And now...
It's...
Round 2
Battle 2
Chaos Stavanos vs Nightmare Chaos vs. Nightmare
The lights in the arena began to flicker erratically, and a strange crackling sound emanated from the speakers dotted around the building. As the Rabbid janitors worked in vain to resolve the problem, Seos San Nekros glanced down at the fight schedule to check the next match.
?Oh, brilliant,? he muttered. ?Not this guy again??
Complete darkness suddenly engulfed the arena, pitching the audience into a state of panic. Before any riots could break out, however, a single spotlight illuminated the middle of the arena and a tall, dark-skinned figure standing in the middle of it, clad in an expensive black suit, with an absurdly large afro atop his head.
?Everybody dance now!? he declared, and loud music began to play over the speakers, prompting the anonymous intruder ? Chaos Stavanos in a rather ridiculous disguise ? into a break-dancing routine. The crowd began to applaud as they settled back into their seats, but the music was cut short by a gigantic sword impaling the stereo beside the judges? table, and the lights eventually came back on. Nightmare stomped into the arena, dragging Soul Edge along the floor behind him. Chaos stopped abruptly and transformed back to normal in the midst of a spin on his head, and swivelled himself around to face his opponent, still upside-down and looking slightly annoyed by the interruption.
?Oh, hi,? he said flatly. ?Be right with you.?
He rolled backwards away from Nightmare, ending up back on his feet and summoning Elemos Weapon onto his hand with a bright flash. Bouncing around on his toes and raising his fists like a boxer, he prepared to lunge into battle, but stopped and turned to the judges, an irritated look on his face.
?Hey, Slicks!? he shouted. ?Why don?t I get one of those cool arenas like the other guys got??
?As if it matters,? growled Nightmare, slamming the tip of Soul Edge into the floor and leaning on the huge sword. ?No matter where we fight, your soul will become my sustenance!?
?Highly unlikely,? retorted Chaos. ?Anyway, I?m not fighting until we?re somewhere cooler.?
?Alright, keep your hair on,? muttered Pandaemonium, inserting a coin into a jukebox-like device next to his chair and pushing a few buttons on the front. The stadium suddenly disappeared from around them, replaced by a vast and bizarre desert, though the judges? table, audience and snack vendors remained where they were. With a deafening boom, a lightning bolt shot down from the sky, narrowly missing Nightmare, who rolled aside to avoid the electrical blast. A jet of flame shot out of the ground directly beneath Chaos, and with a flash of light he was a small sparrow, fluttering out of harm?s way and tweeting madly.
?Lowthos!? he shouted, reverting to his normal form a few feet away from his original position. ?What the cr[i][/i]ap?s going on? Where are we??
The ghostly form of Lowthos the Destroyer floated out of the audience, hovering around for a few seconds before returning to Chaos.
?Valley of the Damned,? he growled. ?Don?t panic, you?re not dead yet; it?s a hologram or illusion or something. I wasn?t paying attention.?
?It?s not real?? asked Chaos, glancing around and, spotting a large fissure in the ground, setting off towards it at a quick pace. ?So I can just walk over this, and???
The rest of his sentence was cut off by a sudden scream as he fell into the crevice, returning a few seconds later in the form of a large winged frog. He returned to his original form once he was back on solid ground, glaring straight at Lowthos with murderous contempt.
?Shake hands please, gentlemen!? insisted TestVirus101, diverting Chaos?s attention away from trying to punch his ghostly companion; the combatants reluctantly shook hands, with Elemos Weapon and Nightmare?s hideously mutated claw, each trying to crush the other?s appendage and failing miserably. As TestVirus rang the ringside bell to signal the start of the fight, Elemos Weapon burst into flames, and Nightmare immediately released it and backed away, smoke rising from his burnt claw as he roared angrily and raised his sword in his left hand.
?It?s game time, Slick,? smirked Chaos, stepping back into a rather absurd martial arts stance. ?Come and get some.?
Nightmare immediately leapt into action, taking a step forward and thrusting Soul Edge at his opponent. Chaos sidestepped the attack, and Nightmare swung his immense blade horizontally, hitting his adversary in the chest. The impact knocked him off his feet, and he rolled upon hitting the ground, coming to a halt near a large crevice.
?That?s it?? he asked, with a sly grin. ?Taste my lightning, sucker!?
He raised his right hand and extended his thumb, index and pinkie fingers, a fork of lightning shooting from the latter two, crackling towards Nightmare. He raised Soul Edge to block the electrical attack, but staggered backwards and grunted in pain as the electrical current surged through his weapon and armour. Chaos sprinted towards his stunned foe, running straight past him and slamming his elbow into the Azure Knight?s back, sending him stumbling forwards a few paces. He spun round with an enraged roar, swinging Soul Edge at Chaos?s feet, but the shape-shifter merely laughed and jumped over the blade, only to receive a swift punch in the chest from Nightmare?s mutated arm. This was followed by a side kick and an upwards slash, which launched Chaos into the air. As Nightmare jumped to perform an aerial slash, however, Chaos stopped in mid-air, blocked Soul Edge with his right hand and punched Nightmare in the face with his left, declaring ?Combo Breaker!? in a proud and happy voice as he did so. The soul-stealing swordsman hit the dusty ground with a loud clang, and as Chaos landed a few feet away, he heard applause and what sounded like an air horn from somewhere in the audience. Glancing around, he saw Talim in the front row of the nearest set of seats, holding up a large ?Down With Nightmare? sign with one hand and trying to force a 1-Up Mushroom down Stephen?s throat with the other.
Chaos flashed a quick thumbs-up to his supporter, before being knocked to the ground by Soul Edge?s hilt colliding with the back of his head. As he hit the ground, Nightmare thrust Soul Edge downwards into his back, causing him to yell in pain. The Azure Knight raised his arm, and a bolt of lightning descended from the sky, flowing through his sword and into Chaos?s body. He withdrew the immense blade and stepped back, but Chaos remained motionless, lying face down in the sand.
?Is that the best you have to offer, fool?? mocked Nightmare, stepping forwards and raising his sword again. ?What a worthless soul? now, come unto me!?
As he swung the huge weapon at Chaos, a blinding flash illuminated the Valley of the Damned, and the immobile combatant was gone, replaced by a huge grey Thwomp covered with stone spikes. Soul Edge clanged uselessly against the solid mass as it ascended into the sky and slammed down on the same spot, sending a tremor through the ground that shook Nightmare off-balance. The Thwomp transformed back into Chaos with a blinding flash, and he punched Nightmare in the face with Elemos Weapon, receiving a kick in the chest as retaliation. He staggered backwards a few paces, then went completely rigid and fell over backwards, sending a small cloud of dust into the air as he hit the ground.
A sense of general confusion seemed to fill the arena; the audience, the judges, the hot-dog vendor, even Nightmare, all stared in disbelief at Chaos as he sat up, punched the ground and got to his feet, shaking his head. Somewhere in the audience, Shao Kahn the Konqueror stood up and bellowed ?Round two, fight!?, prompting the combatants back into battle. Chaos lunged forwards, electrifying Elemos Weapon as he drove it into Nightmare?s face and ducked under the retaliatory swipe of Soul Edge. As Chaos spun round to deliver a roundhouse kick to his opponent?s head, the Azure Knight blocked the attack with his arm and punched Chaos in the back of the head, sending him staggering. Nightmare stepped forwards to press the advantage, but Chaos disappeared in a flash of light, replaced by an unusually large lion.
?Jesus Christ!? exclaimed Pandaemonium, leaping out of his seat. ?I?ll be in the car!?
The other judges laughed as Pandaemonium sprinted away from the judges? table and disappeared as he passed outside the boundaries of the illusion, and Lion-Chaos turned to face Nightmare, roaring loudly before leaping at the Azure Knight, his enormous paws colliding with the armoured swordsman?s chest and knocking him to the ground, Soul Edge slipping from his grasp.
?Rawr,? Chaos growled simply, Elemos Weapon appearing on his paw with a flash of light. ?Now it?s over! Gaia?s Wrath!?
He drew back his gloved paw in a way that shouldn?t really be possible for a lion, and punched the ground just next to Nightmare?s head. Where the Elemental relic made contact, a huge crack began to form, splitting the Valley of the Damned with a tremendous roaring sound. Chaos leapt off his opponent and returned to his normal form in mid-flight, spinning in a sort of flamboyant pirouette to face Nightmare as he got to his feet and took one step towards his grinning adversary. At that moment, a plume of fire elected to burst from the ground just in front of Nightmare; he took a reflexive step back, teetering uncertainly on the edge of the crevice and struggling to regain his balance. A howling cyclone suddenly engulfed Chaos, and with a quick pelvic thrust he sent a gust of wind rushing towards Nightmare, toppling him into the abyss with a defiant roar.
?Owned!? shouted Chaos, performing a spontaneous backflip and signalling for the audience to applaud. However, with a sudden flash of light, Nightmare was back, looking slightly confused as he glanced around the Valley of the Damned.
?What the cr[i][/i]ap?? exclaimed Chaos, staring in disbelief as Nightmare went to retrieve Soul Edge. ?I didn?t know he could do that??
?Enough foolishness,? Nightmare snarled as he dragged Soul Edge towards Chaos and raised it one-handed. ?Time to finish this!?
?Round three!? bellowed Shao Kahn. ?Fight!?
Nightmare took one step forwards and spun round, swinging Soul Edge at Chaos?s feet. Chaos jumped up and over his opponent, generating a small lightning storm in his right hand and showering Nightmare with electrical sparks as he passed overhead. The Azure Knight roared as the current flowed through his armour, and as Chaos landed, a shockwave erupted from Nightmare?s body, knocking him off his feet. He hit the ground hard, rolling out of the path of an imminent lightning bolt and sidestepping a jet of flame that shot out of the ground nearby and randomly froze solid. As Nightmare approached, Chaos kicked the base of the frozen column, breaking it off and wielding it in one hand like a sword of ice. The Azure Knight?s only reaction was to laugh.
?Do you really think an icicle can stand up to the might of Soul Edge?? he mocked, slamming his sword into the ground for emphasis.
?Icicle?? asked Chaos, grinning. ?No, this is a firecicle. Observe.?
He took two steps back and raised the frozen tongue of flame like a javelin, before sprinting forwards and hurling it at Nightmare. As it neared its target, he swung his immense blade to cut it down, and Chaos snapped his fingers with a sly smirk. The ice melted and evaporated all at once as the spear of flame began to blaze once more, and Nightmare roared in frustration as fire engulfed Soul Edge and, subsequently, his right arm. Chaos seized the opportunity and leapt into action, punching Nightmare in the face with the now-electrified Elemos Weapon before sending a stream of electricity into his face. Nightmare swung his flaming blade furiously, hitting Chaos in the chest and launching him backwards, but a bright flash in the sky signalled his transformation into a smallish dragon, which swooped down and spewed a jet of fire at the Azure Knight before transforming back into Chaos and rolling on contact with the ground, rising to his feet with a cry of ?Shoryuken!? and a leaping uppercut that propelled Nightmare into the air. He landed flat on his back, sending up a cloud of dust, and lay there for a few moments before struggling to his feet again, leaning on Soul Edge for balance and breathing heavily.
?Persistent, aren?t you?? smirked Chaos, taking a step back and clenching Elemos Weapon into a fist. Flames engulfed the metallic glove, and electrical sparks began to leap from it as Elemental power surged through it.
?It?s? not over?? panted Nightmare, taking a shaky step towards the shape-shifter.
?Yes it is, Slick. Taste the wrath of the Chaos Stavanos Uber Awesome Elemental Special Fatality!?
Ignoring the resounding mumbling of ?What the fu[i][/i]ck?? from the judges, he adopted a dramatic pose and thrust his right hand forward, firing a bolt of lightning that blasted Soul Edge from Nightmare?s hand. A jet of ice soon followed, freezing the Azure Knight?s mutated right arm completely solid and causing him to roar with anger. A bolt of lightning descended from the sky, striking the frozen appendage and shattering it into a thousand pieces, and another blast of frozen air billowed forth from Chaos?s hand, this time freezing Nightmare?s legs from the knees down. With a faint grin, he lowered his hand and leapt forwards like a panther, landing just in front of Nightmare and delivering a powerful sweep kick that shattered his frozen legs. The swordsman hit the dusty ground with a loud crash and an even louder agonised yell, and Chaos backflipped away, raising his right hand and forming a gigantic fireball in it.
?Had enough yet?? he taunted. ?Too bad!?
Rearing up like a baseball pitcher, he hurled the flaming orb directly at his helpless opponent, who was promptly engulfed by a devastating explosion that shook the entire Valley of the Damned. When the flames and smoke finally died down, only a smoking crater remained, strewn with scraps of scorched blue metal.
?Chaos wins!? declared Test Virus101. ?Fatality!?
The audience began to cheer wildly as the hologram faded and the arena returned to normal, and Chaos immediately leapt into his victory dance, much to the annoyance of Lowthos, who hovered over the judges? table.
?Guys, please, you have to do something,? it growled. ?It gets longer every time! Can?t you stop him??
?I could?? began Xtreme Gamer, but was immediately cut off by a punch to the neck from Pandaemonium ? who had now returned from the car park with a 24-crate of beer under one arm ? that knocked him out of his seat.
?You couldn?t. I?ve got money on him. Sotek, get rid of him.? Sotek nodded, reached under the table and pushed a concealed button; a trapdoor opened up in the middle of the arena, and Chaos fell through, screaming in a somewhat girlish manner, before being abruptly cut off as the trapdoor slid shut.
?Where does that lead, anyway?? asked Lowthos, looking thoroughly impressed with the trap.
?Who cares?? shrugged Pandaemonium. ?Next!?