Backstage Pass to Mortal Kombat

Chapter 36 - The Uncrowning of the King

[[Here's the big fight scene - finally! I hope you guys like it - I worked really hard on it!!! I'M SO PUMPED RIGHT NOW!! hahahaha]]

The King rose slowly to his feet; his orange glowing eyes digging sharply into my skin. Suddenly he saw I was a threat and not to be taken lightly. Regret hinted in his expression as the corners of his mouth turned down. I practically saw the wheels turning in his head. Should he kill me now? Should he recruit me? Should he just give in?

His options were narrowed in my own mind; I would only join his side when Hell froze over, and I wasn’t leaving without a fight. Hopefully he didn’t choose the first option, then. Of course, the decision wasn’t mine to make; only time would tell what he chose. As we both stood merely inches from each other, glaring at our opponents, I saw him make his decision as he cocked his head.

“You had a good trainer. You’re stronger than I thought.” He admitted.

Voicing my thoughts, he added: “I could just have my men kill you now.”

“Are you?” I replied.

His lips lifted in a knowing grin, “Where’s the fun in that?”

I wasn’t ready for this. As soon as he finished speaking, he lurched out and grabbed me by the waist; flinging me around so I went flying to the dusty ground where we would be fighting – in the middle of the stadium. In an attempt to save myself, I hit the ground on my knees and rolled to lessen the impact of the fall. I tried to hide my wince; dust filled my mouth through my mask, as well as my eyes.

The crowd laughed as they watched me roll into a crouching stance; ready to fight back. Shao didn’t laugh this time; his large feet stepped in front of each other, carrying him closer and closer to me. He looked down at me.

“You may be strong, but I’m stronger.”

I snorted at his words, “Show me.”

We leaped forward in unison; our bodies crashing together. The crowd went into frenzy as fists flew in every direction. Fingers clawed and aimed at faces, hoping to gauge out the eyes of their opponent. I gripped tightly to Shao's body, hoping that if I held on and kept my body close enough to his, he wouldn't be able to hit me. Every punch he threw was put to waste as it hit thin air; I dodged and maneuvered my way around his hits.

It worked...until he realized what I was doing. With a frustrated growl, his gripped my arms tightly and threw me off of him, slamming my body into the ground. I coughed as the breath was swept out of me, watching him. He didn't attack me straight away, which confused me. Instead, he stepped over to his throne. I was able to stand back up and ready myself before he returned.

"No!" I heard Keanu’s voice yell. Distracted, I looked to him to see what was wrong. Was he hurt?

A strong force smacked into my right side, sending me to the ground. My side ached and burned as I crashed onto the dusty floor. The pain was intense, and at first I didn’t know what had happened. I finally saw, once I had caught my breath, that Shao had gotten his steel hammer; the size of a boulder. My entire right side would be black and blue by tonight – if I ever survived this fight, that is.

He gave a throaty chuckle as my eyes widened with fear. If there was a score board on the side of the stadium, it would show he was winning. Experimentally, I wiggled on the ground to see what was broken from the impact. Thankfully, nothing had been broken or fractured, and I was able to stand on my feet again with a wince.

“Why don’t you just stay down?” He growled at me. “You pathetic little girl…” The giant’s face darkened as he held his hammer above his head; ready to strike again. My lips moved fast as I counted the seconds I knew it would take for the hammer to swing down on me. My mask hid my movements, and I was able to plan without him knowing. On the third second, I dove to the ground to my left; missing the hammer by mere inches. Frustrated, Shao held up his hammer and quickly stroke down again, and again; missing me every time I flipped or rolled out of the way.