The Coming of Winter

The Coming of Winter Part 4

Disclaimer: I am not Victar! I am merely crossposting his stories onto this site after obtaining his permission. With Victar's site being closed with the rest of AOL, I am posting his Mortal Kombat stories to Wattpad to archive them. This story was written by him, and all credit goes to him.  

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The living shadow extended both hands, bringing them together and turning his palms sideways. Elongated, ropy tentacles of Power stretched from his fingertips. I dodged to the side, at the same time reaching within the bloodstained folds of my uniform. The black ropes curved, homing in on me. They wrapped around my waist and chest, lifting me off the ground and raising me high above Saibot's head.

"I'll rip you in half!" he shrieked. The tentacles pulled in opposite directions. My skin and muscles protested the strain. Both my arms were pinned tightly to my chest; I wouldn't be able to work them free in time.

"You are pathetic, Shade!" I yelled, attacking him with words for want of a better weapon.

"Don't call me that!" he cried. A note of hysteria was creeping into his voice. The pull of his tentacles lessened.

"It is what you are, Shade! You should be thankful for your name. Your Power has given you the one thing no other Lin Kuei can have: freedom! You could have used your Talent to live as you please, Shade, but instead you sell yourself into slavery and whine about your misery!"

"Stop calling me that! Shade does not exist; I am Noob Saibot!" The tentacles shuddered and stopped pulling completely.

"No, you are merely a Shade, a formless spot of darkness lying in the wake of tangible objects. You do not deserve a real name, because Shade is all you will ever be!"

"Stop it! STOP IT! STOP IT!" Frantic rage disrupted his concentration, and with it, his Power. His tentacles abruptly let go of me and melted away, as his limbs returned to normal. I flipped forward, landing on my feet.

"STOP CALLING ME THAT NAME!" He barreled toward me like a berserker, both hands reaching for my throat. When he was almost upon me, I withdrew a glittering object from within my uniform and thrust it into his chest. It flared bright as noon upon my silent command.

"Wha-?" Saibot ceased moving. His arms drooped. Beads of blackness dripped from his outline, splashing and vanishing on the ground. The darkness forming his body was collapsing in on itself. He sank, gradually dissolving into an inky pool. "A Sunstone!? Where - did - youuuuu... eeeeeeerrAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

His last scream seemed to go on and on. I could still hear it resonating in my head well after the last trace of blackness vanished from the dry earth, leaving behind the dull, empty husk of what had once been a Sunstone. Its light and Saibot's darkness had canceled each other out.

Damn.

The rakshasa was sitting in front of me. Her lips parted, uncovering needle-sharp teeth. "Nice kitty," I soothed, mimicking Saibot's tone of voice.

Shandra's fur lost its golden brilliance. Flickers of Power surrounded her. Her limbs grew longer and slimmer; the joints realigned themselves. Her chest bulged out and her face flattened. Cropped dark hair sprouted from her head. In the instant it takes to draw breath, she changed form from beast to human woman. And not just any woman.

"'Nice kitty' my ass," Orchid sniffed, running her fingers through her bangs. "Is he dead?" she inquired, with an offhand gesture to where Saibot had been.