Now, the time has come for the fights to begin. As it would be too long to include ALL the fights in one chapter, they'll be broken down into 5-9 fights per chapter, depending on time, space, etc.

"So, you're the box-office superstar, Johnny Cage. If I couldn't feel your aura, I would've called you a fake. If your half as good as you are in the movies, I may actually have an interesting match."

"Ken Masters, the All-American Karate champ. I would have thought that those fights were rigged, seeing as how you always won. Few are that good! I agree, this should prove to be a most interesting match. Care to make the first move?"

"That will be your first mistake against me, pal!"

"Only way to find out for sure, so stop gabbing and start fighting."

Ken leapt in with a roundhouse, which almost caught Cage across the nose, but he moved so that it hit him over the shoulder instead. Not waiting for idle chatter, Ken rushed in with a series of punches, kicks, and went to finish with a hurricane kick. Cage dodge the initial blows, but was caught by the last few hits of the hurricane kick.

Not good, Cage thought. I guess he was right, that was my first mistake, but it won't be my last. You will make some yourself, Ken.

Just then, in mid rush, Ken stopped, and looked at Cage. No, it was like he was looking through him at something behind him. He was debating if it was some ploy to allow Ken a quick win, or if there was some unknown danger approaching. Shouldn't the Alpha-Omega be over-watching to make sure nobody interfered. Well, considering how it had the power to limit Shinnok, Khan, and Tsung, it should, but...oh what the Hell! Ken's an honorable fighter. With that, Cage took a quick glance behind him, and froze. When the fight started, they were in a sort of woods, in the middle of the night. Now, slowly before his eyes, it was changing it to broad day! The trees we starting to fade, and in their place were statues. Statues of the original Mortal Kombatants.

"Why, it's The Hall Of Champions! How in the world did we get here?"

In a puff of smoke, one of Tsung's soccers appeared. Cage was about to fight now and ask later, when a loud voice boomed from around the figure.

The sound's coming not from him, but from around him, how? Wait!

"Yes, Johnny Cage, it is I, the Alpha-Omega. I have transported you to something you are familiar with. That way, you may have a variety of scenery, as it were. Now, if you will, continue."

Cage could see that Ken was still trying to grasp what had just happened. Well, Ken, it seems that you've made your mistake, so I'll return the favor to you!

Ken was hit hard by the Shadow kick. As he got up, Cage knocked him back down with his Shadow Upper. Ken was starting to reel, and Cage wasn't letting up. He hit Ken with a small green flame, hurting Ken farther. He then threw a low arc flame, followed by a high arc flame. He then ran in with a hard hitting four-hit kombo, sending Ken to the ground.

"Well, Ken, it seems that this is just about over. You were a good opponent, but now it shall end."

He was going to set Ken up for the finish, but at the last second, Ken rolled past Cage, causing him to go flying past him.

"Yes, it is time to end this."

As Cage turned around, Ken began spinning around and kicking.

"Shippi Jinrai Kyaku!"

Soon, Cage was caught in a series of kicks, and was getting blasted from all sides. Then, they flew up into the air, and Ken continued the assault, finishing with a hook-kick, causing his foe to crash to the ground. Now, Cage was in Ken's position. Ken, still weak from Cage's attack, took a moment to try and recover. Cage knew that it was now or never, and as Ken approached, he went for a low-blow. Had Ken not anticipated the move, it would have been over for him. He sensed the move, and only got caught in the leg.

"Ok! You want to play Hard! Here's something to play with! Now! Shoryu Reppa!" Ken yelled as he spun, hitting Cage with several punches, finishing by rocketing into the sky, Cage crashing into the Goro statue, out cold.

"Attack me if you dare, I will crush you!"

"Winner of Fight 1, Round 1, Ken!"

They were back in the woods again, and Ken had a look of surprise on his face.

"Sensi! I knew you could do it!"

"Was there ever any doubt!"

After Ken made his way to the cabin, he brushed of talking to everyone, even Ryu. He went straight for his bed.

Man, I really got my ass kicked! He's one of the few men that I would consider to be worthy. I hope that whatever these beds have that helped Ryu will help me. After this fight, I'll need it! And this is only my first match. Ken groaned a bit, and took some time for him to overcome his aches before he fell asleep.

"You are Raiden, huh? You claim to be the god of thunder. I thought there was only one god, and I don't think you're him! Who are you really?"

"Despite what you may believe, suffice it to say I am the god of thunder. What you have been taught and what actually exists are two entirely different scenarios. Be that as it may, my duty is to watch over and protect all mankind by any means that are in my power. Other gods, such as Shinnok, would kill you given the chance; I give you my word that should it come, I shall not annihilate you, young mortal.

"Yea, whatever! Don't do me ANY favors! Let's rock!"

"As you wish. There will be no turning back after this has started."

Yun dove at Raiden, aiming to take the god out of the fight as quickly as he could. He has nearly connected, and was starting to think how easy it would be, when he was literally shocked by what Raiden did. Raiden simply teleported out of the way, but not without leaving a small warning for his advisory, a small field of electricity where he had stood moments ago. Although it wasn't a strong field, it was enough to cause Yun to scream in anguish!

"DAMN YOU! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!" fumed an irate Yun.

"Consider it a warning. Do not become too confident, or it will become your undoing."

Raiden offered his hand to help him to his feet, but was ready in case Yun tried something sneaky. Yun gripped Raiden's hand tightly, and Raiden helped him up. Yun smiled friendly, and Raiden returned the smile. Then, Yun flipped over Raiden and delivered a hard thrust kick to Raiden's back. Raiden was ready, and with a warp, landed on his feet. He turned to tell Yun that he was not impressed with his antic, and that he was a poor sport, but was met with a series of blow, kicks, and was finished with a missile-like kick. This time, Raiden fell.

"Perhaps I shall have to become more aggressive in this match."

Yun was rushing in for the same combo, and Raiden got ready. No, it was similar, but it was a different attack. The first hits landed, staggering the immense god, but he quickly regained his balance. He then went flying straight into Yun, and they went flying into a wall - of a shop!

"What manner of power is this?" asked Raiden.

"Need you ask, dear Raiden. It is my work," standing nearby was a fat man in a fruit tand.

"Hey, you're that new stand owner from down the street!"

"Yes...and no! I am your host for this tournament. You are now outside the place you Lee brothers would so often fight in. Consider it some atmosphere for your fight," as he finished, he went back to taking stock on his goods.

Both had stopped shortly after Raiden ran Yun into the wall. Yun was hurting and was having trouble standing. He, like his brother and their famous namesake, refused to surrender. Raiden knew this, but still felt he had to ask.

"Yun, I am sorry that I had knocked you into the wall. It wasn't my intention to hurt you in that manner. I don't wish you to be hurt further. Call the fight. There is no dishonor in it when there is good reason."

"Why don't you, all mighty god, call the fight! If you want to protect us so much, drop the fight so that I can go on!"

"That isn't why I asked that. I cannot! Only another god would stand a chance against Shinnok. If you advance, your next opponent may kill you. Lose this fight, so that you may live to fight again..."

"Go to HELL! I don't know who you think you are, but you won't beat me without a fight."

"I know, but fate sometimes works differently than we think."

Raiden teleported for the last time in this match, avoiding Yun's momentum entirely. As he landed, Raiden lifted him up, and surged several low-level bolts through Yun. In a matter of seconds, Yun was out; he would live to fight another day.

"Winner of Fight 2, Round 1, Raiden! Well done!"

They were back in the woods once more.

Yang rushed to his brother's side, then yelled, "This is unfair! How are we supposed to defeat gods, demons, and this sort of crap?!"

Raiden understood his anger, and calmly replied, "Your brother lives. He has only been...shocked. To answer your question, look for Liu Kang. He is more than adequately adapt at this situation. Learn from him, for he can teach you much. If you want, I can take you to him."

Yang just starred at him, his mind a violent storm of anger, confusion, mixed with fear.

"I shall leave you to tend to your brother. I will inform Liu Kang of what I have told you. Should you desire to learn more, you have but to ask."

"Hm, so you are the infamous yoga master, Dhalsim. Not much to you, is there? But most of the people of your homeland aren't much to look at, as I recall from the time when I was alive. Do you think you can defeat one who is already dead?"

"It makes no difference who or what you are when it comes to combat, it only matters how you apply yourself. You may have several gifts as a result of your resurrection, but it matters how you use them."

"Gifts! You deluded fool! What do you know? I can never again know my wife and child, but I have gifts! Mankind is constantly at war with itself, which is how Khan and Shinnok had been so successful in their attacks. Even when it was obvious that the only chance for survival lay in putting past issues aside to unite and drive them back, the fools still bickered over pointless problems. How many lives would be sparred if only the jackasses who are supposed to be in charge would SUCK-IN their 'pride' and focus in on doing what is needed to help those less fortunate? Instead of WASTING their fortunes for their toys, limos, and boats, they should have been using their fortune to help those who didn't have the reserves when the attacks came. If they would have done that, then the poor would have been more willing to fight against what turns out to be an even darker evil than the ones they faced."

"Scorpion, that is just how things happened. No matter how bad things have become, those who have the gifts such as yours or mine should use them not to seek vengeance against their killers or those that would do similar. We must focus on rebuilding the damage that has been done. We cannot live in the past, we must move on. Only by setting examples ourselves can we encourage others to do likewise. You are trying to move in the right direction. You have worked out your differences with your nemesis, Subzero. However, you need to not focus in on avenging yourselves for what Quan Chi and..."

"That's enough out of you! You are a hopeless dreamer! No matter what you may wish, these villains, or others, will remain. It must take efforts by those such as us to stand up to, fight, and defeat them. We who can must fight back, for if we don't they will simply wipe us out. That's the bottom line! It's kill, or be killed!"

"I can see I'm wasting my time with you! Your mind is set; nothing I can say will change it."

"You dreamers are all alike. Once you realize the folly, you will simply dub those who pointed it out to you as `hopeless.' I've got news for you, we will go on just as well without your ideas. Since I'm already there, it won't pay for you to say it, so I'll paraphrase it to you: `Meet you back in HELL!'"

Dhalsim didn't respond, instead, he began to meditate, preparing himself for what would prove to be one of his hardest foes ever. He had never fought against anyone who had come back from the dead. However, since he had been alive at one time, he would have weaknesses, it was simply a matter of time.

Scorpion was now a few feet away, and he started by removing his mask. What Dhalsim saw underneath shook every fiber to his core. He didn't actually have a face, all that was there was a skull, and fire. Did that mean that the rest of the body was also a costume for this skeleton?

Scorpion could tell that Dhalsim was appalled by what he had seen. He could imagine what was going through his foe's mind - probably some of the very questions he asked himself. No matter; he inhaled deeply, and blew out fire toward Dhalsim. Dhalsim stood there, motionless.

What! Don't tell me the fool is petrified! No, wait, his eyes...they are glowing a pale yellow, as are his hands.

The fire then reached Dhalsim, and he gathered it together, and simply made it vanish.

"You have a very strong chi, not unlike another dark person I know. However, like him, your attacks are useless against me. You can't hut me with this."

"COME HERE!"

Dhalsim warped at the last second, and countered with a throw.

"GET OVER HERE!"

The results were the same, but this time, Dhalsim followed up with a nuggie.

"I told you, you cannot hurt me with your attacks. You are good, but I am too experienced."

"Fine! We'll do this your way!" and he vanished in a ripple of the air around him. As Dhalsim was wondering where Scorpion had vanished to, he was hit hard in the back of the neck with a hard punch. He was dropped, hard and fast. He got up, only to receive a quadruple set of kicks to his face, forcing Dhalsim to the ground. He was about to follow up, but the ground before Dhalsim started to disappear. Then, the rest of the surroundings began to alter. No, they were coming into shape. It was still night, so there was only one place they could be.

"The star bridge, Scorpion! This is where you shall fight, along with you Dhalsim! Proceed!"

He looked up in the direction of the voice, and saw an odd shape pass by the moon. The Alpha-Omega.

"Now, Scorpion, it is your turn to `feel the heat!' as the saying goes. Yoga Inferno!"

Out came a stream of the hottest fire he had released in a long time. He had not used it to that level since he had met Creed and Logan. When it was over, Scorpion was down, and Dhalsim fell to his knees, glad it was over.

"Hah hah hah! Yah hah har! You old fool! I told you, I have come from the fiery depths of Hell itself. While your fire is strong, it can't compare to the fires from the pits! You cannot go on. It's over. Now to finish it!"

He speared Dhalsim, and hit him with his secret blades, kicked him, and sent him flying with a roundhouse. He was now dangerously close to the edge. Scorpion, with some difficulty, picked him up by the throat, and starred into the eyes of his defeated foe.

"You see the dark void below. That is you destiny!"

"It matters not what you do to me. Others will carry on the fight," Dhalsim calmly replied as he looked Death in the face. Then, he was dropped to the ground, and Scorpion walked away. "I am not a murderer! I have won, and that is all that matters. I have no quarrel with you."

"Winner of Fight 3, Round 1, Scorpion! Superb!"

"Hm, Queen Sindel. Tell me, are you seeking to rise-up against him, or are you merely his plaything?"

"What?! How dare you, you mortal! You...peasant! For that insult, I shall kill you myself."

"You will have to, sweety! In this tournament, it is every being for their self, living or otherwise."

"You dare to mock me! Infidel! Die!"

Sindel wailed with the power to bring Fort Knox to the ground. Rose had known that that would be the result, and dodged the pressure of the wail, but still had a ringing in her ears. Like a banshee. I can handle it, though it shalln't be easy.

"You were lucky to avoid the main wave, but you cannot escape sound. The blast has shaken you. You are already off balance. You won't last long."

" I can take what you throw at me, and much more."

Sindel suddenly began to levitate, and flew toward Rose. She then spewed a deadly fireball. To her shock, Rose made a motion with her arm, and her scarf merely absorbed it. Sindel spewed forth a second fireball. Rose merely repeated the motion. This time, the fireball was sent back at Sindel. Sindel was able to avoid most of it, but a part of it hit her in the leg, staggering her. Rose leapt up to the staggering Sindel, and it seemed that there was a blurring trail of images behind her.

"Soul Throw!" and Sindel went down. Her recovery was remarkable, for the instant Rose landed, Sindel was on her feet again.

"What!? I must have hit real hard, everything's changing."

"No...we are being teleported to...my home, in Italy."

"That's right! It will give you some scenery while you fight!" yelled a man from a nearby boat.

"There seems to be no limit to what this Alpha-Omega can do. Yet I wonder, from what I've heard, the one you call Kitana is your daughter, yet you seem to imply otherwise. Well?"

"...That is none of your concern, mortal. Who we are...and how we are...related doesn't concern you."

"You don't seem to certain about that. Something is really bothering you. I may be a mere mortal, but there are things I know, and can do."

"Maybe, but this is neither the time, nor the place," finishing Sindel wailed once more, catching Rose off-guard. Rose scolded herself for being so stupid. She was now paralyzed and at her foe's mercy. Sindel ran in and delivered a series of hits, followed by a hard kick to the face, knocking Rose into the nearby water. As she resurfaced, Sindel was floating above her. Sindel's clothes were ripped in several places, and some areas proved to be rather, revealing. Rose knew what was about to happen. This time, all Rose could do was brace herself for impact, using one hand in an attempt to block, while using the other to keep afloat. She didn't have long to wait. It came hard and fast, and caused her to sink far. At first, she merely floated up. When she reached the surface, she hit the shore, and opened her eyes. She slowly lifted herself out of the water, and made her way back onto dry land. She was now soaked to the skin, her clothes were ripped, and she was taking the worse end of the beating, much to her disliking.

"I hope the dip was refreshing, deary. Now, it's time for you to sleep!"

Sindel swung her long hair at Rose, but only succeeded in ripping one of the shoulders of her outfit. She tried again, but only hit the other one.

"Damn you! Hold still so I can kill you!"

It seemed as if she was listening to what Sindel had said, for she had stopped, and was in a meditative form. Good, thought Sindel, it ends now. She whipped her head back, ready to strike the Death Blow. She then heard Kitana's voice in her head. What she said was simple, yet powerful. It was the one word which all women want to hear from their children; Mother. She hesitated a moment too long. She saw Rose seemingly split. Rose then drilled into Sindel, followed by her doubles, hitting Sindel 10 times, drilling her back into and through a nearby shop's window.

"Forgive me! My fight is not with you!"

"Combination Finish! Winner of Fight 4, Round 1, Rose!"

Once again, they were in the dark woods, where their fellow warriors were. Kitana and Liu Kang rushed to Sindel's side, and helped her in.

"Hey there, champ! You know, you look sexy like that!"

"Who...you!? I'll tell you what I told you last time: There's a hole in your mind!"

"There's nothing in my mind!"

"So strong, yet so stupid!"

"Uh yep! You know, you're cute when you're mad!" Guy smiled, and walked off.

Alone, Rose smiled to herself.

So much has happened in such a short time. I came into being before my time. This Alpha-Omega is so powerful, the power he emits makes even MY hair stand on end. I doubt even a full-powered Raging Demon or Shensoku-Satsu would have much affect on him. Still, that is something that shell of my former self would worry about, that worthless, love-sick bitch! Now, I am as I was meant to be! I am the power of power. None will stop us, not even our "others." The one thing that is most important to us that none of us has learned from the Alpha-Omega is that if we kill them now, would that eliminate us? If so...guess we'll just have to make'em honary guests, while we set the world on fire! Burn baby, burn!

So much has happened in such a short time. A short while ago, I was amongst the "Dark Lord Shao Khan's Elite." Now, I am among his enemies. What he has done, though, is more than a warrant for my turning. First, he reduces me to merely being Queen Sindel's guardian. Then, to rip out my heart, he puts that freak, Motaro and his followers in charge of his extermination squads. I knew that there was more to it than what was seen, and I found it.

The false ruler has been helping Motaro's race in a war against mine, slowly wiping them out. With Goro and Kintaro out of the scene, I was looked at as our new leader. However, my (former) duty was to - Khan, and he knew it. With no leader, they have fought well, but in desperation and futility. Now, Goro AND Kintaro are here, and we will have our revenge! But first, to the wench before me! She is in my way, and thus WILL DIE!

"What's going on? What's happening?"

"I - don't know. This is impossible. Wait, I feel THE PRESENCE! It is..!"

"Ah, my young-un feels the aura of it's Creator! Splendid!"

From XSakura came nothing, but under her breath, Sheeva uttered, "The Pit!"

"You know this place! How quaint. At least you shall know where you die!"

"Pity, you won't!"

With that, Sheeva leapt high into the air, and was aiming for her foe's head!

XSakura merely telported out of the way, thinking she had fooled her advisory. Sheeva crashed to the platform, causing a quake to shake everything that was on it.

"Fool! It matters not where you are. When I leap, it matters not where I land. If you are on solid ground, than you will fall."

XSakura got up to her feet, shaking her head to try and clear out the cobwebs. Sheeva wasn't a fool, and rushed in, delivering a hard 7-hit combo to her already dazed foe.

Down, but not out, XSakura lay prone on her back, trying to suck in air and make a desperate comeback. This was going far worse than she had thought it would. She needed some time to regroup so she could mount a comeback, but she could not bring her body to move. In desperation, she began to channel all her power into attempting to heal herself, as Ken had once done when he and Ryu had fought Bison. She would not get the chance to see if it would work. She felt a strong force come down toward her. She opened her eyes to see a dead-fast Sheeva coming out of a teleport, and was about to land on her.

"Argh! Owwww!" she screamed as Sheeva landed on her, jumped up again, and stomped on her a second time. Sheeva looked down at her now helpless foe, and laughed mockingly down into her foe's face.

"And now, you die!"

She got off XSakura, but XSakura rolled away.

"There's still some fight in you. It's futile to go on. There is only one thing that is definite; you die!"

"Shinkuu Hadoken!" yelled XSakura in desperation, knowing that this was her last hope to win.

If she didn't make it, it would be over. Sheeva was so unprepared for the onslaught, she didn't even have time to attempt to block it. She was driven from one side of The Pit to the other. XSakura was attempting to close-in, but was still slow from the beating Sheeva had given her. Sheeva was in no better condition. When she started to get up from the beam, it was enough time for her foe to go for it.

The very air around them glowed and crackled to life with pure evil. XSakura slowly hovered toward the dazed Sheeva. Sheeva stood up, and never knew what hit her. XSakura grabbed her, and they were engulfed in light, the sound of flesh being battered was the only way of knowing that they were still there. Had there been any mortals there, they would have been permanently blinded by the explosion of power. When it was over, XSakura was standing with her back turned, and Sheeva lay prone at her feet. She turned, and looked down at the near-dead Sheeva. She then put her foot on her foe's throat, raised her arm, and laughed maniacally in victory.

"Shensoku-Satsu! Winner of Fight 5, Round 1, XSakura!"

XSakura looked down at her defeated foe, and without a second thought, kicked Sheeva over the edge to the spikes below. It was good that she was not concious, for though it would have been quick, it would be painful none-the-less. She laughed again, this time even louder. As if in reply, the laugh of a man echoed as hers faded.

"Well done, my Sakura! Let the helpless tramp know what her future will be. Now, in addition to the torment we have in store for them, we can torment them further, knowing that they will one day enjoy taking lives, as we do now!"

"I love it when you think like that, my Ryu! Let us go and enjoy this!" but before going, they embraced in what Sakura and others would consider an embrace of love. How Sakura had longed for Ryu to do it with her. Ironically, it was her dark side that would experience it before her, even though she had existed long before her dark side came into existence (confused yet?).

As the two leave, Goro arrives at the scene, and sees Sheeva looking like she had come from the pit, yet they were nowhere near the pits, were they?

"Sheeva, by all that we hold sacred, I will destroy your foe, after my current foe. I will rip them apart, and anyone else foolish enough to dare get in my way. The Ryus and Sakuras will die before I breath my last!"

This ends the first set of round one. The strong (lucky) are beginning to rise. The first fatality to the tournament is Sheeva, by a "Pit." In retribution, Goro vows to not only rip XSakura apart, but anyone else foolish enough to dare get in his way.

This also includes Sakura, Evil Ryu, and Ryu. Can even the warrior known as Goro survive the power of the Raging Demon, or will he just be another one of it's victims? Time may tell.

©2001

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