It had been a bright, sunny day, in the Amazon Jungle. The warm, humid air seemed to oppress the traveler as the bright sun filtered in through the layers of trees. He had cut a path through the underbrush, standing in a small clearing of tree trunks and roots, finding himself a place to sit. He removed his sun-hat, and his wet t-shirt, revealing the muscular form of Liu Kang. His black, shoulder length hair seemed to reflect the sunlight as he tied the signature red sash around his head. His legs crossed, eyes shut, and Liu felt once more at peace with the Earth.

His meditation took him away from his body, his spirit transcending the physical restraints of this world. He had chosen the Amazon for its isolation, and the sheer number of wildlife offered their combined energies to bolster his. His mind roamed over the past week, and with no small sense of elation, he was proud to be alive.

Liu felt his spirit travel up, and knew that this was to be a trip down memory lane. He recalled with stunning vividness the way in which he had defeated an entire gauntlet of warriors, in his way to defeat Shang Tsung. He thought of the friends he had made, the enemies he had vanquished, and the revenge he had exacted. He watched each fight as it unfolded, saw himself constantly improving in the face of diversity, and continued to win. What he had not realized, however, was that he was not alone in the woods. Not by a long shot.

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The scent of fresh meat drove him insane. He had been stuck in this hell, of green and heat, for weeks. Cut off from his horde, his mate, and his realm, he had been forced to feed on the wild animals. His stomach ached for the fresh meat of man, and his mouth watered at the stench that filled his nose, the sweaty meat scent of a man. He moved from tree to tree, following this stranger, his eyes dipping over the man's muscular build, his bulging veins, his thick legs. Baraka would feast well tonight.

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Liu's thoughts drifted to Kitana, the girl he had met during the tournament. For a man of such rigid discipline, for such.. morals, he had been shook by the inklings of what might've been love. But he knew better then to fall into the trap of such horrid things. Love clouded judgement. Love caused pain, and venegance. And for an esteemed member of the White Lotus Society, Love just was out of the question.

Even in his meditative state, his ears, his nose, his mouth, all still worked, all still sensed, all still detected. The slight ruffling of leaves caught his attention, even as his mind was thinking of the way Shang Tsung looked falling off the ledge, towards the spikes below. His nose detected the slight scent of dirt, grime, and blood. And he could almost taste the horrid scent of this.. what, animal? He was still unsure.

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Food! Delicious, bloody food! His animal instinct quickly overrode what semblance of sentience there was in the Tarkatan's mind, and his arm-blades popped out on their own accord. He bared his teeth, planted his feet on the tree trunk, and dove out, arms first, towards the figure-seated..the prey. Dinner time.

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Liu's body filled with an adrenaline, and he quickly rolled backwards, feet springing up, kicking Baraka up and away from his body. The brute flew into a tree trunk, and sprang back up, arms brandishing the blades. Liu stood, adopting his Jeet Kune Do stance. "What is it you want with me, beast?" Baraka moved into the clearing, putting about ten feet between him and his food. "Blood." He roared, saliva pouring down his chin as he again lunged.

Liu side-stepped, his right fist shooting out to hit Baraka right over his right ear. The Tarkatan, expecting the blow, swung his left arm out in a semi-circle, the tip of the blade cutting into the skin over Liu's abs. The blood spouted out of the rather light wound, and as Baraka tucked, rolled and stood once more, his arm spouting the red life-essence of Liu Kang. Baraka ran his tongue over the blade, choosing to taunt his prey.

The minute Baraka's eyes dipped to the blade, Liu launched into a flying kick, catching the Tarkatan right in his chest, pushing him straight back into the tree. Liu followed up with a right head-kick, which Baraka ducked underneath, his arms shooting out to stab Liu in his chest. Liu's left hand shot down, and pushed the blades away from his body, the blades shooting out behind his right armpit. Liu brought his right elbow across Baraka's face, smashing in his nose.

Liu backflip-kicked, putting distance between the two fighters, and hoping to inflict mroe damage, but Baraka had moved away before the strike could land. Baraka's nose was spouting blood, as was the wound on Liu's stomach. Almost as if on cue, both fighters both shot projectiles at each other, Baraka launching a blade out of his arm, as Liu shot a fireball towards Baraka. The two objects deflected off each other, and both fighters rushed the middle. Baraka stood on one toe, and spun in a circle, arms out, causing a bladed-tornado, which forced Liu to roll underneath the vicious attack.

His body continued to roll from his momentium, and as his movement stopped, he swung on his toe, still low, to sweep the legs out from under him. Baraka hopped over the kick. and drove both blades, down, impaling Liu's shoulders to the floor. His blades cut right through Liu's flesh and muscle, barely missing the bone. Baraka's face pulled back into what could only be described as a smile, as he knew victory was near. He brought his right arm back, aiming for Liu's neck, ready to send in the death-strike.

But Liu, not too keen on dying quite yet, had a different idea. In a complete display of of courage, and, well, pain-tolerance, Liu rolled to his right, avoiding Baraka's strike, and bringing the impaled arm with him. Baraka fell onto his back, surprised not only by the fact that Liu had mounted him, but moreso surprised that his left arm's blade was still driven through Liu Kang's shoulder. He dug the blade in deeper, causing tears of pain to well down Liu's cheeks, as his right hand continued to pummel the Outworld monster in the face.

Baraka swung his arm towards Liu's face, hoping to kill the Martial Artist once and for all, but Liu's left arm caught the blow. He summoned all of his strength, and turned the blade on it's master, now fighting Baraka in an arm-wrestling duel of life or death. Liu used the the momentary stand-still to pull his right arm off of the blade, tearing the wound open further. Painstakingly, but slowly, his arm came free of the weapon, and he used his now free hand to hold the arm down to the floor.

The two fighters fought bitterly over the use of Baraka's arm, and it seemed as though neither side would prevail. Then, showing his own physical prowess, Baraka was able to bump his hips, throwing Liu off balance, and sliding out from beneath the White Lotus warrior. Both fighters stood to face each other once more, both exhausted, both bloody. The fire from Liu's deflected fire-ball had turned the surrounding foilage into tinder, as a now brutal forest fire raged behind them. It was here Liu spotted his victory strategy. His kicks were aimed towards the beast's head, and arms, keeing the beast occupied, as Liu slowly wheeled him to face a certain, thick tree-trunk. Liu stepped back, shot a knee-high fireball, and planted his feet into the soft dirt, shifting all his weight ot his knees.

Baraka jumped the ball with ease, searching for a way to win this fight, but his eyes and nose were still too distracted by the blood-flow to worry about whatever his adversary might be planning. As he came down from his jump, he realized his mistake, and knew that the fight had ended.

Liu kicked off the dirt, his knees rapidly bending then straightning in his signature bicycle kick. Baraka had been caught completely off-guard, and felt each kick impact harder than the last, pushing him all the way back towards the fire. He swung his blades in a desperate attempt at a decapitation, trying anything to survive. Liu was forced to duck, but he knew victory was in hand, and as he shot a kick to the stomach, bending Baraka over, his right knee rose to meet the head of his opponent.

The knee connected flush into the face of Baraka, causing him to backflip into the thick tree, his back impacting about a foot off the tree. It was with a sudden realization, as he felt the heat draw closer to his back, that he felt his organs being ruptured from the inside. His intertia brought him to a stop at the base of the tree, and as his eyes fell to his chest, he caught a glimpse of the blade he had fired earlier in the fight, stuck in the tree. His last sight was of Liu standing up straight, blood and sweat dripping off his body, turning his back from his opponent and walking off. The fire consumed Baraka's dead body. The fight was over.