Baraka vs. Riptor

## Description

*Two beastly fighters enter the slaughterhouse, but only one will sink their teeth into the flesh of victory.*

## Interlude

Hiro: In the world of fighting games, only the best of the best can claim victory. And sometimes, the deadliest combatants are the ones that are less than human.

**MBStarscream: These two just need their razor sharp teeth and claws to get the job done, and their victims *don't* look pretty when they're finished.**

Hiro: Baraka, the bladed beast of Mortal Kombat.

**MBStarscream: And Riptor, the primal warrior of Killer Instinct.**

Hiro: I'm Hiro Hamada.

**MBStarscream: I'm MBStarscream.**

Hiro: And it's our job to examine both warriors' strength, abilities, weapons, and weaknesses to see who would win in a fight.

## Baraka

Hiro: Shao Kahn, emperor of Outworld. A cruel tyrant that seeks to conquer other worlds to add to his ever-expanding empire. But he does not do this solely by himself; he has many enforces on his side to aid in his conquest, ranging from humans to centaurs to even half-human, half-dragon warriors known as Shokan.

**MBStarscream: But very few enforces are as unforgiving as the Tarkatan known as Baraka.**

*Baraka: My blades will find your heart.*

**MBStarscream: A member of a brutal species of warriors situated in Outworld, Baraka is a battle-hardened general that leads his people into battles with victory usually a guarantee, cutting down those who stand in his way.**

Hiro: As a member of the Tarkatan race, Baraka's physicality is far more enhanced than that of a normal human's. He's able to effortlessly dismember other warriors with his bare hands and keep up with the likes of Mileena, Sub-Zero and Tremor. He can also move fast enough to leave numerous afterimages, and can take devastating blows and lethal impacts, and keep on fighting like nothing even happened.

**MBStarscream: As a general, Baraka is also capable of strategy, having thwarted many ambushes in the past, and is trained in a large variety of martial arts, from Hung Gar to Iron Wire Fist. But his most notable attribute is his Tarkatan nature. He is described as the fiercest of his kind and a capable warrior by nature. Plus, certain senses like his smell are at levels that could be considered superhuman, as he can tell the true identity of targets by their scent.**

Hiro: Baraka also has a potent healing factor, as he was able to survive Kung Lao's Body Slice Fatality in the events of Mortal Kombat Trilogy, though he required giant staples to hold his body together. And Baraka doesn't just fight with his fists; he has carried a wide variety of weapons in his days, such as a Razor Cane, a Thoraxe (No, not Thor's axe, and I definitely didn't just say the name of a reformed Changeling from My Little Pony), a Spear, and a War Banner. And with the addition of body spikes in Mortal Kombat 11, Baraka can now shoot the spikes out of his back as a defensive maneuver.

**MBStarscream: But his most used and iconic weapons in all his appearances are his Tarkatan Blades. Four feet in length, these arm blades are strong enough to cut through flesh, bone and metal, and can be grinded together to fire a projectile. Additionally, Baraka now seems to be able to break off and regrow his Tarkatan Blades at will.**

Hiro: But he usually uses these blades for devastating special moves, like the Chop Chop and Blade Spin. And when an opponent is defeated, Baraka can finish them off with several different Fatalities that are *not* for the faint of heart.

*Baraka #1 slices off Baraka #2's arms, then impales him through the chest with one of his arm blades before slicing Baraka #2 vertically in half with the other blade. Baraka #1 then lifts up an half of Baraka #2's body still attached to his blade in victory.*

**MBStarscream: He can decapitate his foe with a single swing of his arm blade, let them slide down his blades, slice off limbs from the torso, or even spin them on his blade for a glorious pinwheel of gore.**

Hiro: Baraka is certainly no slouch in battle. He's led a raid on the Wu Shi Academy that went better than the one at Area 51, killed the second Sub-Zero, defeated an entire rebel faction single-handedly, and is the reason why Jax Briggs has metal arms. But don't let this fool you; all Mortal Kombatants come with weaknesses.

**MBStarscream: Despite being a general, Baraka mainly *follows* orders as opposed to giving them, his Special Attacks can leave him open for countering, and most of the time, he just goes berserk on his opponents without any strategy. And despite his ferocity, he has lost to many opponents who have no right to have defeated him, like washed-up Hollywood movie stars.**

Hiro: But Baraka is still a bloodthirsty warrior with a knack for killing. Once he sees you as his next victim, there is no stopping the inevitable.

*As Sonya Blade falls to the ground, Baraka skewers her brain on his arm blade and takes a bite.*

## Riptor

Hiro: Ultratech. This global megacorporation specializes in the creation of advanced military weaponry, albeit mechanical, spiritual, and even genetically. Constantly in an arms race to create the most advanced war machines they could, the most obvious place to look for the ultimate bioweapon was not the near future, but the distant past.

**MBStarscream: By combining human and raptor DNA, Ultratech was able to create the deadliest creature that ever walked the Earth: The cunning intelligence of a human and the animalistic ferocity of a prehistoric predator put together. The result? A new species named... Riptor.**

*Riptor rushes onto the battlefield, then grinds to a halt, her plasma-laced claws creating sparks. She then takes a quick look at her opponent and snaps at them, aggressively.*

Hiro: Standing 7ft tall and weighing 700lbs, Riptor is twice the size of the largest-known member of the family Dromaeosauridae, Utahraptor ostrommaysi, which could have been comparable to a polar bear in size. As a Killer Instinct character, Riptor is a formidable fighter for many. She’s strong enough to knock even Aganos into the air, and is fast enough to deal combos of attacks upon her opponents.

**MBStarscream: She can sure as hell take the hits as well, being able to survive combos from all sorts of fighters from guest characters like Rash and General RAAM and the larger Gargos and Aganos. Riptor also comes with a decent moveset. Her fire breath is a useful weapon in combat, being used to build up her combos as well as create carpets of flames that help put pressure on her opponent. And apparently that tail of her’s ain’t exactly organic, cause she can extend it to stab the shit outta her opponents! She can also kick the hell out of the poor soul facing her with those wicked sickle claws of hers, and bite their throats out and toss them aside like the worthless mortals they are with her jaws.**

Hiro: As if you thought that was enough, Riptor can use Instinct Mode to buff herself momentarily. Her attacks deal greater damage, and some of them now bring electricity into the fray. But when her opponent is near death, she can end them with one of her many No Mercy moves.

*Riptor launches Jago into the air with her tail and as he is high above, she then flips over him and tries to bite Jago's torso but misses by an inch. Jago lands lifelessly as Riptor lands on her back and breathes out fire in frustration. Riptor then looks at Jago — who is still alive by a hand twitch — before breathing fire onto him causing the screen to go white. The screen fades back to Riptor walking towards the flames where her cremated victim once lay before lying down next to the flames for a victory nap.*

**MBStarscream: She can impale the opponent with her tail Xenomorph-style, kill them with fiery venom, or just eat them whole. Even though she's a young one, Riptor has already proven herself to be one of Ultratech's greatest successes.**

Hiro: She's battled on par with demigods and powerful robots, defeated the almighty Eyedol, easily dismantled a squadron of Fulgores with a pack of her sisters, and even overthrew her creators and took over the world with her offspring. But Riptor is not an invincible warrior; as already mentioned, Instinct Mode can only last for so long, and on top of that, Riptor is pretty lacking in long range options, and needs to close the distance to deal real damage.

**MBStarscream: Plus, her human intelligence usually conflicts with her predatory instincts, resulting in her attacking whatever she can't understand, and she has been overpowered by opponents like TJ Combo. But Riptor has shown herself to be a truly deadly force of nature. If you're alone with this gal and she finds you worthy prey, you better hope your end is quick.**

*Riptor makes a run at the off-camera opponent, then springs on top of them and bites them (presumably taking a few chunks off them). She then notices the camera focused on her, peers at it, then snaps at it before shrieking at the sky, fire escaping her mouth.*

## Fatal Fiction

*Mario flips a coin.*

Hiro: Well, Baraka has the home field advantage here, but can that save him from Ultratech's dinosaur bioweapon?

**MBStarscream: This is gonna be the closest thing we're gonna get to a Mortal Kombat/Killer Instinct crossover, folks. It's the best we can do.**

*Outworld, Shao Kahn's Fortress*

A scream echoed through the hallways. It came from a man wearing a skeletal mask. He was a so-called Kahn Guard, a warrior that served the Emperor of Outworld, Shao Kahn. The beast that had the poor man pinned beneath her ripped at his abdomen with her claws, sinking her teeth in every now and then and pulling out intestines, all the while the Kahn Guard was screaming and writhing in agony. Annoyed at the screaming, the monster slammed her jaws onto the guard head and twisted it off before discarding it and resuming eating.

Responsible for his death was a dromaeosaur of some kind with a small chest and thin arms with metal plates on them. Three flimsy spikes protruded from the back of its head. Metal bionics ran down its back and down to the end of its tail, and its claws had blue energy enhancements. The hexagonal patterns along its body slowly faded in and out from light blue to black, and bar codes and the Ultratech logo were tattooed in several places. This dinosaur was none other than **Riptor**, creation of Ultratech.

Her meal was interrupted when she heard a scraping noise. Looking up from her kill, Riptor saw something truly ugly advancing towards her. This... thing had no hair and sharp teeth. It wore a red-and-white tunic and black pants. The arms were covered with some spikes which seemed to be out of some kind of metal. What stood out though, were the four foot long blades protruding from the thing's forearms, which looked like they could decapitate a grown man with only one strike.

Scraping his blades together menacingly, **Baraka** spoke towards Riptor. "Leave now, and my blades mightn't tear you to shreds."

Riptor's only response was an aggressive growl and a snap of her vicious jaws. Bearing her plasma-laced claws, Riptor got into a fighting stance, the warrior standing before her taking his own stance not long after. "Fine. Have it your way, dinosaur."

Both creatures were more than ready for combat as they faced one another. No other mortals dared intervene in this confrontation, lest they wished for death.

Springing forward, Riptor came charging forth as Baraka sprinted towards his foe. Only one of them shall survive this duel.

**FIGHT!**

Springing forward, Riptor dealt the first blow, raking her claws down Baraka's face and quickly drawing blood. In retaliation, Baraka spun like a top with his blades extended, damaging his opponent. Riptor rammed Baraka in the gut with her head, then leaned forward and brought her tail swinging upward. Like a scorpion, the tail stabbed away at Baraka a total of three times, until Riptor clamped her jaws around her opponent’s throat and spun around, tossing the Tarkatan away. Standing up, a rather noticeable bite mark left on his neck, Baraka shot a series of spikes from his back, with blood spurting out when the spikes flew.

Knocked away by the projectiles, Riptor charged back into the fray, Baraka standing ready for her. Swinging with her left arm, Riptor attempted to slash at her foe, only for Baraka to bring up his blades to defend himself. Riptor's claws raked ineffectively across the Tarkatan's blades, unable to break him defense. Seeing this, Riptor instead went for Baraka’s stomach, her right claws cutting through the skin and spilling blood onto the ground. As Baraka flinched from the blow, Riptor swung with her left arm again, slashing Baraka across the face. Following up with another blow to the head with her right arm, Riptor bit into Baraka's neck, tossing him to her left.

Springing back to his feet, Baraka was far from done as he sliced Riptor up vertically with his blades numerous times, purple blood flying through the air. He followed this up by slashing Riptor three consecutive times with his arm blades before delivering a cross chop with his blades, knocking Riptor down and away form Baraka. Roaring angrily, Riptor kicked at Baraka’s right leg with her sickle claw, making him flinch and recoil slightly, allowing the raptor to press her assault. Jumping into the air, Riptor kicked out with her legs, her claws cutting through the skin on Baraka's chest. Swinging with her arms, Riptor scored two direct hit on Baraka, leaving behind numerous bloody gashes that stretched diagonally over the front of his body.

But Riptor wasn’t yet finished, for once again she slashed Baraka’s face with her talons. As Baraka was forced backwards, blood flying from the bloody cuts on his face, Riptor attacked again, but this time not with her claws. Parting her jaws, Riptor released a jet of orange flame from her throat. The fire lanced into Baraka's abdomen, making the Tarkatan shout with pain as his tunic was charred black. Pressing her assault, Riptor applied more gashes to Baraka's body as she jumped up and sent her claws slashing downwards through her opponent’s flesh.

Lowering her head, Riptor sprang forward, ramming hard into Baraka's gut. The servant of Shao Kahn was shoved backwards by the strength of the blow, allowing Riptor to jump at him again. Punching her sickle claws into her opponent’s shoulders, the raptor used the Tarkatan as a springboard as she hurled herself backwards, finally wrapping up her combo with a fireball to Baraka’s face, flooring him in an instant.

Refusing to give her opponent any respite, Riptor pounced on him and bit down on Baraka's chest area, hoping to dislodge the general's ribcage. However, Baraka kicked Riptor off of him and sprang to his feet as Riptor recovered from the blow to her abdomen. Baraka rushed forward, impaling his opponent with both blades and lifted her up. He then rammed his left blade through Riptor's carotid artery, damaging the neck, throat and jaw and then through the eye socket, causing damage in the skull. After this, Baraka kicked Riptor off his blades, sending her flying back with a trail of blood.

With Mortal Kombat logic by her side, Riptor slashed Baraka across the face, sending the Tarkatan’s red blood dripping to the ground. Not yet finished, Riptor kicked with her right leg, slicing open Baraka’s left leg with her talons, more blood raining down on the ground and staining it red. Riptor proceeded to jump twice into the air, each time kicking with her legs and slashing at Baraka with her sickle claws. As Baraka recoiled from each hit, Riptor wrapped up her attack by jumping on her opponent’s shoulders and jumping away. As she moved backwards, the raptor spat out a fireball at Baraka, the orb of flame exploding against the warrior’s face and flooring him.

Rolling over onto his stomach, Baraka pushed himself up to his feet as he glared hatefully at Riptor. The cybernetic dromaeosaur, however, simply snarled in response, flexing her claws as the combatants prepared for round two.

Riptor sprinted at Baraka, then sprang on him, bringing him to the ground. The raptor wasted no time biting and slashing at Baraka repeatedly. After getting several good bites in, Riptor picked up the Tarkatan in her jaws, shook him around a bit, then slammed him violently on the ground. Baraka pushed Riptor away from him with his feet and got to his feet, punching the genetic dinosaur across the face several times. He then fired a spark by scraping his blades together and aiming at his opponent, knocking Riptor down.

As soon as he got up, Riptor slashed open Baraka's right shoulder with her claws, spraying blood into the air. Lunging with her jaws, the cybernetic raptor then bit into her opponent’s neck again, forcing out more of the Tarkatan’s red bodily fluids as she turned and threw him to the ground. Riptor kicked and clawed at her opponent, spilling blood as more and more gashes spread over Baraka's flesh. After a total of seven hits, Riptor launched Baraka into the air with her tail. Leaping up to meet the Tarkatan, Riptor slashed at him with her claw and then struck him in the chest with her tail, sending him to the ground.

Just as Baraka got to his feet, a blast of fire to the face made him scream in pain as his eyes burned, effectively blinding him. Riptor snarled as she slowly stalked towards her blinded opponent. It was time to end this.

There was just one thing that Riptor didn't take into account.

Sniffing the air, Baraka was able to catch the unmistakable scent of his opponent walking in his direction without having to see her. Being a Tarkatan had its perks; his enhanced sense of smell was quite useful here.

In a move that caught Riptor off-guard, Baraka jabbed her in the gut, then plunged one arm blade through her raised hand, before impaling he through the chest. He then snapped off the arm blade and swiftly punched Riptor across the face before plunging his other arm blade upwards through her head. He then impaled Riptor in the gut with his War Banner before kicking her to the ground. He then planted the War Banner into the ground to the sound of a horn. Getting to her feet, Riptor shrieked in fury as the cybernetic fittings on her back began sparking with electricity.

Teeth and claws tore flesh. Blood, red and purple, fell upon the ground again and again. The snarls and growls of both beasts filled the air as they clashed, neither yielding in this duel to the death.

Finally, Baraka leaped at his opponent, tackling her to the ground where he impaled her in the chest with his arm blades. Riptor was able to reverse their position and tried to rip Baraka's face off, only to have her throat gripped tightly in her opponent's hands. Forcing Riptor onto her back beneath him, Baraka punched the dinosaur hard in the face, his other hand choking his adversary. Riptor eventually let loose with a stream of fire into Baraka's face, but the Tarkatan did not let this deter him as he thrust an arm blade into Riptor's chest and stood to his full height, hoisting a struggling Riptor into the air.

**FINISH HER!**

Baraka slammed Riptor onto her back, his arm blade still embedded in her chest. Placing his hand on Riptor's lower jaw to hold her head down, Baraka lifted his arm blade and impaled the dromeaosaur through the neck. Snapping off his arm blade, Baraka stood tall, lifted his foot and slammed it down on the blade, driving it further into the ground, Riptor choking on her blood during this. Baraka then reached down, grabbed Riptor's lower jaw and tore it clean off, tossing it like trash as the Ultratech creation died much quicker.

Victorious, Baraka posed with both of his arm blades in the air, still standing above his latest victim.

**FATALITY!**

**BARAKA WINS!**

## Results

**MBStarscream: Huh. I guess extinction *is* inevitable.**

Hiro: In any case, Riptor may have undoubtedly been the more vicious fighter in close quarters, having a greater advantage in speed and agility, but Baraka ultimately held a more significant edge over Riptor. For one, Baraka is much more experienced in combat, having fought a wide variety of foes in his lifetime, some of them even more experienced than Riptor herself, whose main experience in battle comes from implanted memories.

**MBStarscream: And secondly, unlike his opponent, Baraka was more than capable of figuring out complex strategy to take the win, something that a conflicted mind like Riptor's could never hope to accomplish or counter. And while a basic strategy like blinding Baraka could give Riptor a leg up, Baraka's naturally sensitive nose could alert him to where Riptor was.**

Hiro: Even if both were to just throw strategy out the window and go full berserk on one another, it wouldn't really change anything, as Riptor's primary fighting style would require her to get up close and personal with Baraka, and in reach of the Tarkatan's far more lethal blades. And while Riptor *is* one of Ultratech's finest creations, she's still just a tool to be used and discarded at will, while Baraka earned both his spots as an enforcer of Shao Kahn and a Tarkatan general.

**MBStarscream: Sorry, Riptor. You just couldn't make the cut.**

Hiro: Baraka wins.

## Advantages

### Baraka (Winner)

* More experienced
* More strategic
* Superior reach with his blades
* Has fought more experienced fighters
	+ As well as more powerful