| I Challenge You to Mortal Kombat | ||
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| Summary: Hot off the most excellent adventure he had with Johnny, Caliga invades the Devil May Cry to challenge Kotal Kahn to the greatest thing ever. KOMBAT!    |
Reeking to high heaven of Cherry Doom Doom Doom slushy, and rather full of life, the doors to the Devil May Cry suddenly fly open as Caliga suddenly comes kicking through the air, screaming at the top of his lungs. "KIIIIIIIIYAAAAAAAAAAAH!" He spins twice with his leg extended outwards, only to land nimbly oon the ground. "AND HE STICKS IT! TEN OUT OF TEN! AND THE CROWD GOES WILD!" It's obvious that all that sugar has gone straight to the poor man's head.
While its true that the DMC building is quite popular, it would have never occurred to Kotal Kahn that it was a hang out spot that was frequented, much less by people who do not form part of TASK. Being busy washing the dishes the moment Caliga made his grand entrance, Kotal Kahn wasn't in the correct presence of mind to attune to Caliga's chi in that precise moment. All he felt initially was a crazed presence approaching, someone smashing past the doors and then loud obnoxious yelling. Somewhat fearing that this may be some hooligan that is in association with Harley Quinn, Kotal Kahn jumps over the kitchen's counter and lands on the main room proper, macuahuitl razor blade unleashed. "Caliga?" The War God's golden eyes blink once he realizes who it is that is making such a ruckus. "What is the meaning of this?" "Have you been eating peyote?" Well.. back in Kotal's day, peyote was about the only thing that'd make people act like this.
While Kotal is expecting one of the lunatics that like causing mayhem for the poor people of Twisted, somewhere, in the back of his mind, he must be pleased that he doesn't have to deal with them again. Caliga grins at Kotal, staring directly at that blade of his. "Nah, nothing of the sort Big Blue. I just got back from visiting with an old friend, and things are quite all right now. I just figured that you had to be dying of boredom." His raises his gaze to Kotal's eyes, looking directly into them. The man moves towards to bar, striding past Kotal without an ounce of care that the blade may be coming at him. He reaches the main desk and reaches behind it, digging around before he retrieves a pen. He grabs a piece of paper, and starts writing on it, obviously leaving the owner of this establishment an IOU for the damage done to the doors. He sets the pen down and grins. "So. I believe I owe you something.. don't I?"
So no, Kotal wouldn't have minded a dozen or more punks storming the DMC, that might have made his day. But he's not petty enough to take out his frustrations on anyone and he rests his macuahuitl down on the ground, watching Caliga as he steps right past him and begins to write something on Dante's desk. No, Kotal doesn't stop him either, because Dante never gave explicit instructions to stop people from doing that and just lets him be. Kotal was still staring when Caliga finally turned around and commented on owing a certain something to the War God. "Oh?" Kotal's golden eyes shone brightly, his eyebrows raising. It was like showing a tasty, juicy meat to a starving, but very reluctant, dog. "Are you certain? You do not look as if you have recovered yet." Yes, the War God can still see the chains that bind Caliga's power.
"Oh, you'll be surprised what some cherries can do for a guy." Caliga grins as he motions for the War God to follow him. "Since you've come here, you've felt something was missing, haven't you?" He steps backwards now and moves towards the street. "Can you /honestly/ tell me that you've felt whole? Like you are complete?" The man slowly floats into the air, hovering a few feet off the ground as he idly floats down the street like a man would float down the river. "I'd call you a dirty liar who is deluding himself, because I can tell that you're restricted as well. Go on, summon /all/ of your strength. Summon everything that you are right here, right how. And when you can't, you'll realize that just because one is bound /here/ on the street doesn't mean jack diddly squat. You'll find out just how true that is, if you follow me."
So it wasn't peyote. Kotal was smelling the distinct scent of cherries on Caliga.. nay.. the man -reeked- with cherries, so Kotal could only assume that they were 'enhanced' in some way, although enhanced with sugar would be by far his last guess. As Caliga begins to float away from him, the War God follows and sets his giant razor blade on his back again, the wooden sword just sort of floating there since its clear Kotal has no scabbard, it just magically sticks to his back. "What you do not realize is that very rarely have I ever felt complete." Replies the Aztec "It is true, whatever enchantment surrounds Twisted affects me as well. However, it goes even beyond that, as I rely a lot on the position of the sun to strengthen my powers, and given the chaotic nature of this realm I cannot always count on that." For instance, Kotal can't really tell yet how long does the day and night last. "But it matters not to me. It is not the first time I am bound and need to engage in kombat." Goro and Rain tried to take Kotal's sun powers away and lets just say it did not end well for either of them. That's why Kotal Kahn took on Blood Magick, for when he could not rely on the sun. "These enchantments have done nothing to reduce my skill, I still remember all that I have learned in the arts of kombat through the ages." Then the God of War follows, looking confident as always. "Perhaps it shall be you how learns some other truths today." Town Hall - Arena Referred to as 'the Arena' by citizens of Twisted, the center of the Town Hall is a large sandy area surrounded by tall pillars which hold up the angled celing overhead. The arena area is actually about ten feet lower than the rest of the building with a stone walkway beneath the pillars allowing people to stand and look down at whatever events may be hosted at the time. From the North and South are stone steps leading to the two main entrances of the building. The one to the South leads back to the main street of Twisted, the one to the North leads to the TASK building. Often times people have asked why such a parthenon-looking structure would be named the Town Hall, at which point Senior Diablo would simply smile and walk away leaving it to the imagination. Hanging from the pillars are colorful banners representing the season, viewable only from the inside of the building. An interesting feature of the building is that the area around the sandy arena is somehow protected against attacks. Meaning if a fight where to break out in the arena itself, anyone standing along the walkways would be completely safe should the fight get out of control. Because of this seeing people wildly testing their abilities here is not uncommon.
"Perhaps." Caliga merely grins as he floats through the street, and comes to stop before the Town Hall. He continues past it, only to come to a stop before the arena itself. "So, you need the sun for your full power?" His feet touch the ground softly, as he now starts walking once again. He slowly climbs the stairs as he feels himself feeling more and more like his old self. "I'm fairly certain.. that could be arranged." He reaches into his pocket and pulls out an old antique pocketwatch, which he nods. "You're in luck! Twisted's sunrise is in.. about fifteen minutes!" Loud laughter escapes the mans mouth as he reaches down and unsheathes the katana from its temporary home. He idly swings it, trying to gauge its weight and feel. After a few swings, he nods his head. "After you." Caliga motions towards the arena, bowing formally to the man.
It is not a -terribly- well hidden secret. Eventually someone was bound to find out what are exactly the source of Kotal Kahn's powers. After all, he hangs out with Amaterasu a lot, to the point where he might start taking Issun's place if the bug is not too careful about it, even being on close proximity with the Sun Goddess strengthens Huitzilopotchli tremendously. Once they arrive to the arena, Kotal Kahn seems unconcerned that it will still take a bit before sunrise, and even then, the sun will not be at its full power. Dawn's strength is nothing like fighting in midday where the sun is at it is strongest. "No matter." Says Kotal as he walks past Caliga when he grants him to go first. The emperor of Outworld stepping into the arena proper breathes in the familiar smell of the coliseum and turns to face his challenger for today. "I will show you why exactly a true leader must learn to adapt with the circumstances." There is no sun yet, and that doesn't matter to Kotal Kahn. He pulls out his ceremonial obsidian dagger and brings it to his own chest, slicing his skin open so that blood pours over his torso. Suddenly his once golden eyes glow red and as he unleashes his macuahuitl the razor blade now burns as if it were on fire. "Come, Caliga." "Test your might against me!" No matter where they might go in the infinite universe, those participants of Mortal Kombat will always be bound to the rules of the tournament. Kotal has triggered the challenge and even here the voice of the Eldergods can be heard in the form of a disembodied booming voice. "Round One." "FIGHT!!"
The moment the Eldergods announce the start of the Kombat, its almost as if Caliga explodes with his former radience, eyes alight with wells of power. He doesn't scream as the energy swirls around him, but it's obvious every bit of him is now free, and whatever would leave to escape, only travels down to the blade within his hand. The blade itself seems to dance with flames as the light catches it, only to step forward. Each step he takes forward is deliberate, except for the last. As he closes the range between himself and Kotal, Caliga spins, bringing the back of the blade towards the Blue Aztec, striking not at him, but the macuahuitl itself. It's odd that he not would strike at the man, but his weapon. As the blade swings, Caliga's body contorts in a way that is almost inhuman as he opens his mouth, spewing a beam of pure ki forth that will sting quite badly if it catches any of the Aztec.
That is one of the upsides of being bound to the rules of the tournament. Sure, the possibility of dying is very real, and in obscenely painful gruesome ways at that, but the rewards of surviving is almost limitless power, and the freedom to use them whenever you engage in kombat. Kotal feels it too, the chains that bind Caliga break but only so much that the power won't seem to leave the arena. This is very convenient for everyone involved, not only can the two kombatants unwind as much as they please, but they also don't need to worry about collateral damage. Admittedly, Kotal is somewhat surprised that Caliga was the one closing the distance, since that's usually what the Aztec God excels. It serves just as well for Kotal however, since up close and personal is exactly where he enjoys being at with his opponents. Striking at the blade is a technique that the Cuachic is quite used to, since it is often ideal to disarm opponents in order to drag them for sacrifice. So familiar he is with this maneuver that Kotal seems to know how to counter against it perfectly. Rather than bring his weapon to block, Kotal actually swings his weapon back at the katana, using the broad side of his macuahuitl to whack the flat part of the katana and push the sword aside without actually touching the edge of it. He doesn't so much as deflects the blow, but simply lets Caliga's attack continue so it actually doesn't hit anything but air. Noticing energy building inside his opponent's mouth, Kotal continues with the kinetic energy of his macuahuitl slap to spin around on his heel and move right past Caliga, like two ships passing in the night, his shoulder only half an inch away from Caliga's shoulder. Then, Kotal positions himself right behind his attacker, letting Caliga shoot his projectile at the ground. For all of Kotal's bulk he is remarkably dexterous, that looked less like a fighting technique and more like a dancing maneuver. Whatever he is planning, Kotal resets his fighting stance once he puts himself behind Caliga.
As Kotal posistions himself behind Caliga, the odachi is lowered, the tip barely touching the ground. He then presses the blade into the ground enough to leave it steady on its own. Slowly the blade sinks into the ground on its own as he runs away from Kotal, leaping into the air. Yes, he knows that this is Kombat, but there is something freeing about no longer having to worry about his own demise. He suddenly takes to the air, soaring until he reaches that barrier that would once again restrict him, only to start laughing loudly once again. Kotal may take offense to it, but the freedom is its own drug, and Caliga as high on it as he can be. "Thank you." He suddenly spins around, and allows the ki to swirl around before him, only to start randomly throwing the orbs of energy around the arena, creating clouds of dust that only the most experienced of warriors would willingly traverse. He falls down to the ground now, suddenly silencing his power, moving soundlessly through the smoke that he created to once again close the distance between himself and Kotal. His right hand nimbly reaches down and rips his blade from the ground, creating an ear rending screech as the blade screams from the mistreatment. This time however, he's waiting for Kotal to make his own move.
No offense taken at the laughter, Kotal recognizes it well! That is the sound of someone that truly enjoys fighting and has not been able to do so for quite some time. Where Kotal Kahn not such a serious minded man, he too might join Caliga in that infectious laughter. His response is more subtle however, as he offers a barely noticeable smile when Caliga reaches the boundaries of the arena and thanks him. Then, as the barrage of energy is unleashed upon him, Caliga might notice that the Aztec makes no move to dodge them. At first it might look like they were coming so fast and furiously that Kotal simply had no chance to avoid them. The truth however, is that Kotal seemingly predicted their trajectory and realized none of them were actually aimed for him. Thus, staying put where he is was actually actively avoiding them. When Caliga descends to try and sneak into Kotal's circle of defense again, he'll the smoke parting quickly in his direction as something huge starts rushing his way. Is that Kotal Kahn running at him? No! That's actually just a shockwave! Huitzilopotchli locked on to Caliga's chi and smashed his macuahuitl on the ground towards him. The move is much like how Kotal does when he wants to bring attention to himself in public, banging the top of his serrated blade to cause the ground to shake. Except this time, Kotal actually channeled chi into the attack, causing said energy to travel through the ground towards Caliga, where it will explode upwards as soon as he reaches the man with more force than a whole crate of landmines.
As Kotal rushes towards him, only to slam that weapon down into the ground and send the chi rushing forth, Caliga doesn't move. As the chi surges forward, he suddenly slams the blade into the ground, sending his own energy into the ground, forcing two bodies of energy to collide and violently rip apart the ground between them. As the debris settles, he merely grins at Kotal. "Fun, isn't it?" He swings the blade upwards, the blade creating a faint howl as it pierces the wind. This concearns Caliga some, as he glances down at the blade once more. "Oh, I see. You are going to be fiesty, aren't you?" He shifts his weight, allowing his body to tense as he surges forward towards Kotal once again as he twists his body to spin the sword in a wide arc, sending a wave of energy forward as the blade itself follows after intending for there to be two blades, and not one heading towards the Aztec. "Indeed." Kotal agrees in his own excited way. There's very little hints to his face that might indicate that he's having, though they are there, trust me. His stoic features cannot hide the fierce glow to his now red eyes and the way his lips are twisted to the side as if he were pondering something really intently. "The feistiest." Responds the Aztec with his own odd take at wit. He's not sure why Caliga seems concerned about the state of his blade, though if Kotal where to guess he'd say it is being spent somehow. Irrelevant for the moment since his opponent dashes at him again after cancelling out his attack. Kotal has to admit, its nice to fight someone that does all the rushing instead of the other way around, he doesn't need to worry about closing the distance. The Cuachic takes a knee and ducks right under the wave energy sent at him, only to spring forward and thrust his macauhuitl upwards, once again, catching Caliga's blade right on the flat side to redirect its trajectory upwards. Huitzilopotchli is doing more than deflecting blows this time. Now he's inside Caliga's guard! Waves of impending doom pass through the arena as the very cosmic energies seem to reel back when Kotal makes a fist. Blood red fire envelopes the War God's hand and he cries out something in Nahuatl "Mahtizquia!" Kotal's fiery knuckles then explode forward from his hip like a piston pump, sailing straight for Caliga's liver with seemingly enough energy to punch the stomach right out of a normal human's back. Kotal is fairly certain a being of Caliga's power can survive a blow like that though.
Kotal Kahn is truly a gifted fighter. Caliga is going outright admit this, especially as that blow slams into him, and sends him flying away. He lands rather roughly on the ground in a heap, his blade skittering across the ground, slicing the ground violently with every bounce, creating deep cuts in the ground that seemingly go on forever. Of course, Caliga doesn't stay down, and rises to his feet, dusting himself off. He holds up the universal sign for a time out to Kotal, looking down at the blade itself. "Uno momento, por favor." He stands there for a few moments, looking at the blade itself, finally realizing just what exactly he is now relying on to keep himself alive. The memories recalled are not his own, but that of this particular sword's creator. "The creator of those daggers was one sick son of a bitch, wasn't he, NNy?" As he speaks these words to himself, he kneels down before the sword, and then looks at the sheath he had created for it. "This won't be enough, will it?" He knows Kotal may not wait forever, or at all, however, he now has two things to deal with at this moment, instead of one. He picks the blade back up, and sheathes it, only to reach into his jacket and pull out a stack of paper, with strange symbols on them. He channels his ki into the paper, only to quickly place it over the tsuba and the sheath, effectively sealing the two together for the time being. He then tears a long strip of cloth from his jacket, only to fashion a make shift harness to keep the blade on his back. He then turns towards the blue giant, and bows, "My apologies for this. Let us continue." This time Caliga surges forward, only to stop short of the Aztec God, dropping down low with his right leg extended outwards in a sweep towards the knee. Of course, even if this misses, his body is going to continue as both hands are placed upon the ground while his body twists, bringing the other leg upwards, ki traveling along it like blade, seeking to slice the chest of Kotal Kahn.
Woop, the universal sign for a time out. Bound as always to the rules of the tournament, Kotal Kahn has no choice but to acknowledge it and relents from continuing his attacks after sending Caliga flying backwards like that. "PAUSE!" The booming voice calls out from nowhere just to make it official. Taking the moment to catch his breath, Huitzilopotchli goes to one knee again and rests his knuckles on the pommel of his macuahuitl, watching Caliga pulling out some things and muttering to himself. The War God scans through his mind too, in order to see if any of Caliga's memories might allude to what is it that his opponent is doing. He seems to recognize that the blade Caliga holds bears some great importance, and it may be something that Caliga is using as a crutch right now. Though besides that, Kotal seems to be unsure. He could try and disarm his opponent, though then he wouldn't be able to see that full power unleashed. "FIGHT!" Comes the booming voice when Caliga bows and Kotal too stands. Kotal Kahn is indeed a gifted fighter-- and he would too being the God of Fighting. Only a God would not flinch when Caliga is once again right on top of him again before he can do anything, but even then that level of speed is far too much to react properly! Kotal clenches his jaw and raises his leg in order to defend himself, taking the kick on a curled knee to prevent his joint from snapping. There's a grunt from him of annoyance and surprise then when he sees the next attack and he makes a quick back dash to try and avoid the rising kick. The tip of Caliga's foot still slices upwards through the God's chest and he even raises his head up, earning him a cut on his chin. Its all Kotal can do to avoid getting his head kicked off. However, just as Kotal looks like he's getting pushed back, he bounces forward by pushing himself on his back leg. Now he's bearing down on Caliga by bringing his giant macuahuitl to bear. The massive serrated blade is swung in an overhead arc, flying down to Caliga's torso so that the obsidian blades dig deep into his flesh. "Taste the blade of the Aztecs!" As the blade is swung down towards Caliga, it seemingly strikes him, only for the blade to pass through an afterimage left behind from the immense speed he is now moving at. The man suddenly appears a few feet away from Kotal Kahn, almost as if he were teleporting, yet that isn't the case. The Aztec could /hear/ the movements, each step just sped up as if the laws of physics held no more bounds with Caliga. Faster and faster Caliga gets, only to now start applying that speed to more then just his movements. The man now stands a good thirty feet away from the Kotal, looking him straight into the eyes only to burst toward the man once more. As Caliga enters that range, his right arm bursts forward, sending a punch towards the midsection of the blue giant. Of course, even if it hits, its likely to be more of an annoyance then a devistating hit, but the fact Caliga doesn't even have the decency to stay still will make it all the more aggrivating as he leaves another after image, to start unleashing a violent flurry of blows from all around the warrior, allowing the speed he's moving to only hit a certain point, doing his best to not move past that, imposing his own restrictions on his regained power.
"Hmrr!" Kotal grunts when his macuahuitl's teeth slam into the ground, causing it to kick up dirt. His gaze is quickly switched forward once he realizes that Caliga is relying on supernatural speed now to avoid his blows. Huitzilopotchli readjusts his position and brings his serrated on a ready position by placing it on his back again, staring at his opponent right back into his eyes even if he's well out of range from him. Eye contact does not break when Caliga bursts forward and throws a fast bursting punch his way. Kotal Kahn may not be able to match Caliga's speed in terms of running, but Caliga might realize that Kotal's reflexes are well beyond the limits of a human. Perhaps, Godlike is the right term here. The fraction of a second that Caliga throws his punch, Kotal is slapping the man's elbow to redirect his kinect energy. With that kind of speed, Kotal only needs to push Caliga's elbow a tiny bit that it totally throws the direction away. After slapping the attack out of the way, Kotal side steps to give himself some room to maneuver, blood red eyes focusing on Caliga's moves. His opponent's rain of strikes come and Kotal is ready, sending his own flurry of perfect defense. For every punch thrown his way, Kotal stops the fist by catching it on his open palm, blocking over and over and over again whilst he twists and adjusts his position to stop Caliga from every angle, like some kind of impenetrable wall made of hands.
"You know, I haven't had this much fun in a fight for a really long time!" While it may be a matter of life or death for Kotal, to Caliga, this is a game, and its one he is seemingly enjoying quite a bit. Sure, he could start slinging around ki like water, but there is no enjoyment in that. Its merely a means to an end. And honestly, to Caliga, it seems more like the dishonorable thing to do to someone like Kotal. What else could there be to do? "All right." Giving up however, would be more dishonorable. The man's body suddenly goes limp as he raises his right arm upwards. The very ground beneath them starts to tremor violently as ki violently starts to gather around him, welling up above his hand, violet in color. More and more of the energy gathers until a gigantic ball of ki rests upon his hand, only for it to explode upwards and detonate, sending beams of energy upwards. "GENOCIDE RAIN!" The beams hurtle towards the barrier, only to arc downwards towards the arena, seeking to envelop everything within it in the blasts.
Although it is, in fact, live or death for him since this is a Mortal Kombat challenge, being the God of War and a natural fighter to boot, Kotal lives in such thrills, he was made and groomed for all that this is. In fact, the very act of engaging in battle is a way of worshiping Kotal and the once somber and stoic Aztec God begins to truly being looking like he is alive. His red eyes glow fierce now and the golden lines that go across his body like tattoos now shine a vivid red color. The Aztec grins despite himself as Caliga pulls back for his attacks. "You are most worthy." Answers the God of War. "As I knew you would be." Yes, he is not disappointed with the display Caliga has demonstrated thus far. However, Kotal is really in the same situation even if this - by virtue of being a Mortal Kombat challenge - could very well be life and death. Kotal has clearly been refraining from doing more lethal techniques like digging his hands inside Caliga's stomach and rip out entrails and bones.. that is not nearly as fun as regular martial arts, and it too would be dishonorable to do against Caliga. Instead, the War God prefers to watch as Caliga calls tremendous amount to his palms. He stops grinning for a moment when he sense that amount of power, and for a moment, it looks like Kotal can be in trouble... But wait-- has it been fifteen minutes already? The first lights of sunlight begin to peek from the sky and the Aztec God begins to shine with energy once again. Just as Caliga's Genocide Rain plummets down to the ground to obliterate everything in the arena, Kotal Kahn raises his palm up to the sky and chants; "Up the stairpath.. to the fire's edge.." "I bid to the sun.. scorch this land!!" The sun itself seems to heed Kotal's call and a massive incandescent beam of light falls from the heavens straight down to Caliga, like an orbital blast! The Aztec's grin returns just as the energy spheres collide into him. He's quite clearly trying to take Caliga down with him.
As the blasts strike down upon Kotal, so too does that beam of light strike Caliga, slamming him straight into the ground with all its force. Once light fades, and the smoke clears, he lays there, staring up at the sky, blowing rings of smoke from into the air. At last it wasn't being hit with time itself again. "So... Kotal, you want to go get some chimichangas?" Yeah, it seems that Caliga's finished with this fight for the time being. Now? It's time for food. | |
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