Received: from PACIFIC-CARRIER-ANNEX.MIT.EDU by po10.MIT.EDU (5.61/4.7) id AA05957; Sat, 17 Feb 96 21:54:51 EST Received: from emout08.mx.aol.com by MIT.EDU with SMTP id AA29300; Sat, 17 Feb 96 21:54:49 EST Received: by emout08.mail.aol.com (8.6.12/8.6.12) id VAA18571 for jevans@mit.edu; Sat, 17 Feb 1996 21:55:19 -0500 Date: Sat, 17 Feb 1996 21:55:19 -0500 From: Vctr113062@aol.com Message-Id: <960217215518_146996304@emout08.mail.aol.com> To: jevans@MIT.EDU Subject: Winter 15/16 ***************************************************************** Scorpion's delay had cost me my opportunity to kill Shang Tsung. Indescribable acrimony engulfed me as I dashed for the shelter of the side tunnels leading from Goro's lair. The pressing, maddening astringency was a dangerous distraction from the life-threatening chaos of Shang Tsung's dying palace. Pieces of falling masonry came close to killing me when I dived into the closest tunnel opening. I skidded into another pile of rubble. This tunnel's interior had caved in, turning it into a cul-de-sac. More plummeting debris accumulated in front of the tunnel's entrance, reducing the already poor visibility within to nearly zero - except for the illumination of two milk-white eyes, glowing eerily in the darkness. The faint outline of an unmasked skull framed their soft radiance. I was not surprised to find Scorpion waiting for me. If anything, I was glad. "You cost me my kill," I growled. *We must leave this place. Come with me.* He held out a skeletal hand. I launched forward in a catlike pounce, tackling him. His empty eyes grew a shade wider when he hit the ground. Chambering my fist close to my ribs, I pounded him with a straight punch that knocked several teeth out of his maxilla and mandible. Scorpion's body suddenly reverted from solid to ghostly; my follow-up punch passed through his dissipating form, and I bloodied my knuckles on the hard rock underneath. *You murdering fool!* he snapped as he reformed to my left. *I only want to kill you. But there are horrors that even the dead fear, as you will find out if the vortex born of Shang Tsung's destruction ensnares your soul! I can transport us both to a locale where we may finish this without outside interference, if you will only stand still!* No. No deals. No delays. He'd sacrificed that option when he cost me my kill. While he wasted his breath on useless explanations, I summoned a minimal amount Power and cast it at his flickering image. He brought up his skeletal arms in a king's X, warding off the sprinkling of Ice, but the Power had been merely a feint. Recovering quickly from the weak burst of Ice, I'd begun my charge as soon as it left my hands, and left the ground when crystals scattered across his guard. I extended my lead leg, keeping it straight and flexing the heel, the better to drive my full weight into his torso. Scorpion tried to dodge by turning sideways; I hooked my knee in a midair kick that scored a glancing blow to his chest. One of his ribs fractured with a faint sound. The enclosed chamber's wall was rushing toward me; as I landed from the flying kick, I stumbled into the rough stone, bruising my shin and shoulder. The specter was already upon me, tethered spear in hand. I knew he would hurl it toward my heart before he moved to do so; that anticipation saved my life. My palm pushed upon the spear's shaft perpendicular to its forward thrust, deflecting its course. Its lethal tip scored a gash on the stone wall behind me, creating a small shower of sparks. Undaunted, Scorpion lifted his knee and rammed the ball of his foot into my stomach. The distance between us softened the kick more than my training to absorb impacts with a minimum of damage. Even so, it was good that I had not eaten recently. I doubled over, folding my arms and pressing them under my ribcage. The specter advanced. Eager to press his advantage, he didn't realize my deceit until I snapped out of the pose and gripped his shoulders. I hopped like a jumping songbird, planting my feet where my hands had been and pushing off him as if he were a springboard. He tumbled backwards while I flipped through the air and landed in a full-forward stance, waiting for his next move. Scorpion recovered quickly from his fall. The fiery nimbus of his Power surrounded him, concentrated most fiercely upon his head and eyes. He took one look at the distance between us and hurled his mystic spear across the expanse. His mistake. He should have known better than to try the same maneuver on me twice. I propelled myself into a forward flip. As the spear hurtled underneath me, I reached and plucked it out of the air with both hands, using my forward spin to redirect its momentum. Scorpion was frozen in that timeless instant of helplessness forced upon one who projects more than the slightest effort into his Power. I pushed the weapon into his upper body, angling its tip slightly upward between the fourth and fifth ribs of his left breast. The point of Scorpion's own sting protruded out through his back. He bled, if the brackish, watery substance seeping from the puncture could be called blood. His legs shivered and refused to support his weight. He leaned against the wall and slumped, in an eerie replay of that fatal night two years ago. Outside the cul-de-sac, crackling bursts of lightning and thunder split the air. A monstrous typhoon whipped stone blocks like a summer wind stirs dry leaves. Oppressive waves of unimaginable Power run wild washed over everything. Leaving Scorpion's still form behind, I approached the tunnel's mouth and glimpsed the cacophony's source: a steadily growing bubble of pure black. The vortex sucked rubble off the floor. Disappearing chunks of dirt and stone changed color, flashing through the visible spectrum from violet to deep red before they were lost within the amorphous black mass. Its jet surface was already pressing against the half-covered opening of this recess. The convex sable wall steadily absorbed the pile of fallen stone across the cul-de-sac's entrance and began to push inside. Loose cloth upon my ceremonial uniform flapped from the dark matter's hurricane pull, which threatened to sweep me off my feet. I backed up to the niche's far wall. My mistake. *You - come - HERE!* An ageless hand closed around my throat, cutting off my breath. I called the Power to my defense, but another limb, dry and sturdy as an ancient tree branch, struck the back of my head. My focus was lost; my thoughts were stunned. No amount of struggling could resist the hands that lifted me lengthwise. Lack of air caused spots to flash before my eyes, yet I had a momentary downward glimpse of Scorpion holding me high, his eyes afire with bloodlust. His own spear still protruded through his ribcage. I should have realized our battle was still in progress. He hadn't stayed dead the first time I killed him, after all; but I'm too accustomed to enemies who stay put once their heart has stopped. The specter had surprised me with the stealth and ruthlessness worthy of a Lin Kuei. *You dare to murder me _twice_,* he spat, nearly choking on his own hatred. *For that, you will _die_ twice! And your second death will be annihilation of the SOUL!* The specter carried me forward and flung me into the rippling sable surface. A universe of blackness imploded, constricting me in a slowly tightening vise. Ghostly, prying talons curled around the central focus of my being and rent it asunder. Scorpion's maniacal cry of triumph followed me into the depths of perdition... until I came to my senses, spread-eagled on the dry soil of a place that was too damn hot. I opened my eyes and saw a demon. ***************************************************************** The fireworm's slavering jaws were about to clamp down on my arm when a frigid gust of wind blew, upsetting his aerial balance. He rolled over, twisting and straining his wings to regain lift. A broad shadow fell upon his segmented body. %zzzWHO DARESzzz!?% Keening, musical cries sounded. They were the ringing of fine crystal, delicate and graceful, yet projected with so much strength they drowned out the fireworm's buzzing. Hovering above the evil monster was something almost as large. Its partly translucent body refracted the sun's rays into a dazzling prism. The fireworm's compound eyes flickered from white to deep red to violet, adjusting to the intense brilliance. Squinting, I traced the graceful pattern of light in the form of a slender neck, four elegantly clawed legs, a coachwhip tail, and a vast pair of wings spread wide. She was an ice dragon. _My_ ice dragon. She was a gleaming shard of Paradise come to life. Her aura was a clear beacon of lost innocence, unsullied by mortal greed or evil. She was as beautiful as she had been the day I'd finished crafting her. Circling above the fireworm, she lowered her head and opened her triangular mouth. What poured out was not the flaming, noxious stink of lesser creatures. Pure hoarfrost sparkled in the wake of her respiration, coating the fireworm's scales, stopping four pairs of his wings, dusting the insect legs that held me and soothing my burns. The fireworm sank lower, hovering only a few meters above the ground. Invigorated by the sudden temperature plunge, I forced my arms apart, shattering the worm's restraining limbs. Ice had made the insect legs so brittle they snapped into pieces, broken off at frozen stumps. My scorched leg buckled underneath me when I landed. Overhead, the battle raged on. The ice dragon exhaled another cone of hoarfrost breath, but something was wrong - it missed the fireworm, which twisted and curled around the deadly vapor, his remaining multitude of wings keeping him perfectly suspended. %zzzSTUPID BEAzzzST! YOU CANNOT zzzSTOP THE LIVING AVATAR OF POWERzzz!% He retaliated with his own breath weapon, which shot forward and cut into her side. One of her magnificent wings simply vanished, vaporized by the fiery torrent. A deep, hollowed gash in her body marked where it had been. There was no blood, only dripping ice water. Unable to stay aloft, she crashed heavily on her wounded side. "No!" I shouted, involuntarily. I limped toward where she had fallen. %zzzSEE, BEAzzzST? zzzYOU'RE ASzzz WEAK ASzzz THE FLESHLING YOU TRY TO PROTECTzzz!% taunted the fireworm, darting low. The ice dragon's serpentine neck darted upward; she tried to bite her enemy's throat. Again, the attack missed. Her glittering icicle teeth chipped upon one of the bony frills extending from the back of his head. %zzzENOUGH OF THISzzz! zzzDIEzzz!% The worm breathed his fiery wrath upon the grounded dragon. She countered with her hoarfrost exhalation. Fire met Ice as I reached her side; the two elements reacted violently with one another throwing off wide jets of hot steam. "Shang Tsung! _Leave her alone_!" I yelled, but my words were swallowed up in the hissing pandemonium of their struggle. Desperately, I threw myself at the only part of the fireworm close enough for me to reach - the tip of his dangling tail. A slight coating of Power on my hands only partly protected them from his scalding armor plates. %zzzWHAT ISzzz THISzzz? zzzAWAY, PEzzzST! zzzI'LL DISzzzMEMBER YOU zzzSOON ENOUGHzzz!% He lashed his tail until it slipped from of my burned fingers. I hurtled through the air, rolling as I hit the ground in a haphazard attempt to soften my fall. %zzzSTUPID FLESHLING, YOU CANNOT OPPOzzzSE ME! zzzI AM SHANG zzzTSUNG! I AM INVINzzzCIBLE! I AMzzzZZZZZZZZAAAAH-% Wrapped up in his boasts, Shang Tsung did not react to my ice dragon's lunge until too late. She reared up on the tripod of her hind legs and tail, locking her icicle teeth and front claws upon the creases in the fireworm's neck plates, behind the frill shielding his head. His cord-like body thrashed wildly, yet his remaining wings were not strong enough to lift both himself and her. Bit by bit, she dragged him down to earth. %zzzNO, NOOO! LET ME GO, LET ME GO, LET ME GOOOOOzzz!% The fireworm spat his breath weapon, but was unable to turn his head toward his captor. His flames blasted empty space. Screaming, he called upon his turbulent reserves of Power. His segmented body burst into reddish-yellow gouts of Fire, which carved melting, steaming rents in the ice dragon's ethereal body. One of her front legs dissolved completely. Still, she did not release him. The Power was already on my hands as I limped toward them, desperate to destroy the monstrous thing that was killing my ice dragon. Heedless of her own injuries, she pinned his head down, exposing the underside of his throat. Limbo's dusty earth smothered some of his surrounding flames. I knew exactly what to do. I reached past my spent psyche, beyond reserves of inner strength long since sacrificed, into the wellspring that powered my own survival, and from that pool forged a sword of glittering Ice diamonds. Its sharpness and strength were tied into the endurance of my own heart and lungs. Its edge was serrated, paper-thin yet reinforced with pure Power. Ignoring the worm's oppressive fire and calamitous struggles, I swung the executioner's blade down upon the slight gap between the armor plates on his throat. The weapon slipped through, chopping part-way into the soft flesh beneath. I used the sword as a saw, wearing through the exoskeleton edges on either side of his neck. %zzzNOOO, IT'Szzz NOT FAIR! TWO AGAINzzzST ONE! IT'Szzz NOT FAAAAIR! IT'Szzz NOT-% A final, grinding cut stifled the fireworm's wails, as his head rolled free of his squirming body. Black blood gushed from the cut. The flames engulfing his body died down, yet continued to smoulder. I allowed the sword to dissipate. Something twisted in my insides. I slumped upon the ground. A spike of coldness pierced my gut - coldness as ordinary mortals must feel it, attacking with an intensity that caused me to shiver uncontrollably. It was unreal. My Power should have protected me; it always protects me from cold, even when I am not calling upon it, but I could not deny the sinking, piercing sensation within. Smoke had warned me about this. What had he said...? Something about my having a maximum of nine years left. He never did mention the minimum. Since then, I could not begin to recall how many times I'd summoned the Power - nay, tested the boundaries of what it could do. Creating the sword had been the final straw. At long last, the Power was exacting its price. The ice dragon's long, elegant neck dipped down. She nuzzled me gently. Looking at her face, I saw what had hindered her aim during the battle. A smooth expanse of unbroken ice stretched where her eyes should have been. She was blind. It took unimaginable effort to lift one arm and extend my hand toward her face. I tried to call forth the tiny modicum of Power needed to give her eyes. None came. I'd pushed my limits too far. The daggers inside me twisted. My outstretched hand flopped on the earth. "I'm sorry," I gasped. "I can't..." The ice dragon bumped her head against mine a little more urgently. She sang a soft, anxious warble. Her teeth delicately closed on the shoulder padding of my frayed uniform and used it to drag me away from the fireworm's smoking corpse. She pulled her battered frame forward on three legs, too badly injured to lift herself fully off the ground, and arranged herself in a semicircle between me and the dead worm. Her remaining wing extended over my head. I tried to pull myself into a sitting position and only succeeded in rolling onto my back. The ice dragon trilled, an exquisite high note accompanied by a worried counter tone. "What is it, girl? What is wrong?" She never had a chance to answer. A cataclysmic explosion erupted from the dead fireworm, spilling its monumental expense of Power in a blaze of heat and light. Immense gushes of Power were cast off, only to be absorbed and lost in Limbo's endless wastes. My ice dragon was shadowed for an instant in the infernal backlash before she broke apart, each fragment instantly transmuting to vapor or water droplets. I lay still for a long time. The explosion could have killed me, easily, yet I was untouched. At last I regained enough strength to painfully sit up. A blasted, blackened patch of earth marked where the fireworm had been. I looked down at all that remained of my ice dragon: a shallow pool of water, inert and very cold. The fire-scarred face of a stranger stared back at me. She was gone. The only thing I'd ever loved... gone.