barely fazes him, but I still reel him in and
uppercut him.  I try to jump kick him, but he executes a
powerful backhand move, sending me flying at least three
meters high.  I try to teleport punch, but he performs a
devastating lunge punch, sending me sprawling to the
bloodstained floor.  "Goro wins!"
	"Round two.  Fight!"  The brute throws a green and
orange ball of energy my way, knocking me off balance.  Then
he punches me in the same manner that he did when he beat me
the previous round.  I throw my spear.  He rejects it, and
throws his energy ball once more.  He leaps towards me.  I
counter with a short jump kick.  He falls, but quickly gets
up in a sort of weird summersault get-up, I'm not sure what
to call it.  But, then again, I don't have much time to
watch it.  I try to jump away, but the champion is faster,
and backhands me as I begin to get airborne.  Then he
approaches me, and before I can do anything, he grabs me
with his lower two arms and proceeds to pound relentlessly
on my chest with the upper two.  He then slams me, face
first to the ground.  "Goro wins!  Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
ha ha. . . . . . . ."
	"Whaaaa!" a high-pitched, Oriental sounding kia wakes
me.  I look around, disoriented.  I am lying somewhere in a
dark place on a hard surface.  Somewhere to my right, I hear
the sounds of a fight taking place.  I see a broken skeleton
lying next to me, and another one shackled to a wall. 
Suddenly, I remember where I am--Goro's Lair.  And someone
is fighting.  I get up and walk to the wall that blocks my
view of the fight.  There I see Goro being beaten by none
other than Liu Kang.  I hear another kia as Kang performs
his flying kick on Goro, sending him falling backwards. 
"Liu Kang wins!"  He flexes and then folds his hands in a
praying position.  Goro remains motionless.  No one comes to
revive him.  I come out of the shadows and approach him.  He
spins around in a fighting stance.  I hold my arms up to
indicate that I have no intention of hurting him.
	"Excellent fight, Liu Kang," I say. "You just killed
that "man" that defeated me."
	"With ease, may I say." he grins.
	Suddenly Tsung appears before us.  "Liu Kang!" he
shouts in a tone that I've never heard him use before.  He
is always so calm and in control.  Now he seems enraged, the
devil he is.
	"Liu Kang!" he repeats. "You have done what no mortal
man has done in 500 years!  You have defeated Goro!  Now,
you must endure the greatest challenge of your life--the
shape-shifter.  Shang Tsung!"  He throws off his heavy dark
blue cloak, revealing his blue and brown robes, and moves
away from Liu Kang in a fight stance.  Well, not really a
"stance."  Just a position.  He has no legs.  
	"Good luck, Liu Kang," I say as I move back into the
shadows to watch the fight.
	"Thank you," he says.  Then he turns to face Tsung and
says, "I shall now reclaim the tournament from you Shang
Tsung!  The tournament that rightfully belongs to the
Shaolin temples!  And I will destroy you, you demon!"
	No one says "fight."  Tsung just throws a barrage of
fireballs like he did to me earlier.  Kang ducks them, and
jumps toward Tsung, kicking leg extended.  But, when he
lands, Tsung is not there.  He has disappeared!  He
reappears about a meter away from Kang.  Liu Kang throws a
fireball, hitting Tsung in center chest.  Suddenly, Tsung
metamorphoses into Johnny Cage, and fires a shadow kick. 
Kang ducks this and uppercuts him out of it.  Now Tsung has
teleported behind Liu Kang, and has assumed the form of
Raiden.  Kang throws his fireball, but Raiden launches his
torpedo attack, crushing Kang's body against the wall.  Kang
retaliates quickly, however and does a flying kick, hitting
Raiden as he lands.  Tsung is back to his "normal" self
again, and throws six fire balls which Liu Kang ducks. 
Tsung morphs into Goro, and sends a fireball Kang's way. 
Kang jumps over it and jump kicks Tsung.  "Liu Kang wins!"
	"Yes!" I holler from the shadows.  Tsung is back to his
original form and looks angry.  The second round begins,
again without anyone saying 'fight.'  This time, Tsung's
fireballs catch Kang  as he jumps.  Each one hits him. 
Tsung launches another barrage.  Kang jumps over them,
however, jump kicks Tsung, and hits him with a flying kick
before he can land.  He moves back.  Tsung morphs into
Sonya, who does her flying punch.  Kang simply uppercuts her
as she comes down.  Tsung is himself again.  Suddenly,
something comes over Liu Kang.  Something similar to what
came over me during my match with Sub-Zero.  Anger builds up
inside his agile body.  He breathes deeply.  Then he kias
loud and long, his voice ringing and echoing through the
tunnels of Goro's Lair.  Then he delivers the most powerful,
and most devastating flying kick I have ever seen him
perform.  The kick slams into Tsung's worthless face.  Blood
flies everywhere.  I see bits and fragments of shattered
bone erupt from Tsung's face.  Liu Kang's kick sends Tsung's
frail body flying three meters away.  I hear a bloodcurdling
scream of pain come from Tsung.  But it is droned out by Liu
Kang's piercing cry of triumph.  
	Suddenly, I feel the whole building structure begin to
shake, and blinding, flashing lights come from all over. 
Tsung's body is lifted off the ground by some unknown force. 
He now floats there, limbs and body moving wildly about. 
Then, I see the image of Sonya fly out of his body, and burn
to ashes.  Then Sub-Zero flies out, and also burns, much to
my satisfaction, even though I'd already killed him.  Then
an image of me flies out, and burns.  I am horrified for the
moment, but then I realize that it's not really me that is
burning.  It is my evil soul that Tsung possessed.  Now I
feel much better with it burnt.  Next comes an image of Liu
Kang.  Then Raiden.  Then Kano.  Then finally Johnny Cage. 
They all burn.  Somewhere in the distance I hear the
distinct sound of a cymbal crashing, signaling that Shang
Tsung's reign of terror over the tournament. . .  is
destroyed.

Next. . . . . . . . 'Departure'--part V in "The Scorpion Saga"