From alt.games.mk Sat Jun 18 15:07:18 1994 Path: panix!zip.eecs.umich.edu!newsxfer.itd.umich.edu!gumby!yale!yale!yale.edu!xlink.net!nntp.gmd.de!Germany.EU.net!EU.net!uunet!news.delphi.com!usenet From: Stephen Karstensen Newsgroups: alt.games.mk Subject: The Tournament: part III Date: Sat, 18 Jun 94 03:05:13 -0500 Organization: Delphi (info@delphi.com email, 800-695-4005 voice) Lines: 287 Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: bos1d.delphi.com The Tournament part 3 Kang surveyed the throne room. It was empty; the gold throne stood bare, and all was quiet. "Shang Tsung!" Liu Kang cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted their host's name. "Show yourself, murderer!" "You show no respect for your elders, Liu Kang." Kang whirled at the sound of the voice, and the ancient one regarded him from the entry. "You killed Sonya and Kano." Kang snarled, anger building inside him in a very un-disciplined fashion. "I contradict you, Kang." Shang Tsung's voice was thin and noble, but condescending. "Sub Zero struck Sonya's death blow, and Kano killed the Lin Kuei, Scorpion. Raiden dealt Kano his hand, and soon you and the movie star will join them." "Never." Kang snapped. "Cage and I are first going to bring your runaway God under control, and then your reign of terror will end. You will not bring about the deaths of any more warriors!" "We'll see. You wish to encounter Raiden, you will have it granted." Liu Kang jumped as the soft carpeting under his feet suddenly became stone, and the sky above him darkened. He looked behind him, and then back to the front. Somehow, Shang Tsung had transported him to another place...a narrow stone ledge across a deep chasm. A Pit. The cylindrical pillars that supported the ledge were studded at regular intervals with long, sharpened sword blades, dripping with fresh blood and pointing at an upward slant. The bottom floor of the pit was also filled with these long spikes, and a n occasional body was rammed in among them. Kang retreated to the edge of the bridge as thunder struck. Seconds later, Raiden appeared in all of his electric fury, standing near the opposite end. A slow, sadistic smile spread across Raiden's face. "Your supposed discipline will not help you here, mortal. It's lonely at the bottom of the Pit, but Reptile will feast on your flesh." Kang's eyes narrowed, and he leaped as Raiden launched himself. Liu Kang collided with the God, striking him in the head with one knee. Raiden grappled with him, tossing him onto his back and letting loose with a lightning bolt. Kang rolled aside as the electricity gouged a chunk out of the stone ledge. Liu Kang's mind clouded in sudden panic. Raiden was quicker than anyone he'd ever fought, and it was all he could do to keep away from him. A second lightning bolt cracked overhead, and as Kang caught Raiden's gaze, he saw the bloodlust in the God's glowing eyes. "Clear your mind, my son." Kang's eyes widened in surprise as the voice of his elder father sounded in his head. "Let go of your fear and flow like the mighty rivers." Liu Kang bowed his head, letting his former studies in meditation take over. Do not think or worry...merely act. Raiden leaped, a foot outstretched in a brutal flying kick. Liu Kang dropped to his back, catching the God in a flip. Raiden hit the stone surface back-first, breath rushing out of his lungs in a horrible gasp. He glowed white for a moment, then wa s in a standing position. A loud shriek issued forth, and Liu Kang shot forward, left leg extended. He literally flew along the horizontal axis, spanning the length of the ledge while six feet off the surface, his heel striking Raiden square in the chest. The God staggered, and Kang flipped over in his finishing windmill kick, delivering the final uppercut. Raiden screamed as the punch catapulted him off the ledge, into the depths of the Pit below. His scream was cut short as he hit the spikes, their sharp points piercing his flesh and impaling him. Blood pooled under the God's body as he squirmed, groaning....then was still. Kang panted hard as he watched the agonized struggles of Raiden gradually cease....and was aware of a faintly evil hissing. He spun, panic rising again, trying to locate the source of the sound. It was coming from the bottom of the Pit. A figure clad in green and black stood among the spikes, crouched in a reptilian fashion. It wore an outfit similar to the Lin Kuei Sub Zero, but where the Ice Assassin wore blue, this spectre was green. It raised its head and beckoned. "You have found me...now prove yourself." Kang shook his head. "I have more important things to take care of." "Master Shang Tsung is not your concern." The creature hissed, its evil gaze boring into Kang like a drill. "I, Reptile, am your death." The creature sprang, and Kang stepped aside. Reptile flew past him, and Kang delivered a kick that sent him back down before breaking into a run through the blackened archway. Reptile landed gracefully among the spikes, staring after Kang in hatred. "We will meet again, Lotus. And you will die." The archway opened up into a stonewalled dungeon, its walls spattered with thick gore and the occasional bone here and there. A permeating, animalistic growl echoed through the darkness as Kang let his eyes get used to the dim light. Suddenly, Kang felt a frigid projectile strike his back. He froze, unable to move due to the icy coating that bound him. A punch was landed into the back of his neck, and when he regained his feet, Sub Zero stood before him. "I wish to strike a deal with you, Lotus. Your death is not my concern." "I don't deal with assassins," Kang stated simply. "Your loss." The Ice Ninja stated. "But our missions are-" His words were cut short as he was seized from out of the darkness of a vaulted stone archway by four thick, orange claws. The fingers were stubby and powerful, the nails blackened and split. Sub Zero was yanked back into the darkness, then thrown forcefully to the ground. He tumbled from the blackness, and lay still, groaning. Liu Kang struck a defensive stance against whatever hideous manifestation would come from the blackened arch, but before it happened, the twang of a rope drew his attention. A spearhead whistled through the air, striking Sub Zero's body. The rope pulled tight, and Scorpion dragged the unconscious form toward him. Scorpion raised his head to gaze at Kang, and his eyese were the sparks of hellfire. "Do not interfere. I desire only the Ice Ninja." Sub Zero began to stir, and suddenly sprang to his feet as he became aware of his surroundings. Scorpion tore the spearhead from his opponent, gripping him by the throat. "You will die for your crimes, Lin Kuei." Scorpion snarled, his voice the roar of a burning evil. "The blood you have spilled for profit will be avenged by this death." Then, the grasp weakened, as Scorpion's body began to tremble. The fire in his eyes died, as his voice cracked with sudden tears. Faintly, he began to speak again. "No...I didn't ask for this...I won't kill him....please, let me rest in peace!" Sub Zero broke the hold and staggered backward, still groggy from his earlier attack. A spreading red stain from the spearhead covered his shoulder as he favored his right arm. Scorpion's hand was raising, but shaking as the fingers stretched outward. He gripped his own hood, pulling at it with great difficulty. "No...I will fight you...stop...!" The trembling became a violent shiver, as the hood pulled loose. His head snapped backward as from his throat issued a howl of sobbing terror. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooo!!!" Scorpion's hand yanked the hood away, revealing not a head of hair nor a face, but a hideously grinning skull, caked with the dirt of a grave. Sub Zero took a step back, his eyes widening in fear for the first time in his life. A gout of flame spewed forth from the gaping maw of the skull's jaws, striking the ground at Sub Zero's feet, then coiling up to encase him in a wreath of fire. He raised his hands, the flames spreading quickly, and writhed in pain, his own head snap ping backward in an undecipherable howl of agony. The dungeon walls shook with the echo of the explosion that followed as Sub Zero's flaming body burst, the sizzling bones bouncing off of the stone as they struck the ground. Scorpion dropped to his knees , a whining sob hissing from the depths of the skull. He clutched at the ground, whimpering. Then, from behind, a fist appeared out of the darkness. It grappled Scorpion by the head, yanking him off his feet, then crushing the skull in one powerful contraction. The lifeless body fell to the ground, still twitching slightly as the horror behind the hand stepped into the light. The statue in the courtyard did this thing no justice, as it stomped forward with its two-toed feet. Orange skin, four arms ending in thick, powerful fingers, and ropy muscles that any bodybuilder would be proud of were the main features, but in its nearly human face was the terrible light of intelligence, and that made it all the more evil. "You fought well." It rumbled. "But you will kneel before Goro, and pay homage to Shang Tsung, your master." Kang tried not to tremble in fear as Goro struck the archway with one of his fists, his massive strength splintering fragments of rock that fell to the ground. Goro advanced, his hands curling in anticipation. Liu Kang struck him in the chest with a kick, but Goro was like a stone wall. He flinched only in the slightest before launching Kang into a wall with a punch that held the strength of a sledgehammer . Kang groaned, then groggily stumbled to his feet, only barely able to duck aside as Goro grabbed at him again. The voice of his grandfather, whom Kang had never known, suddenly sounded as clearly as if he had been in the chamber. "Redirect your anger. Vent it at your enemy, but control it." Kang put both hands together, his fury venting forth and manifesting itself in an orange bolt of flame that lanced outward and struck Goro dead-on. The angry brute growled in pain, his flesh darkening where the fire hit. A few wisps of smoke curled up from the burn, yet Goro had no time to recover. Kang launched himself next, sailing forward along some unseen horizontal plane to drive one outst retched foot into Goro's chest. The huge creature toppled, but hauled itself back up only to take a kick in the jaw. Kang combined kicks and punches with skill, but they only seemed to enfuriate the four-armed monster. An uppercut sent Goro reeling, but when Kang flew at him in yet another kick, Goro blocked it and then grabbed the young monk with his lower arms. Liu Kang writhed in his crushing grip, then howled in pain as Goro began to slam him with his upper arms, hands balled into fists that moved with the power of pile drivers. Just when Kang thought his chest would cave in, he broke free, driving his kn ee into Goro's groin. He vaulted head over heels into his now-trademark windmill, both feet smacking into Goro's skull. When Goro's fist knocked Kang backward out of the lair and onto the Pit's bridge, he knew something was wrong. Goro appeared in the archway, bloodied and bruised, but furious. Kang vented again, another fireball slamming into Goro's chest, knocking him off balance. A second bolt of flame knocked the huge monster off the ledge, and his roar was that of a wounded lion when his heavy frame struck the spikes. Liu Kang sprinted wearily back into Goro's Lair, the pain in his chest weakening him horribly. All was quiet, the now-pitiful, whining growls of Goro slowly dying on the Pit's bottom fading gradually as the creature's life slipped away. "Well done, young Lotus." The voice, crackling with age but brimming with inner strength, startled Kang out of his wits. He spun around, trying to locate its source. "I am impressed. You are the first to have survived Goro in five centuries. Even the great Kung Lao fell before him. Such a loss." At the mention of this, Kang's temper exploded, and it was all he could do to keep from trembling. The Elders never mentioned Kung Lao except in praise, mourning the fall of such a great warrior. And now he knew what had happened....and it answered a good many questions. "But your victory will be short-lived. You cannot survive Shang Tsung's sorcery. Welcome to your death, young Lotus." The old one himself stepped from the shadows, his features crinkled in a grin. Out of nowhere, the deep voice sounded out: "ROUND ONE...FIGHT!" Kang bristled in confusion. Was he to fight an old man? What trick was this? Shang Tsung wasted no time, lifting his hands and touching the wrists together. After a brief glow of yellow, a flaming inferno erupted from the palms, and the screaming whiteness of a flaming skull blasted forth. Kang barely dove aside as it struck the wall, exploding with a loud boom. Shielding his eyes for a moment against the spray of rock, Kang did not see what happened next. Shang Tsung's body wavered, and his form began to remold, as soft clay in the hands of a sculptor. In a mere second, the woman known as Sonya stood where Tsung had moments ago. When Liu Kang stood, he jumped in confusion. What was this? He vaulted backward as Sonya-Tsung crouched, firing a purple set of concentric rings of energy at him. But it was a trick, and the real attack was to come. As Kang was in the air, Sonya leaped straight up, her body travelling along a right-angle in mid-air to snap forward with a powerful punch that knocked him back down. As Sonya landed, she changed again, and Raiden stood next, his body brimming with electrical energy. Liu Kang ducked, his hair standing on end as a lightning bolt flew overhead. Then, he flew. His now-patented horizontal kick rocketed him across the lair, slamming into Raiden's chest and knocking him flat on his back. As he hit the ground, the God morphed again. Sub Zero sprang to his feet and tripped Kang with a foot sweep. Kang recovered, and let loose with a quick double blast of flame from his hands, slamming Sub Zero against the nearest wall. But when the smoke cleared, Scorpion's spear flew forth and buried itself into the young monk's shoulder. "C'MERE!" Scorpion decked him, and when Kang stood again, Shang Tsung was again facing him. Strike while his body is old, Kang thought. He launched, sailing horizontally yet again, striking the old sorcerer in the face. Two forward kicks followed, and three punches, with an uppercut. Shang Tsung slowly rose, reeling. Without the strength of the younger forms, he took damage more readily. Once more, Raiden appeared, and flew toward Kang shakily. Liu Kang stood, and slammed his fist into Raiden's skull as he came near. The flight was broken, as Shang Tsung returned to his normal form and fell backward on his butt. He's strong, Kang thought. How much more can he take? As Shang Tsung stood, putting his hands together for another salvo of flaming skulls, Kang stopped him with a blast of his own, striking him with another flying kick, then vaulting up and over in the windmill. Both feet struck the ancient one's head in succession, and the resulting uppercut split Shang Tsung's lower lip as he flew high into the air. The old man stood again, reeling. Kang adopted a cat's stance, waiting. As he did, he noticed a faint glow permeating the Lair. Shang Tsung's body was vibrating. "Scorpion!" The deep, hideous voice that served as fight announcer called to the yellow ninja, as a faint mist split off from Shang Tsung's body, with the faint shape and rainment of the called. Scorpion howled in despair as he was consumed by fire, then faded from view. "Kano!" The gangster was next, his shriek that of anger and revenge. But before he could voice any words, a look of surprise took him, and he swirled upwards through the ceiling and was gone. "Raiden!" The ghost of Raiden hissed viciously, and raised both fists. "I am Raiden, God of the storm! You cannot dispatch me this easily! I will return, Shang Tsung! You will PAAAYYYyyyy...." A blue flash of acrid smoke and electrical discharge followed Raiden's dispersal. "Sub Zero!" There was a pause, as a mist of blue smoke poured forth...but no image of the Ice Ninja. Odd. "Sonya!" The woman was next, and her features bore the same surprise as Kano, She followed his upward path, and was absorbed into the ceiling without comment. Kang stared in horror as Shang Tsung crumpled to the ground...then he turned and ran. And behind him, the smoldering body began to smoke and jitter, then burst into flame and was consumed.