Then he interlaced the fingers of his lower arms and ostentatiously cracked his knuckles.
“Toad?” he asked, his voice very calm.
“No offense intended,” Kano said in a rush. He smiled nervously as Prince Goro’s lower right arm, muscles ripping, stretched out until the huge hand with its gold wrist ornaments hovered a mere foot from his throat.
“None taken,” Goro said, very politely. He stretched his hand a trifle farther, and, with his open palm slapped Kano lightly on the cheek.
Then the Shokan prince stood up and away from Kano. His long hair swung behind him as he moved. Kano remained leaning back in his chair, with a weak smile plastered on his face.
The silence in the cavern grew very deep. At last Goro turned back to the sorcerer. “To what do we owe the honor of your visit, Shang Tsung?” he asked, his voice rumbling and low.
“I came to warn you that Kung Lao’s descendant is competing in the tournament,” Shang said. “You must handle him carefully.”
“You come with news I already possess,” Goro said, turning to face the sorcerer directly. “I saw this Liu Kang when he entered the Great Hall. He reminds me of his ancestor. Even if he has his ancestor’s skill, however, he will pose no problem.”
“Don’t underestimate the resourcefulness of these humans,” Shang Tsung said sharply, “or they will be your downfall. This tournament can still be lost.”
“Need I remind you, emperor’s sorcerer, that it was you who lost a bout to Kung Lao, and not I? A common monk brought you low – and the series of Mortal Kombats nearly ended before it had well begun.”
Goro picked up his own goblet of wine and sipped at it as if to emphasize his disdain. “I saved your plans and your reputation by defeating Kung Lao,” he continued after a moment, “just as I have defeated every human whom I have fought since that day, for the last five hundred of their years. This time it will be no different. Victory is assured.”
Shang stood, his eyes blazing, for a moment before he could continue. “This is no time for foolish pride,” he said at last. “We have never been so close to absolute victory.”
Then the demon caught himself and lowered his eyes and his voice to speak more humbly. “Which is why I have come to tell you of another danger. The Princess Kitana.”
“The emperor’s adopted daughter?” Goro asked. “Why should I worry about her? She is a danger to you, maybe; not to me.”
“Do you think you would long retain your title as general of the Outworld armies, Prince of the Shokan though you may be, if our beloved emperor did not sit on the emerald throne?” asked the sorcerer. “Kitana uses her age and her position as a shield to cover her rebellion. She alone keeps alive the memory of the ancient realm before our benevolent master came and conquered Outworld. Her pathetic followers pose no threat to those of us who rule now, but she must not be allowed to join her power with the forces from the Realm of Earth – especially Liu Kang.”
Johnny, Liu, and Sonya, hiding on their ledge, listened and watched as Goro and Shang talked.
“What’s so special about you?” Johnny whispered to Liu.
“I don’t know,” Liu whispered back.
“Then what about this Kitana person?”
“I don’t know, other than that Kitana is ten thousand years old and the rightful heir to the throne of Outworld.”
“More legends?”
“Yeah.”
“Shut up, both of you,” Sonya muttered.
Down below them, in Goro’s throne room, Shang Tsung faced the four-armed giant. “See that your confidence is not misplaced,” Shang said. “The emperor will not tolerate failure… and neither will I.”
“I,” Goro said pointedly, “do not fail.”
He sipped again at his wine, his head cocked as if listening. Then he looked at the four guards who stood nearby at attention. He gestured, pointing left and right, and jerked his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the ledge where the three companions lay hidden.
“I don’t like this,” Liu said.
“That conversation was getting boring anyway,” said Johnny. “Let’s get out of here.”
“For once I agree,” Sonya said. She began crawling backward off of the ledge.
“What’s going on?” Kano’s voice came from below.
“We are not alone,” Goro replied.
“This way,” Liu whispered. He scuttled off crabwise in the direction in which they had originally been going. A portal in the side of the cavern opened before them.
Then, with a clatter of armor two guards leapt up onto the ledge. They clutched dragon-headed lances.
“To hell with this sneaking around,” Sonya said.
She did a roll and spring toward the pursuing guards. Supported only by her hands, her body parallel to the floor, her right foot snapped out in a kick that took the lead guard in the center of his chest as his lance whistled harmlessly over her head. The impact drove the creature back into his companion. They both fell from the ledge.
Sonya rolled to her feet and sprinted for the side tunnel, with Johnny and Liu beside her.
The tunnel was smoothly rounded, with a flat floor of dry-laid stone. A fire-like glow came from channels at either side of the tunnel, near the floor, lighting the three from below as they ran. The tunnel took a sharp turn, went on for another dozen feet, then entered a circular chamber. Three other tunnels carved in the stone radiated from the room, each tunnel identical to the one from which they had just emerged.
Johnny blinked. “Which way?”
“You’re the guy with the sense of direction,” Sonya said. “You tell me.”
“Look,” Liu said. He pointed down the tunnel that branched to the left. Johnny looked and saw the silken figure of the woman from the dais, the one who had watched them arrive in the garden. She held a blazing torch over her head, and she beckoned them on with her other hand.
“She must be Princess Kitana,” Liu said. “I think she wants us to follow her. She must be trying to help!”
“I think you’re a little hard up for a date,” Johnny said.
Liu headed down the passageway the woman had marked. Sonya shrugged and followed him. Johnny, unwilling to be left behind, followed her.
“I think she’s trying to lead us out,” Liu said, jogging down the tunnel. The light from below cast weird shadows on his face.
“Forget about her,” Johnny said. “She’s ten thousand years old.”
They arrived in another circular room. Like the last it had a high, dome-shaped ceiling of rough rock, and three more twisty little passages, all alike, leading from it.
“Never underestimate the attraction of an older woman,” Liu said. He pointed down one of the passages, this time the one to the right. Princess Kitana was far down that passage, beckoning. “I’m going to follow her.”
Liu plunged into the passage.
“Liu!” Johnny called after him.
“Everyone has his own path,” Sonya said, coming up beside Johnny. “Liu has chosen his.”
“What’s yours?”
“For the moment I’m going with Liu.”
The shadows of a pair of guards in the passage behind them emphasized that it was time to go.
“I don’t see why he’s following that princess,” Johnny complained to Sonya as the two of them hurried down the passage after Liu.
“Given that Goro and Shang don’t want him to meet her, I’d say that getting the two of them together should be real high on our priority list.”
They entered yet another round room and found themselves faced with three new openings identical to the archway from which they had just emerged.
“Which way?” Johnny asked again.
“There’s Liu.” Sonya pointed. Their companion was far down the passage directly ahead of them. “Let’s pick up the pace and catch up with him. We don’t want to split up and get lost down here.”
They headed out at an easy but quick rhythm, running side by side.
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“I hate this,” Johnny said. “Not knowing where I’m going or what’s going to happen next.”
“Not like having a copy of the script, eh?” Sonya commented. “Like in one of your movies.”
“You’ve seen my films?”
They came to another round room. Liu was in the left passage; they’d gained on him, but he was almost out of sight. The monochromatic light from the sides of the tunnels made it difficult to dell distances.
“That way.”
This time it was Johnny who pointed, and followed Liu without breaking stride. Sonya followed right behind him.
“Which of my films have you seen?” Johnny persisted as soon as he and Sonya were in a passage again. There were no obvious sounds of pursuit.
“Does it matter? They’re all alike.”
“No they aren’t!”
“There’s always a girl in trouble, and you rescue her, right? That’s the plot. And now you’re trying to fit the real world into a movie, and it just isn’t working.”
“I am not!”
“Then what – exactly – brought you down here?”
They came to another circular room. Sonya spotted Liu in the passage ahead of them and sprinted past Johnny to take the lead.
Liu was running fast and free, confident of the way. Every time he needed to make a choice of path he saw Princess Kitana with her torch indicating the direction. He was sure that she would lead him out. He could hear the footsteps of his two companions following him. They were still safe, guided as he was by Kitana.
He felt in fine shape, his body well-tuned, his legs moving easily. Liu entered another room. Where was Princess Kitana? He looked left, right, ahead… and a patch of the gray stone wall seemed to come to life directly in front of him.
Liu had only a moment to react. He dropped into a defensive stance. The odd patch of living wall opened a pair of pale green eyes. A misshapen head broke away from the wall, its mouth opened, and a mist of greenish vapor sprayed out of the creature’s mouth into Liu’s face.
The vapor hit Liu before he could react. His eyes burned, his mouth and nose felt like they were on fire. It was all he could do to avoid screaming, avoid dragging the stinging mist deep into his lungs. He fell to the ground, curled, and rolled away from the attack.
He could feel his face burning. His eyes were shut tight. He listened. The only sound he heard was the footsteps of his two companions. They were approaching.
Watch out! he wanted to cry, but even drawing air into his lungs was painful.
Sonya and Johnny both spotted Liu lying on the floor at the same time.
“Keep watch,” Sonya snapped at Johnny, at the same time dropping to her knees beside Liu.
“Acid,” Liu managed to whisper.
“It’s okay, trooper,” Sonya said. “I’ll fix you right up.”
She unsnapped the canteen at her right hip from her pistol belt and twisted off the cap. Then she gently washed the acid out of his eyes and away from his exposed skin.
“Looks like a first degree chemical burn,” she said shortly. “Slight reddening of the skin, a little edema, not too bad. Can you open your eyes? Can you see?”
Liu opened his eyes a crack and squinted up at her.
“Yeah, I can see. Thanks.”
“Right,” Sonya said, standing and returning her canteen to its pouch. “Report.”
Liu got to his feet. “There was something, there…” he pointed. “In the wall.”
Johnny walked over to the spot where Liu had indicated. He examined the wall closely, touching it and pressing on it.
“Whatever it was,” he said at last, “it isn’t there now.”
“There was definitely a creature. I think it’s following the princess,” Liu said.
“How do you know it isn’t just something that lives in these tunnels?” Johnny asked.
“Call it a hunch, a feeling.”
“I have a hunch,” Sonya said, “that we should be going.” She pointed to the wall of the tunnel from which they had just emerged. The shadow of a pair of guards was dancing on the wall. “I don’t think those guys are just planning to sell us magazine subscriptions, if you know what I mean.”
“Do you know which way Kitana went?” Johnny asked Liu.
Liu looked around. He couldn’t remember how many similar rooms he’d seen so far tonight. The tunnels all looked alike. He shook his head sadly.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I got all turned around, and all these openings look the same.”
“Okay,” Johnny said, pointing to the left. “Let’s go that way.” He started walking briskly into the tunnel.
“I have a bad feeling about this,” Sonya said.
“Me, too,” Liu said. “But we have to do something, unless you want to fight the guards right here.”
“Relax,” Johnny said over his shoulder. “I know exactly where I’m going. Princess Kitana went this way. I can smell her perfume.”
“I can’t smell anything,” Liu said to Sonya. “Can you smell anything?”
“We’ll just have to make do,” Sonya said. “Right now I think that splitting up would be a poor decision.”
She and Liu followed Johnny down his tunnel.
CHAPTER NINE
The lady and her retainers had left the high table in the Great Hall a few minutes after Shang departed.
Art Lean stood and looked about him. The hall was still crowded. He stooped and recovered his overnight bag from beneath the table.
“Time to find a place to sleep,” he said. With a final sip of the chocolate he placed the goblet back on the table and started to look around.
By the smell, other parts of the feast hall had gotten stronger things to drink than cocoa. The fumes of wine rose from one section, and the burning smell of whisky greeted him in another place.
“What, did I wind up at the training table?” he asked himself. If so, he couldn’t figure out why he’d been so honored. Not that he’d wanted to imbibe. If he was going to face something like the Outworld fighters he’d seen displaying their skills during dinner, he didn’t need to do it with a hangover.
By the doors he found one of the monks.
“Say, can you tell me where I might find a bed?” Art asked.
The monk turned and beckoned Art to follow him. Outside the hall the night was dark. The moon had set, and the stars glittered with cold brilliance far above.
Still silent, the monk pointed to the right, past a field where innumerable torches flared. Their flickering marked the rings where, Art supposed, the great tournament would be fought the next morning.
“Seems to be my day for walking,” Art said with resignation. His legs, after sitting so long in the Great Hall, were definitely feeling the exercise he’d gotten climbing the cliff. He slung his bag up on his shoulder and headed off in the direction the monk had pointed.
Dark shapes of other fighters were drifting among the rings when Art arrived on the field One group was sitting in a circle, around a fire they had built from thin branches. A pair of crossed swords lay on the ground, and a barefoot man stripped to the waist was dancing among them, his arms held above his head, his eyes looking into the distance rather than down at his feet. Another man with a small flute was playing a tune, faster and faster. Faster and faster the dancer’s feet flew between the upturned edges of the swords.
Everyone has their own way of preparing, Art thought. One misstep and he’ll be missing a foot.
The others in the circle were passing around a bottle of amber liquid, taking drinks and passing the bottle on. Sweat glistened on the dancer’s chest.
Art continued on. That wasn’t the only place on the field where he could hear the sound of music. Somewhere far away he heard the sound of bagpipes.
Beside him Art saw one of the fighting rings. No one else was around.
“Let’s see what kind of place this is going to be,” he muttered. He’d prepare by getting familiar with the dimensions of the ring. He
climbed over the ropes which separated this patch of ground from the general field. Torches set in sconces flared at the four corners of the ring.
Art pulled off his shoes and socks to allow his feet to feel the texture here. The interior was springy underfoot, with a rough texture which would make finding traction no problem. Art walked from side to side, getting the measurements of the ring into his head. He stood in the center of the ring and closed his eyes, stretching out with his feelings, becoming aware of how the place sounded, how it smelled, the touch of it under his feet, internalizing all the parts.
Then, eyes still closed, he tried a simple kick. It flew out crisp and strong. He pulled back to stance, spun, and fired a kick in the opposite direction.
“Yes,” he said. “I can live with this.”
With greater and greater speed, Art began his kata, the practice routine which limbered him up and fixed the sequences of moves in his mind. He leapt and whirled, blocking invisible opponents, attacked, retreated, all in time to his inner senses. Art felt the strength and sureness flow through him. Higher and higher he jumped, spinning faster and faster.
“Hey, look at the dojo ballerina,” he heard a man’s voice from somewhere outside of his personal space.
“Sure dances pretty,” said another voice. “Think he can fight?”
“What, and mess up that cute little face?” said another. “Don’t reckon he’s got the guts to fight. Not against real men.”
Art landed on his feet, legs together. Not allowing the voices from outside the ring to disturb the serenity which the kata had given him, he bowed to his imaginary opponent, then relaxed and opened his eyes.
“Think he can hear us?” one of the voices from outside said.
“Depends. Think he’s deaf and stupid, or just stupid?”
Art held his position. “If one of you gentlemen would care to enter the ring, I would be honored to spar with you,” he said quietly.
“Nah,” came a voice from the darkness outside. “But if you got the guts to come out here, we’ll be happy to kick your ass for you.”
Mortal Kombat: The Movie Page 9