Mortal Kombat: Shinnok's Uprising

A/N: After a long hiatus, along with some random brainstorming, I'm back with another installment of my Mortal Kombat fanfics! You guys voted I shall continue on from Shaolin Monks, Part II, but...this was a tumultuous work..!

The thing was...I wasn't into MK4, and it was my first fallout with the series; I never cared for Deadly Alliance, Deception, nor Armageddon. And yeah, 1997 was indeed the Mortal Kombat Dark Ages per se. And this one in particular was uninspiring, it felt awkward, and it just shunned me out, amongst other things that kept me occupied such as Diddy Kong Racing, Starfox 64, Dante's Peak, my first year being introduced to Toonami, and....Anihillation was a sort of guilty pleasure. Actually, I really thought it'd provide finality to the series...till THIS came into existence...

Needless to say, I want to get this project outta the way ASAP, thanks to the votes on my online polls and my mind never shutting up! So...on with the uprising, but I need to cover a prologue to patch things up..!

Prologue

Two years had passed since the events of the Earthrealm invasion led by Shao Kahn followed by Liu Kang's victory winning over the Konquerer. After the cursed Champion decided to leave the motherland in hopes on finding more recruits of a new generation of Shaolin Monks, he left Kung Lao to care for their legacy. He and Aiko went on their first date and soon met up with the Elder God of Wind, Fujin, who wished to increase Lao's potential as second-best Champion and even surpassing his ancestor.

Since then, Kung Lao had been training periodically under Fujin's tutelage at the Wind World advancing his aerokinesis. Lao's and Aiko's relationship continued to blossom and Nightwolf had installed high tech surveillance throughout the Wu Shi Academy to prevent any future disasters contrary to the sudden and deadly Tarkan attack. Liu Kang ocassionally visited his people along with the newly enlisted members of the Shaolin; he also visited the neo kingdom of Edenia and much like his successor mingling with Aiko, he'd hang out with Princess Kitana in his downtime via the infrequent portals conjured by Raiden.

At one time the Special Forces caught wind of the state-of-the-art ingenuity involving the Dragon Jet that their agents, Sonya and Jax, possessed, creating more capable fighter jets and thusly increasing America's defenses, while also having Clinton's presidency, as dreaded by Aiko, winning the war over Somalia and against other foreign countries, rather than for other realms.

Kuai Liang along with his surrogate brother, Tomas Verbada otherwise known as Smoke, were still in the process of reforming the Lin Kuei. With the Grandmaster and his promising assassin, Sektor, deceased, the ninja organization began to crumble. It was then that the process of becoming cybers gained a reputation on being unorthodox and inhumane, nearly costing lives of the participants. However, inspired by Nightwolf's success on reverting Smoke human, they'd initiated a different program enabling volunteers to wield both their organic and metallic portions, with the internal organs remaining untouched. The surgical procedures shortly fell out of favor, as not too many subjects participated even though it wasn't only optional, but also expensive to the Lin Kuei's finances and safety. Since then, only Smoke remained as their topmost agent in both fashions! Cyrax hasn't been spotted as of yet, though the topmost warriors believed he'd still reside in Earthrealm.

The promising royals of Edenia were still in the process of regaining all the resources and territories they lost during Kahn's 10,000-year-old conquest. About a third of Outworld was restored and separated from the bustling kingdom. Thanks to their new advisor, Sheeva, the Shokan rapidly took on the side of peace rather than kombat. Upon Motaro's curse, the Centaurs had been reducing in numbers; very few members had actually allied with their bitter rivals. Since then, the process of restoring neo-Edenia were slow but very successful. And Kitana herself was going thru peace talks involving both warmongering races.

With vague visions of war involving the Elder Gods, Fujin took charge and trained Kung Lao who was willing to enhance his prowess and aerokinesis. Aiko also decided to come along as well; during Fujin's sessions, she somtimes figured it was best to stick with the Wind God as she no longer had to worry of her astraphobia.

In one session during a heart meld within the Temple of Light, Aiko noticed she withdrew her heart abilities as she aged and had a lot of bitter experiences with incompetence, abuse, and neglect. She once assured Jin he would grow up to be a great warrior like his uncle and must carry on their legacy of the Great Kung Lao. The 8-year old had enlisted in a karate class and attended all of first and second grade well; sometimes he'd have Aiko as a personal tutor. It was thanks to the Kungs, and the monks' lessons on elightenment, that enabled her heart and mind to open like an egg.

All that mattered was using her mind, as well as her heart; however, all her abilities required a great deal of stamina. And each moment left her breathless. She and Kung Lao noticed her powers had limits, and she couldn't use it on certain kinds of enemies, such as Shadows, the undead, or simply those that were too resistant like Kahn's generals, though Sindel was a slight exception. Raiden mentioned in the past the Queen was still a living being and Edenian thus disabling her devastating shrieks while the Kombatants were infiltrating Kahn's Tower.

Recently, the Monks and Nightwolf invented her own battle armor in multiple shades such as crimson, lime-green, and bright cerulean. She also attained her own club detached from a tail of an Ankylosaur statuette constructed by the best artisans! She'd been practicing on all assets of kombat, even some basic hand-to-hand by Lao.

Things seemed to have gone well for each of the distant Kombatants, those earthbound and no. However...cracks began to form, within the subconscious of a few unfortunate victims.

There were some late evenings in which either Kung Lao, Aiko, or even Nightwolf would have some disturbing nightmares. They happened to have similar sinister elements to them, including a tall, ominous man in dark colorful robes with a matching hat and blue skin, holding a powerful staff and sneering down at one of his prey, though they could never tell what the stranger would do. They'd also be standing outside a massive temple of sorts, or sometimes inside a chamber with exotic innards of fire in decorative frames. At the exterior, there were endless downpours; the onlookers felt as if there was a war raging in the sky which was accompanied by sudden storms! The one that was terrified the most was the cardiokinetic, as she once remembered seeing that same silent maniac in her dystopian future with the undead legion of former heroes!! She'd grown paranoid she'd be one of his many victims...

She did mention that mysterious man to Fujin in Lao's most previous session. The Wind Elemental identified him as Shinnok, the fallen Elder God of death and destruction who was imprisoned in the Netherrealm several millennias ago. He, Raiden, and other beings of higher power had their hands full, and even many Saurians were wiped out during the scrimmage when it invaded the heavens, Earthrealm, and Zaterra respectively. The elementals gave off all their strength and since an Elder God can never die, he was instead sealed within an ancient amulet.

At first, Aiko figured Shinnok was the father of Raiden and Shao Kahn, with the latter two as brothers.

"Where did you hear that!?" Kung Lao exasperated in disbelief.

Aiko simply rubbed the back of her neck bashfully. "Eh...let's just say a certain movie inspired by the tournaments would mess up their backstories a few years from now." The monk just dismissed it as he rolled his eyes.

"Regardless of its...inaccuracies, I can't help but foretell those night terrors must be bad omens of what is to come," Fujin stated.

Lao became anxious. "Of what? You think they have to do with a war, a rematch with the fallen Elder God?"

"Verily, the three of you has felt it. All the realms seemed to have gotten unnerving before the inevitable konflict. If they happen to be forewarnings, I fear that after so many centuries, Shinnok may have risen again."

This put both Kung Lao and Aiko Krackle on high alert. "What..must we do?" the former wondered aloud.

All his new mentor did was stare into the sky, seeing a large dark mass evergrowing! The disciples weren't sure if either they felt sudden, sharp chills down their spines, or if the air suddenly dropped! Fujin's eyes grew wide showing its white irises. "Oh no..! It can't be! It must be Shinnok! After all these centuries??"

Aiko was scared and speechless. "Fujin! There must be something we can do! Let us assist you!" Lao coaxed.

All the elderly man did was face the duo and raise an arm, "No!" He looked as if he was going to blow them off the balcony! "You two must not get involved! You must return to the Wu Shi Academy!"

Before the cowboy-lookalike said any more objections, he and Aiko were silenced while they were warped almost instantly by a funnel blinding them!

All Fujin did was gaze onto the bloating mass, until it too burst into lightning, thunder, and torrents of rain. The same omens that were in the heroes' dreams...

"It has begun..!"

A/N: I guess the intro to Final Fantasy IV: The After Years would play in the prologue with Choose Your Destiny from MK4 afterwards. Enter Ganondorf chimes as Shinnok has been spotted! So too would the Great Deku Tree theme as Fujin breaks the bad news. The Bomb Ring from Final Fantasy IV plays when Fujin noticed the enormous cloud. The Title theme, MK Meat, would play afterwards.

MK4 wasn't really all that special to me, ever since I was around 10-ish. As I stated, there were several other factors that got my attention, and everything seemed lackluster and dull. Nothing seemed inspiring, and it didn't feel as high-octane nor immersive as the original 3 games were. I wasn't sure where to go with this, and I never knew GOLD existed till it was pointed out by 616Entertainment's History of Mortal Kombat; I felt unconfident as he said it's mediocre, slow, dated, the staff was experiencing fatigue and Mythologies complicated things even more.

The light at the end of the tunnel was the video I found recently, MK Temple's Mortal Kombat's History Part 8. That one vid about the Netherrealm War was a lifesaver! Otherwise I'd be lost and I wouldn't have made this story happen, so thank you immensely for that!

At first I was disappointed that Kung Lao wasn't featured, till GOLD came out; everyone stated the N64 version was best for some odd reason on my poll. Speaking of the Shaolin, I'd see him train under Fujin, Raiden's younger brother and Wind Elder God; I wish the devs had some inspiration to have them function as a student and sensei in order to empower his aerokinesis! That would've been an awesome idea,even if it should be more like Yoda training Luke, since the Family Guy/Star Wars trilogy inspired me for that!

With the characters all caught up from their two-year break, it's time to move onto the actual story!

Con't I - A Second Invasion

"Thousands of years ago, in a battle with the fallen elder god known as Shinnok, I was responsible for the death of an entire civilization. To rid all realms of Shinnok's menace, I waged a war that plunged the Earth into centuries of darkness and banished Shinnok to a place called the Netherrealm. Now, after Shao Kahn's defeat at the hands of the Earth warriors, Shinnok has managed to escape his confines of the Netherrealm. The war is now being fought once again, only this time, it can be won by mortals." - Raiden, beginning of Mortal Kombat 4/GOLD

As perpetual peace lasted within the realms, Raiden, with the help of Fujin, were looking for a more proper reversal of Liu Kang's immortal curse. In the past couple years, the monk and his allies figured death wasn't the only option, yet still no reversal has ever been found, nor were any negotiations has been made. It certainly remained true that the Elder Gods were petty, ignorant, and hardly cared for lower beings, even those more inferior than the Gods themselves.

Even so, the Thunder God stationed a couple heroic fighters within the Jinsei Chamber that had been slain, victims of Kahn's savage assault onto Earth and Outworld. For the previous couple years their inanimate bodies were suspended and gradually being healed from the hefty damage they'd sustained. Raiden hoped they would be fresh and ready, especially when a sudden gale of wind nearly knocked hm off his feet! The sky almost instantaneously churned opaque, as if night turned from day within minutes. Radical lightning and cracks of thunder loomed, then a sudden cyclone descended as Fujin stepped out!

Raiden ran to the precipice of the Sky Temple and lifted Fujin by the arms. "Brother! What news brought you here?"

The Wind Elemental looked spent and replied breathlessly, "Ergh..! He has returned..! Shinnok!"

Raiden's eyes grew wide! "Shinnok?? He must've broken free from his damned shackles of the Netherrealm! Where in Earthrealm did you know it was him?"

Fujin was lifted onto his shaky feet. "At my sanctuary, in the Wind World, connecting Earthrealm into the heavens. I witnessed a dark mass as I was putting Kung Lao thru training."

"Ah yes, the Shaolin Monk. You were hoping to enhance his skills in hopes on being stronger than his ancestor the Great Kung Lao."

"Indeed. But I had sent him and Aiko back to Earthrealm in the Wu Shi Academy."

"We must not let Shinnok invade Earth! We need to warn our brethren and the Elder Gods!" Just then, a stray lightning bolt struck the top of the Temple! Deafening thunder roared! "Come! We must hold Shinnok at bay!"

Fujin nodded in affirmation, and the two teleported leaving the comatose mortals behind...

Liu Kang arrived back on the Honan banks of the Yellow River in China. The grand Temple of Light towered in the distance. From that humble sight, he knew he arrived back home after being away for a couple years. Only this time, with a smile, he knew in his heart he shall stay with the Order of Light as he was weary on leaving for so long and he felt he was done at the moment for searching and training a new generation of Shaolin warriors.

He escorted another fellow monk wearing a crimson uniform complete with gi, headband, and was actually a middle-aged brunette, but not quite an Oriental, contrast to numerous others.

"So, this is the legendary Temple of the Order of Light," the new monk in town said in amazement as the Temple nearly shined with the setting sun behind the majestic tower.

"Yes. It is indeed," Liu addressed to the newcomer, taking in the scenery he awaited so long for as he stretched out. "It feels so good to finally be home..!"

Seconds later after they gathered their bearings, Liu led his partner and mingled with the other Shaolin Monks greeting him with open arms and smiles. Especially his grandfather in his frail, though glad, self. Everyone was ecstatic to see their Champion alive and well, even with his sidekick. "Who is this fresh young man?"

"This is Kai. He's been my most promising disciple I'd been training with. Who knows, perhaps he can rival me and Kung Lao one day! Though Kai still has a lot to learn. Where is Kung Lao by the way?"

Before the elder explained, the monks were astonished on beholding a thin funnel descend!

Liu Kang followed their gaze, bewildered. "What..? There's a tornado at the Wu Shi Academy!?"

"No!" One of the other elders spoke, "Fujin must had landed. He has been training young Kung Lao!"

"Fujin... Raiden's brother? Why would an Elder God be here?" As devoted as Liu was, he had been studying the ancient tablets reading up on the legends of the Elementals, and he knew right then Raiden had a sibling he hardly mentioned. He also knew from the get-go that the Elder Gods were always passive over the denizens.

Just then, the crowd grew alarmed once they fixed their eyes on a bright streak of light descending rapidly toward the ground! Thankfully, it was several miles away, but the impact made the ground quake! Liu then grew worried. "Raiden...?"

"What is it?"

"Kai, with me?"

"Of course, Master." He bowed before he ran off with the Champion climbing up the hills instead of traversing through the river yonder.

Somewhere inside the compound, the shaman, Nightwolf, was punching around his spanking new motherboard. The large LCD screen displayed the rivers and everything seemed normal.

"So far, so good. The sensors are processing quite nicely," he stated with pride. There was clearly no other Matokan that was skilled in ingenuity as he was! "Not too shabby for a shaman if I do say so myself!" He reached down and petted Kiba panting.

Suddenly, an alarm flashing red went off! It was the same type of security system he installed while advancing that subterranean base before it was flooded at the start of Kahn's invasion. "Hold up, Kiba! We got some disturbance in the air!"

At first he was suspecting a large, neon red portal, aka a rip as he'd call it, in the Earth's dimensional fabric. But it was nowhere near what he expected as he silenced the alert. Instead, sensors picked up a ray of light dropping and slanting from the vermillion sky. "Going in for a close up."

The camera zoomed in and expanded the sight. Then, in Nightwolf's keen vision... "Wait! This isn't some ordinary comet! It can never waver its trail like that! Switching into infrared! I'm losing it!!"

As the streak blasted onto the distant landscape, the compound felt the aftershock. His pet yelped and growled. "I don't blame you, Kiba. This is not some ordinary phenomenon. Luckily there's been some minimal damage. Hang on, maybe I can rewind and pick up the anomaly." He did just that and the sensors had shown an unusual, blurry shade inside the tip of the ray of light! The shaman's face fell.

"This.. might belong to one of the fallen Gods. Raiden..!"

Kiba let out a high-pitched whine in distress.

"I can't agree more. Something just doesn't feel right. This is no act of nature." He stood up from his wheeled chair. "C'mon, Kiba."

They both ran out and followed the trail to the landing site.

At the Lin Kuei ninja headquarters, consisting of a multiple story poganda, Sub-Zero and Smoke witnessed the same streak of light descend, only they were just fifty miles away from the Wu Shi Academy, so the impact was slightly closer! The cryomancer ordered his partner to stay put while he went out to investigate. Unlike last time he joined the heroes, Sub-Zero no longer felt ashamed on hiding from his once corrupt clan; he decided to wear his usual vial and uniform, and the scar was fully healed. It's as if he looked like the spitting image of his elder brother, Bi-Han!

At that same time, the funnel dropped Kung Lao and Aiko gently onto their feet. And following their uproars calling out for Raiden and Fujin, Nightwolf and Kiba ran up to the duo. Aiko was ecstatic to see the beloved pooch again, though Kung Lao was less fazed. "Nightwolf, had you seen Fujin around?"

"No, Lao. But we just saw a large streak of light fall onto the land several miles south, across the Yellow River. I believe one of the Gods must have fallen. I sense there's grave danger involving Earth's atmosphere."

"Shinnok..."

"What?"

"Fujin has warned the two of us about Shinnok. He thinks he's risen from the Netherrealm. It could either be him or Raiden involved in this..." He lost his train of thought.

"The motion detectors picked up the unusual occurrence. We should proceed to it."

"Right," the monk and the cardiokinetic nodded.

"We can take my Dragon Jet and fly to the designated area. I'll be the pilot and guide it to that location."

"Let's go." With a turn of his razor-rimmed hat, Lao and Aiko chased after the shaman and wolf.

Near the Bayan Har Mountains, a smoking meteorite was shown, and Liu Kang and Kai were the first to arrive on the scene! The crater was just steep enough for the duo to see a group of otherworldly monstrosities mauling someone.

Just several feet above, the Dragon Jet was heading to the same location. Nightwolf followed the shiny dot on his Doppler, "There it is!" The aircraft flew over the huddle of Onis, Kung Lao recognized. "Liu Kang! He's down there!" Aiko startled as she sat up.

"Fasten your seatbelts! I'll be firing our phasers."

With a clear shot one of them was smothered! Then the monks pitched in as they leapt down! "Remember everything I taught you, Kai! Your spirit must be pure, and your body must be ready for anything!"

"You can count on it!" They put their dukes up and easily fought off the Onis. At times, the Dragon Jet swooped in just to make another direct hit on the demons. After it landed, the trio stormed out of the cockpits, while Lao guided Aiko carefully down the rough walls of the crater. With the ganging heroes, the Onis were down and out within minutes, and seeing the unconscious victim, the cardiokinetic managed to drain some of the Onis energy onto the unfortunate man in hopes of reviving him.

After the brief showdown, Kung Lao and Aiko ran to his side. "Fujin!"

"Are you ok?" The monk took off his hat allowing the unconscious Fujin to rest on it.

"What's happened...?" Liu queried.

Before a reunion would transpire, everyone heard a sharp clap of thunder and a flash of light. By the time their eyes cleared, in stood Raiden behind the group!

He urged them to spread out while he tended his brother's wounds. Fujin moaned as he began to stir, and the Thunder God was relieved he wasn't in the brink of death, or at least weakened to a lower state of existence. He stated as an Elder God lost its vitality, it would sometimes be reduced to a lesser being, withering closer to death.

Raiden then hurriedly explained, "The Army of Darkness must have followed Fujin here. The heavens are under great assault! Shinnok, the Elder God that fell from grace, is currently wreaking havoc. That crash land you saw was my brother..." He silenced for a bit before he found his words. "Shinnok has also threatened to take the heavens for himself as revenge for his banishment into the underworld many centuries ago. And..." He lowered his head. "Liu Kang....I'm afraid Edenia is also in peril and is being invaded by his Netherrealm army as we speak."

The gang was stunned, but only Liu found his words. "Kitana!"

"Yes. I am unfortunately weakened from the last battle. But the Elder Gods and the elementals may not hold Shinnok off for long. There's not much time, I had sent a messenger down to warn of the upcoming threat. Johnny Cage shall pass on the intel to the Special Forces, that is if he's healed well enough."

"Johnny Cage??" Aiko was surprised. This startled Liu, Nightwolf and Lao as well. "He's alive from his fight with Motaro?"

Raiden nodded. "Time is of the essence. I shall return to the heavens with my brother shortly. For now, you must gather as many of your comrades as possible to save Edenia and stop Shinnok. We must prevent him on invading Earthrealm. Our victories are in our hands!"

Their mentor held onto his wounded brother before they disappeared to the Jinsei Chamber in another blinding flash.

A/N: I know Annihilation was a critical failure, especially since it received shockingly low ratings, but I can't deny it's decent soundtrack! It's not quite as good as the original's, but I'd still include a few songs from it. First, Kahn and Shinnok shall play during the opening lines when Raiden describes his past conflict, like in the game itself.

I also find the OST of Metroid Fusion to be useful as well, even though it seems to be time-irrelevant since this was made later than MK4. But I don't mind, and Environmental Tension shall be included as Fujin broke the news to Raiden. The Stairway theme from MK 95 would play as Liu reunites with the monks and sees the sudden funnel. The Wu Shi Academy theme from Shaolin Monks would play when Lao and Aiko returned. Defenders vs. the Lin Kuei Cyborgs from Paul Unfaces' Defenders of the Realm OST shall play during the first major battle as the heroes fend off the infantry of the Army of Darkness, even the subtle parts as Nightwolf analyzes the fallen God. Kitana's Abduction from Annihilation shouldn't be a shabby choice.

I too find Defenders of the Realm just as underrated as Annihilation is, if not more since it had only 13 episodes like the infamous Zelda animated series, even though it's twice as better!! So, I kinda figured the battle theme'd be most appropriate for the warmup fight. Unfortunately...since I never got into 4 very much, I hardly knew Kai; I kinda see him as the lesser monk compared to Liu and Lao, albeit has the same level of strength. Hopefully, it'll become better next time around.

So, stay tuned for Chapter 2, the second half of the invasion, at the doomed kingdom of Edenia.

Add in:

Kahn and Shinnok (Mortal Kombat: Annihilation)

Environmental Tension (Metroid Fusion)

The Stairway (Mortal Kombat 1995)

Wu Shi Academy (Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks)

Defenders vs. Lin Kuei Cybers - Paul Unfaces (Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm)

Kitana's Abduction (Mortal Kombat: Annihilation)

Con't II - Edenia in Peril

In the restored palace of Edenia...

Sindel was sitting proudly in her throne when she heard what she believed to be a scuffle of feet. Her eyes fixated to the colossal windows that were slightly opened behind her perch and noticed a group of foreigners outside clustered together. Barely covered by the darkness of the night sky, a man and a younger woman lead the group towards the palace gates.

Sheeva broke in and alerted her friend, "We have visitors, Queen Sindel. According to our Shokan Royal Guard, they appear to be refugees belonging to the new realms. We believe they're finding a more stable world compared to those that were corrupted by Shao Kahn...!" The new advisor nearly spat as she always loathed saying the former Emperor's name of the power-hungry ruler that always believed her race was inferior since the fall of Goro.

"Very well, Sheeva," she spoke with authority as she stood up from her perch. "Bring the stragglers in."

The eagle-like Edenian, Asgaarth, walked toward the tall, arching double doors and bid them to enter.

Through the shadows, one of them turned out to be an elderly man in tattered clothing, and the other was a shorter female, though she appeared to be more distinctive with her tanned skin, yellow bra and trousers, as well as a long, opaque ponytail.

As the group bowed, the pair climbed up to the throne and knelt as they introduced they were from one of the newer realms; it was always considered that since Kahn's conquest was thwarted, there'd be a better chance to discover realms that hadn't been explored yet.

The old man, known as the ambassador of Edenia spoke first, "Your majesty, my daughter. Tanya, was contacted by another realm that is being oppressed by an evil ruler."

The young woman looked toward her hapless people, and pointed to them, "They seek your wisdom and guidance."

Sheeva and Asgaarth came to her from each side. With her more comfortable security handy, she then accepted. "You may approach. I would like to hear your story."

"Thank you, Sindel." The father replied. "I come from the realm of Triche. We were a peaceful realm known for our devotion to the arts, until two years ago when Triche was invaded by the evil sorcerer, Shil Kaad. He quickly conquered our people and forced us all into slavery."

Every one of the royals began to mutter in strange tongues. Sheeva, specifically, gave off a stern look. That unusual name left a bad impression. "Shil Kaad..? Conquering your people? Would you mind explaining yourself?" She folded her upper arms while her lower arms laid on her hips in disdain. Her hissy voice sounded intimidating as a few of the escapees backed up.

Sindel took her advisor's retort into account. "I've never heard of Triche nor the sorcerer Kaad." Although...this name and motivation sounds oddly similar... "If your realm is known for its fine artistry, why have we not heard of you?

Tanya's father spoke once more, much to her bashfulness always standing very close to his side, "We are a quiet people, your Majesty. But I have brought you a gift made by our most talented artisan. It will give you your heart's desire once you gaze into it."

The ambassador handed over Sindel a large opal as big as his palm. It shone with a dim light which nearly illuminated the gem as the Queen held it. He stated it was an offering of peace.

As she looked into it, followed by Asgaarth, Sindel was awestruck of its beauty and soft light emitting from the gem, "It's so beautiful. I've never seen anything like it. I feel like I could stare at it forever."

Sheeva was taken aback by this rare, delicate jewel, though her instincts were still very high. She then looked at the ambassador who growled under his breath, "Just as I had planned..."

Five hundred miles away, to the south of Sindel's throne, Kitana was in the Shokan city, Quayton. She was at the center of a terrible quarrel between the Shokan and the Centaurs. One of the latter wasn't thrilled of the new rules instating the Shokan to reclaim their land while the Centaurs attempted to take it under Kahn's former agreements.

The Shokan and Centaurs had been in awful feudal conflicts for centuries, even before Shao Kahn became the usurper of Edenia, Outworld, and the former realms surrounding the growing territory. Kitana once figured the two warring races would reach an agreement since Kahn, at times, has employed both sides. However, upon the loss of Goro during the first tournament, the Konquerer switched the goalposts and relied on the Tigerian subspecies, much to the Draconians' dismay. Then, after the Outworld tournament was a bust by Kahn's defeat of the pair of Shaolin Monk warriors, he immediately switched to another fashion, the Centaurs and enlisted Motaro as elite general. The Shokan, led by Sheeva, desired to rebel and orchestrate an insurrection of the throne; however, after Kahn regained his lost strength, he became more cold-hearted to the latter! Thus, making the two species wanting to rip each other to shreds!

The peaceful princess approached the ruined city to ease the konflict, but the pair of beasts were within breathing distance! Kitana was in the front and center. "Stop! Listen to me! This war must end! Too many lives had already been lost upon Shao Kahn's savage rule! We have defeated him, so there must be a way to maintain the peace amongst you."

One Centaur grunted, "We will make peace with the new queen if the Centaurians would return the eastern lowlands to us!"

"Never!" One of the Shokan roared in protest, "Shao Kahn promised us this land!"

Kitana raised a hand, "Queen Sindel and I do not honor the promises of Shao Kahn. It is only right that each race shall be allowed to live in their own homeland."

The other menacing Centaur retorted, "You, feeble mortal, are no different than Kahn. I've heard enough!"

Just before the stray Centaur was about to lunge at her, debris from the ceiling fell from above just a foot away from the clashing feud. The gigantic Shokan faced the quarrel, and to everyone's surprise, in jumped Goro!

Everyone was in complete astonishment!

"Wha..? It's Goro?"

"But Goro's dead! He was killed in Mortal Kombat!"

"His death led us to this war. If he is alive, what does that mean?"

Goro confessed to the altercation, "Silence! I have been in hiding for several years. I had been ashamed of my defeat in Mortal Kombat, and with Shang Tsung's banishment, I had been unwilling to serve the relentless Emperor, Shao Kahn. However, Shao Kahn is now gone. And I will reclaim my father's place as the proud leader of my people.

"So... this war shall end NOW!" His voice rose with a slam of his fist. "I will crush anyone who opposes me. If they can even try..!"

Kitana was hardly fazed by his threat. "I agree with you, Goro. You are right. This futile war must end among us. Everyone shall have the rights for their own homelands. No expansions nor constrictions."

Within a few silent minutes, everyone calmed down. Two arms elongated from opposite sides and Kitana immediately stepped away. Remarkably, she just saw the two clashing races make peace with one another by a firm handshake. With a grin, she thought, This is a great day for Edenia... Queen Sindel would certainly be pleased.

Unbeknownst to the hyper fixated races, someone with a bald head was watching from the rafters via a nearby balcony. An explosion rattled the city where the Palace was! Goro immediately dove over Kitana to cover her as more masses of debris rained down onto the hapless parties. "Princess! Watch out!"

As the dust cloud cleared while the dazed monsters were caught unawares, Kitana eventually stumbled toward a nearby broken window. She looked thru the frame and saw her beloved Palace had been demolished! She gasped, "Oh no! Queen Sindel is in danger!"

As the Palace shook the orb in Sindel's possession turned out to be a hidden weapon which abruptly burst open into a spiraling portal! Upon its activation, the Palace was caught off guard in an explosion. Unaware, the Army of Darkness consisting of numerous demons along with Shinnok, Reiko, and Scorpion escaped and began to ransack the place!

The terrified denizens then heard a vehement tone as his blue head and opaque hat emerged, sneering, "Yes... At long last I've made it to the realm of Edenia." Momentarily, his whole body emerged, revealing to be an intimidating sorcerer with a matching wardrobe and pointed staff in his right hand. All he did was let out a maniacal laugh as his cronies did the damage!

Sindel, with her heart racing, identified the culprit. "Shinnok! You have escaped from the Netherrealm!"

"Yes, indeed I have, my dear Queen!" His lips curled while his perfect teeth gleamed.

Another figure with the same bald head walked up to him. He was also covered in fresh face paint around his sinister eyes! "Heh, heh, heh..! Our plan has come to pass, thanks to little Tanya here!" He patted the treacherous woman and she gave a low curtsy in gratitude!

"What? What's going on!?" Sindel was hapless as she watched her precious kingdom be demolished, and the Royal Guard were of measle match compared to the demonic squad!

Shinnok revealed that one of his men acted as the elder striking a deal with the Edenian's ambassador's daughter, Tanya, to allow safe passage from Outworld, aka the false new realm of Triche, to Edenia, whle Quan Chi mentioned that he was eavesdropping on Kitana's peace treaty in the Shokan city, Quayton, and Goro confessing he'd been in hiding over the last few years recuperating by his two defeats; the first in Shang Tsung's Island by Johnny Cage, and his second loss at the Wastelands of Outworld as he was injured by the two Shaolin Monks, Liu Kang and Kung Lao, before he was punched in the groin again by the same assailant. With Goro's presence, the peace talk became more smoothly with the Centaurs, although Motaro never shown up due to his humiliating transformation a couple years earlier.

Shinnok raised an arm and added, "Enough Quan Chi! Edenia is just my passageway out of the Netherrealm. My goal has always been to reach into the heavens and confront the Elder Gods. And now, I have my chance!" He made an ironclad fist clutching his long staff before he led the assault onto the hapless Edenians!

In Shanghai, the top Special Forces agent, Gen. Sonya Blade, was chasing down the last surviving member of the former Black Dragons, a fugitive named Jarek. Although she and Jax still work with their US military agency, they eventually decided to call it quits, despite their CEO being convinced of the existence of other realms due to the ransacking around the world and the loss of Johnny Cage a couple years ago. Word got out of Jarek's whereabouts and Sonya, while still vengeful over the deceased Kano, decided to finish the job!

She was lucky the Outworld Investigation Agency coexisted with the Special Forces due to those tragic events.

Unfortunately, Jarek managed to kick Sonya in her fragile ribs while she was chasing after him. He cackled, "Screw you, wretched woman! You may have nailed everyone else, but you will NEVER catch me!" He left off with another demoralizing giggle. He simply leapt to his nearby stolen motorbike and drove away!

Sonya just stood up and immediately received a message, "Damn it, Jax! I almost had Jarek!" She winced at times due to her sore ribs. On the wristwatch reprogrammed thanks to Nightwolf, her close partner briefed her in.

"Worry about your vendetta later, girlfriend. We got bigger fish to fry. The Outworld Investigation Agency monitored some interdimensional fluxes over southern China and you're our closest agent. We just dispatched a chopper en route to pick you up."

"Roger that, Jax. Ergh," she held her poor ribcage again. "I hope it has a trauma kit in there. That bastard, Jarek, nearly got to me." She ended the call and awaited for her escort. Soon enough there was a rotor going! A neon blue spotlight swept over the bay and bridge and instantly shone on the female agent. She shielded her eyes as the chopper began to land.

She ran to it and gradually stepped into the cockpit with her aching ribs. She immediately sat down, desperately scrambling to find the nearby first-aid kit. Before she found the medical equipment, though, she heard a male voice amongst the shadows.

"What's up, Sonya! Long time no see!"

She turned toward a tenor what sounded to be like another agent, but recognizing the shiny sunglasses in which he took off was...

"Johnny..? I...I thought you were dead! What in God's name are you doing here?" She retorted.

"Eh heh heh. Kind of a shocker to see me alive, eh?" Cage responded with a grimace. "I can explain on the way."

"Who authorized this dispatch?" Sonya asked in an authorative manner.

"Jax said he can come along, as long as he doesn't touch anything." Cage replied with his hands raised at the last remark.

"Heh. That won't be a problem."

Cage's mind then flashed back inside the Jinsei Chamber. He suddenly woke up, not inside a hospital like he was expecting, nor in some heavenly plane with clouds and angels... Far from it! He met up with Raiden inside his own Sky Temple, breaking the news as he awakened that the fallen Elder God, Shinnok, raised all Hell onto the heavens, and even Edenia.

To the former celebrity, he vaguely remembered the name of the kingdom since his trek with Liu Kang through the Outworld Wastelands to save Sonya's butt from Shang! As the storm was looming closer outside the Temple, Raiden made post-haste and urged Johnny to meet up with the chick, he said. So, in a moment's notice, the Thunder God teleported Cage from the Jinsei chamber to where she was! Cage was kind of impressed on handling a chopper, though. With a few swift moves, he managed to snatch one thanks to some close buds belonging to the Outworld Agency! Although he was disappointed he never got the chance to meet a sexy lady clad in green in what seemed to be a ninja of sorts.

Sonya didn't mind the sudden flirtation. "Well, anyway, it's certainly glad to see you." She really meant it as she broke out a grin.

"Really! Wow, that certainly leads a good impression." He smiled back and the agent was thrilled Cage's body was fully healed and his head didn't look like it was not chopped off!

"How's your head?"

He made a few twists, and it still stayed firm between his shoulders. "Ergh, not bad. I never thought I'd actually see my head on again. That Raiden did a spanking job!"

"Where are we heading to anyway?"

"To the Bargon Har Mountains. I've heard that's where the Temple of Light is nearby."

"Then let's head straight to it!" Sonya commandeered.

Minutes later, the wooded area was also opaque under the starry sky, although the beautiful scenery was interrupted by that same surfing bird! Liu, Lao, Kai, Nightwolf, and Aiko beheld the blinding blue light as the black chopper descended! Out popped the duo of agents, and even the quintet were flabbergasted on Cage's sudden resurrection! Nevertheless, he did make some handshakes with a few buddies. The chopper soon left and the two Kombatants gave them the scoop.

"Edenia is also in deep peril as well." Liu chimed in. "Princess Kitana and Queen Sindel are involved in Shinnok's upbringings. This isn't good! Both the kingdom AND Heaven are at his mercy!"

"The honorable monk is right." In came Sub-Zero after he slid off an ice trail. "Shinnok is definitely an evil incarnate!"

"You know him as well?" Lao was baffled.

"I think that my elder brother, Bi-Han, had some sort of an encounter with Shinnok. It may be what caused this entire calamity!" Remembering his doomed sibling, he raised a fist. "It is now up to us to put an end to all of this!"

"Let's do it!" Liu Kang said with a nod of affirmation. "Now we've just got to figure out how we should get to Edenia."

"I can help you there, Liu!" Everyone gazed at Sonya. NO ONE believed she of all people would have that kind of ingenuity, let alone the skeptical Special Forces! Even Aiko was thrilled believing they can be just as strict as all of the US and Chinese militants!

"My team known as the Outworld Investigation Agency, led by Jax...can finally create a portal that would allow us to reach Edenia directly!" Sonya added with enthusiasm. She then took out a tiny gizmo from her side pocket of her white quarteroids. "We had been able to emulate interdimensional portal distortions, kind of like what Raiden does. The only problem, though, is that it requires a nuclear generator."

The heroes were all taken aback. The last thing they wanted is to use something environmentally hazardous, as if coming from a powerplant.

But Nightwolf, as crafty as he was, beat them to the bunch. "I can help you with that." he replied with a wry grin as he raised a hand. He volunteered with one of his soul weapons and empowered his tomahawk. "I hope this produces enough energy for this thing. Everyone get back!" He knelt close to the bot as he fed power to it. Through the axe, the invention began to illuminate with the same shade! "C'mon...almost there!"

He stood up with the axe still next to Sonya's contraption, until it erupted with neon green light! Seconds later, it blasted away and eventually formed a wormhole! "Ha ha! We got it!" Sonya chirped. Aiko then followed her excitement with a couple stims!

"Hurry! The rip won't stay open long!" The shaman urged the gang as he picked up the stray tomahawk.

"Edenia, here we come!" Liu declared. He was the first to leap into the portal, followed by Kai, Kung Lao, Aiko, Sub-Zero, Nightwolf, Sonya and Cage!

The portal then collapsed on both sides, after the Kombatants made it thru, and onto a more devastated frontier!

The sky was all in dark crimson, as if it was covered and bleeding like blood! It was even more terrifying when it mixed with the usual violet hues of Outworld. All the buildings below the steep hill looked war-torn. Good thing everyone was geared up, as they knew someone definitely beat them there.

Liu Kang was impacted emotionally by all the damage the beautiful kingdom endured. He prayed that he hoped they won't be too late... Everyone became just as somber as he was. Until a voice boomed with laughter over the decimated landscape. They could hardly see the translucent face emerge over the distant, opaque palace.

"Welcome, humans! Welcome to a Mortal Kombat you have never seen before!"

Kung Lao and Aiko felt their bodies become numb as they recognized the sinister warlock with the painted eyes! One of the vague figures they saw in her dystopian future, and in their nightmares!

But his Shaolin partner spatted out as he broke through, "We accept your challenge, sorcerer! All of us! We shall never let you rule all of Edenia! Where's Kitana and the others!?" To him, Lao, Aiko, Nightwolf and Sub-Zero, he looked oddly familiar...

Quan Chi just raised his head as he sniggered. "They are with me inside the royal palace. My generals and our hellish armies would revel to have a taste of your flesh! Enter it, if you mortals even dare..."

Everyone made a battle stance as they watched their tormentor fade into oblivion with his peal of laughter... Johnny just remained behind the team muttering, "This is not good..!"

A/N: Songs in this order include The Wastelands/Pit II from the Mortal Kombat II Arcade version, Evening Bells from MK 95, the Demon Mist theme from DBZ which was a horrific fit for the invasion of Edenia as well as Shinnok's rule, Bleed (courtesy of Ferocious Wraith since he suggested that song once as a huge Nirvana fan!), Johnny Cage's theme from the first Mortal Kombat film, Staff Cavern from Starfox Adventures as the portal to Edenia is activated, and Garlic Jr's Theme with the appearance of the evil demon sorcerer, Quan Chi! He and Shinnok shall be such intimidating opponents later on in the story!

Now you may have noticed that some of the info and dialogue was inspired by the limited-edition comic, the prelude of Mortal Kombat 4; I'd managed to find a YouTube video highlighting the story though some elements had been changed from the stories I made prior. Like, Liu was supposed to be an orphan but has his grandfather, Sub-Zero was supposed to seek out the Temple of the Elementals but he was stationed at Lin Kuei headquarters as he spotted the meteor. Contrary to the comic, Sonya and Jax are still part of the Special Forces as they'd been reinstated since the CEO now believed in otherworldly threats by the invasion of the Centaurs and murder of Johnny Cage, yet still decided to forge the Outworld Investigation Agency, so they wouldn't work for the military directly. Also, Sub-Zero was implied to be the main protagonist to stop a threat his brother caused involving Shinnok, with Liu as not since he only went to save Kitana, but things are different this time around.

I don't mean to confuse the audience, this is just a different interpretation; I recommend the prequel comic and character bios for accuracy, as well as MK Temple and The4thSnake.

So far, only Liu, Lao, Aiko, Nightwolf and Sub-Zero had some vague familiarities with the sight of Quan Chi. More'll be explained later.

A/N: If anyone notices I'm missing something about Kai, please let me know. I wasn't thrilled over MK4 nor the later installments, and Kai was one of its debuts. All I see is nothing more than one of Liu Kang's monk trainees he found; aside on journeying from eastern Asia for enlightenment, I don't really find him to be all that special... So, lemme know what you think.

Con't III - Rallying up the Raptors

Before Liu Kang ordered his troops to march forward, Kung Lao and Aiko just stood still as statues, or more like frozen by Sub-Zero's cryokinesis.

He turned and faced his two comrades. "What's wrong?"

"That face we saw." Lao spoke, "Something seems eerily familiar. Aiko and I...he appeared in our nightmares, and our visions of her dystopian future."

"I think I know who he is, Kung Lao." Nightwolf added. "He's the demon sorcerer, Quan Chi. I know him from anywhere. He was the same enemy that possessed the gem of Tetsurri and infected your souls, remember?"

"I...can hardly recall what happened then." Sonya said, struggling to remember that aforementioned incident over two years ago. Liu Kang and Sub-Zero felt the same way.

"What, who're you talking about?" Johnny added impatiently.

"Quan CHI! I thought I recognized that name!" That triggered that same memory to Aiko. "He was the demon sorcerer from the Netherrealm! Fujin, Raiden's brother, warned us about him! And even I can remember that incident Nightwolf mentioned; he and I were the only ones who weren't affected by the evil gem!" The brutal fights the Kombatants had against each other flashed into her mind, while Nightwolf was struggling with Quan's pet snake trying to talk some sense into them.

Until Sub-Zero broke her reverie. "Quan Chi. I thought his name sounded familiar. I can hardly recall that gem quarrel. But I think my brother, Bi-Han, was once involved with him. He and Scorpion were hired by him, despite having rival clans. He wanted the best ninja assassins to help him retrieve a sacred, magical amulet. Alas, my brother died trying by the likes of that vengeful wraith obsessed with malice." He tried to resist memories for the death of his sibling during the first tournament. "I will avenge my brother, someday. But I can't help but feel the sorcerer has something to do with it."

"Hm, guess we all have an agenda with that creepy looking scoundrel." The Special Forces agent was still unsure.

"Ok, so we are all...somehow connected with this punk!" Johnny spread out his arms as he faced the team.

Liu nodded. "Yes, and there's no telling what he has in store. Kitana and the Edenians are in there, and we must save them." His words restored their determination and they marched down the hill.

But the arrogant celebrity wasn't quite buying it. "Is he still lovestruck over her?"

Sonya snickered, "Heh, you have no idea."

"Maybe we can work some things out between us since I'm back in my suede self, hm?" Cage flirted with his tongue in his cheek.

Sonya went irritated, "Johnny?! We have a duty to uphold here!"

"Kombat alert! Something's coming through!" Everyone took fighting positions at Nightwolf's words of alarm.

"Time to see what you can do, Kai." Liu faced his disciple.

"Of course, Master," he replied with a bow. He was beside him as he and his sensei fought off several Shadows emerging from the ground.

The Onis came out too though they were easier to deal with, even for Kung Lao. His moves seemed more swifter and stronger than a couple years prior. His signature Whirlwind Kick was twice as fast and deadlier as well. "I guess all that training with Fujin is finally paying off!"

At times, Aiko used her cardiokinesis draining the enemies' health and carried it over to the Kombatant who needed a refill; it was like a magnetic pull of sorts as she sensed who was fatigued or hurt. Whenever a demon shall get close to her, she'd whack them with her club!

Johnny volunteered to cover his so-called mate with his own martial arts, while Sonya grew a bit jealous he was doing all the sweeping. Though she was prepared if any monstrosity should invade her space, especially the Shadows which took her by surprise.

Actually, those sneaky subterranean creatures were the most difficult to deal with since they'd always hide beneath the ground and were too quick on emerging! Sub-Zero's ice blasts were a lifesaver once he made his mark, allowing other fighters, mostly Nightwolf, to vanquish those pests!

Eventually, as the Onis were wiped out, more of the jet-black demons came forth! This made the fight more tedious, and Nightwolf cried, "We have to attack them while they're vulnerable! They need to be solid!"

The ice ninja did just that as he froze each one!

Aiko was having the most difficult time with them, as she kept on missing her targets and they had no problem dicing her with their scythes! Kung Lao often came to her defense, just as Johnny did the same to Sonya, and remained the closest to her, even while she was distracted upon healing herself.

Taking in the shaman's words, the other warriors had little to no effort with the undead legion, even while being exposed to Sub-Zero's ice blasts!

"Whew, those fanatics certainly were a good warmup," Kai swiped sweat from his forehead.

"Well done fighting them, Kai. Not bad for a novice." Liu commented. His partner seemed to rely on brute than anything, so he was more like a ravaging tank!

The guys were a little sore, though they pressed on till they finally descended from the steep, opaque hill. With a firmer footing, their moves became direct as they had a slightly easier time with more Onis and Shadows. They all became more vicious as they broke out their lethal moves such as Liu's Flying and Bicycle Kicks on the Onis, or his pyrokinesis onto the Shadows. While Kung Lao utilized his guillotine hat more often, along with Aiko's club, Sonya's energy rings, Johnny's amazing Shadow Kicks, Kai's brute strength, Nightwolf's soul weapons and Sub-Zero's slides.

Thanks to Aiko's abilities to absorb energy from enemies, not only they became immobilized thus vulnerable to onslaughts, but she also functioned as a medic rejuvenating the heroes!

"Is that all you got, sorcerer!?" Cage boasted once the field was clear. Sonya retorted on his ego which never changed since before his resurrection, and perhaps that was why he was at the mercy of Motaro.

Kai couldn't help but feel just as confident as him, though Liu warned it'd be too easy, as this was only Quan Chi's infantry.

"Still, we must keep moving--ergh!" Lao was struck by a dart! In came some of the minions he and Liu recognized! The Demon Archers and Wards emerged from the shadows, and the fight was now tougher than ever!

"Here come their commandeers! Kombat time!" Sonya declared.

This time, the Kombatants relied on closer combat, even using their provided shields to block their lethal projectiles. Sub-Zero conjured and formed an ice shield, while Nightwolf encased his chest with a green, deflective field. Aiko utilized her club while Lao took advantage of his razor-rimmed hat both as a distant weapon and blockade! The other warriors simply blocked, though with the constant impacts, their bodies became weaker.

It wasn't long before the Demon Warmongers stepped onto the plate. "I wish we had reinforcements right about now!" The general stated, rattling the warriors since every one of the Edenian guards had either been imprisoned or killed. Either way, no one was coming to their aid while the perimeters of the Palace remained deserted!! Obviously, the Demon Warmongers were definitely the Army's biggest threats, next to the Demon Generals as Liu and Lao recalled back in their journey thru Outworld, specifically the Foundry! They could have sworn that the military continued to grow rapidly with other enemies such as the Onis, Shadows, and Archers!

The Demon Army was starting to overwhelm the heroes! Liu Kang declared they needed to split up and infiltrate the Palace on all sides instead of directly! Kung Lao and Aiko drove some of the demonic forces away and were chased into the Living Forest to the west! Sonya and Johnny Cage wound up with each other as they headed east, as did Liu Kang with Kai to the northeast, and Nightwolf with Sub-Zero northwest.

With their formation, both Lao and Aiko escaped to the cooler and moist jungles. The exotic agriculture greeted the duo as the demons continued to chase after them! At times, Lao looked back and attacked the enemies incoming from the rear, and the vegetation gave them slight cover. The army continued to form, and the monk hollered, "Aiko! Hide in that cave!"

She obliged and some of the demons followed while Kung Lao focused his energy, wound up, and rapidly spun like a vortex! Numerous militants were caught in the funnel like helpless prey sticking into a spider web! Each one had an unfortunate death whether it'd be getting impaled on the jagged branches of the trees, or being caught and eaten in the mutated trees' mauls, or having their bodies splattered! The other assailants that were after Aiko decided to retreat into the shadows!! She was impressed of all the strenuous training thanks to Fujin.

She congratulated him when the F0 Tornado dissipated, "Great job, Kung Lao! I guess all that training with Fujin has finally paid off!"

"Ergh, yeah, I guess so," he muttered exhaustingly. "We should chance some rest at that cave. Might as well before those evil trees shall hinder us." Aiko couldn't have agreed more.

Just then, the Chinese warrior spotted a silhouette covering over the walls. He braced himself until the figure revealed herself. "Kitana!" They both chorused in astonishment.

"Man, are we glad to see you!" Aiko embraced her tightly.

She was taken aback by the sudden hug, while Lao simply bowed. "Ditto, Aiko. I spotted that temporary tornado, despite the clear sky. Then I figured it was you, Kung Lao." She then switched gears. "I WAS hoping to find Liu Kang as I noticed the Palace was invaded by the Army of Darkness. But I guess you two would suffice."

Lao explained of their predicament and the princess wasn't surprised. "With just you mortals and no army, we can never survive. Especially against Quan Chi and Shinnok." She smacked her fists recalling the captors of her people, including her mom and royal guard.

"There are those names again..!" Aiko startled. Kitana was impressed they knew them. As they stationed themselves in the nearby cave and a small fire lit, they discussed their unfortunate experiences, even those while training with Fujin at the Wind World.

Kitana mentioned it was best to attack without being detected, never shaming them of their sudden separation. She stated she struck a peace treaty between the Shokan and Centaurs when she noticed the explosion at the Palace, although the Netherrealm forces were too much, then she was divided from the gathering two beastly tribes; she hoped that Goro would rally up the cavalry.

"Goro! He's still alive!?"

"This is not the time for revenge, Kung Lao. He's been in hiding from Shao Kahn as well as healing his wounds. We have a greater threat to worry about for now." Lao calmed himself.

She then mentioned that while on the subject with his ancestor, he was once involved with Quan Chi as well. This topic really got the monk's attention as he shifted closer to the bonfire...

The Edenian summarized that the demon sorcerer, 500 years ago, had a dormant presence in the Netherrealm. Working only for himself and to gain immense power, he sought to disgrace Kung Lao and claim his soul on his own terms. Quan Chi was approached by Shang Tsung to combine their sorcery in a brief deadly alliance to end the monk's life in a hellish parallel universe. By the Earthrealm's Champion's prestigious efforts, they were undoubtedly intrigued! Alas, when Shang Tsung turned renegade, Shao Kahn employed Quan Chi to eliminate the treacherous sorcerer. This was certainly no surprise for Kitana, Lao nor Aiko. Although a fierce battle occurred between the two warlords, neither was victorious. Quan Chi also hired three female Netherrealm assassins, whom he had revived from undead souls encased in their living flesh named Siann, Mika and Sora. The three girls were often sent to do his bidding in Earthrealm while the sorcerer was not capable of directly interfering. Though his necromancy and black magic was just potent enough to influence Earthrealm indirectly. Although the succubi used their prized beauty and deadly fighting skills to their advantage, none were successful in slaying Kung Lao, his friends, nor other enemies of Quan Chi. He has usually mistreated the three girls, but Mika in particular looked like she had deep feelings for him, perhaps just their infatuation playing a role, and he seemed to return those feelings. Later on, after Lao lost his life at the hands of Goro, Quan Chi was sealed in the Cobalt Mines of Shokan by Shao Kahn's rampaging Shadow Priests. Legend had it that those native minerals nullified his powers, and he was slain and sealed back into the underworld.

"Until Sub-Zero's brother was employed by him, and started that intense, never-ending feud with Scorpion," Lao added.

"Your ancestor was just lucky he had comrades to back him up, and so should we. We shall rally up the Raptors native to the Living Forest and Zaterra. We will need to have the other tribes join our flight too, including the scattered Shokan. None of us can possibly be Champion alone."

Hours later, the trio woke up from their slumber. Aiko and Kung Lao followed Kitana through the Living Forest; they knew she'd be an essential guide to them since she had plenty of experience as part of Edenian royalty. She even helped them traverse through the quicksand swamps, fending off the soul-infested trees, more Imps and Shadows, and venomous snakes.

They soon arrived at what almost seemed to be a marsh, only there was no water, but the slippery, spongey silt still remained. Numerous live trees surrounded the spot, and each one constantly groaned as soon as they saw the trio which made Aiko unnerved. Due to her handy stilettos Kitana had little to no issues traversing thru it, contrary to the duo's more flatter footwear! The gang kept following her, trying to never mind the creepy trees continual moans!

A lone ninja blended into the thick canopy as he watched the three unsuspecting wanderers...

"This place leads to the Zaterra ruins," Kitana said. "We should be close to the lost Raptors' stronghold."

They continued onward until that same olive-colored assassin ambushed them from above! He immediately turned and spat acid onto Kitana's face!! The duo ran to her, tending her wounds. "Aiko! Stay with Kitana! I'll handle this sneaky reptilian."

The enemy immediately faced the heroic monk who simply greeted with an arm motion attempting to make peace with the Saurian, "I have no quarrel with you."

He just stuck out his crooked tongue as he hissed, "I will tear open your flesh!"

Lao switched into a fighting stance, "I now have a quarrel!"

Thanks to his previous encounter with two other Saurians, Lao memorized his past strategies. He kept his distance to avoid his corrosive spits. At first he was caught off guard by his opponent's own spear similar to Scorpion's which dragged Lao over the silt effortlessly; however, he was able to break free as a free hand sliced the rope apart by his deadly hat! Vulnerable, the Zaterran vanished but Lao knew he wasn't done. After a moment's silence, he used his spinning kick and got his assailant unawares and into the air. The Saurian was more nimbler than what Lao anticipated, and resilient. And the monk's main disadvantage was indeed the mushy silt! One time, he was blinded by acid, though he dropped and rolled to minimize the irritation. Before the enemy made his next move, Lao played keep-a-way as he teleported till his vision was clear enough. He threw in his hat as the Saurian wasn't looking, and he even used his own Teleport Kicks to knock his opponent down! In a desperate attempt, the Zaterran was more vicious with his invincibility, that was until Aiko conjured her cardiokinesis, squeezing his heart! With another direct kick, the Saurian was incapacitated!

Lao towered over the poor reptilian as he begged for mercy, though he wasn't falling for his "twisted trick." He raised his hat and prepared to slice him into ribbons.

"No!" Kitana came to with her arms spread out. "We need to ally ourselves with the Raptors! Killing one would set a terrible example. He must be one of its generals. Do you pay your allegiance to Shinnok?" she retorted.

He replied with contempt, "I serve no one! My will only belongs to me and to my dwindling clan."

"Then why did you attack us!?" Lao countered.

"We are very territorial. We get very many enemies here, fleshling. We have a right to preserve our race."

"Aren't all Saurians aggressive?" Aiko challenged.

"They may seem to have violent tendencies, cold-blooded as reptiles. But it's only to defend themselves against their intruders." Kitana reasoned. "Our progress on restoring Edenia to its former glory has pacified some Saurians, but they're few and far in between. They challenged us in battle at times, but we usually win over them, and so we've proven ourselves by their code."

"So, they go by trials of kombat. Great..!" Aiko was irritated, and Lao felt the same.

"Identify yourself, Saurian." Kitana coaxed. The rebel went by the name of Syzoth. After their match, which to Lao didn't seem so honorable, offered to escort them thru the deadly forest to their ancient ruins. Needless to say, the Saurian guards weren't thrilled to see those different from their race. The general assured they're not here to fight, but rather rally them up for the war against Shinnok. Even to them, the name sounded familiar and alarming.

The kingdom reeked of mildew and overgrown with vines. There weren't many inhabitants, the heroes noticed... There were lesser mutated trees than usual, but enemies still ran amok; Kitana stated they lost many Raptors while restoring the swamps. Some decided to join the cause since they remembered the legends surrounding the first conflict of Shinnok centuries ago.

Before their home was corrupted by Kahn and Shang with his souls possessing the trees, the Raptors became just as aggressive as their deceased elitist, Reptile. The swamps were once a part of Edenia and the benevolent rulers had tumultuous, harsh times restoring it as several of their men perished trying. Aiko and Lao believed that all Saurians were as bloodthirsty as Reptile, but Kitana said it wasn't always the case. She then recalled the incident of Tetsurri which it triggered bad memories of the Gem involving her first encounter with Quan Chi! Tetsurri was their first ruler in the new realm but was very tyrannical, thus leaving behind its crystallized heart as a valuable, though corruptive, artifact. Kitana recalled herself and her team being manipulated by it, as Quan Chi's magic erupted its evil.

As the three Kombatants found a sanctuary to rest in the Zaterra swamps, the Shaolin Monk queried to his companion, "Aiko...you said you knew about this gem of Tetsurri, but you and Nightwolf weren't affected by it. He said he destroyed the crystallized heart cuz he wasn't affected by its infectious influence. Were you resistant to it?"

The cardiokinetic just shook her head. "No. I was actually distracted by something else."

"And that is?"

"Eh... You remember when I mentioned that there were other realms involved in the rips of the dimensional fabric, before Kahn regained his lost strength?"

"Yes?"

"Well...one in particular was the one I missed so much. They came from a different realm, but I forgot what it was. Nine creatures, err mutated dragon-turtles known as Koopas, had entered Earthrealm and decided to help out. Bowser was their king, but he appeared weak in defending his turf. It wasn't long he and his eight Koopalings had a change of heart. They realized Kahn was a stronger threat than them.

"One day, when I went with the Kombatants to the Carribean Rainforest chasing after a portal, the Koopalings kinda got in trouble and one got caught in a thornbush. I helped them get one of their kin out, while at the same time, the Kombatants met a refugee offering a gift to them, which in turn sorta enchanted them and the boy left their souls being darkened by hatred.

"And that was the treasure of Zaterra, the gem of Tetsurri! Raiden said this was a myth, never believing to be true. I guess since Zaterra was neglected for so long... Nightwolf said he destroyed it and Quan Chi just got away!"

"So THAT was how you two met him!"

"Exactly."

Lao took a breather, trying to process all that information. "I think this place is connected to my ancestor too. The Zaterras...they seem to be just as vicious as Reptile. I don't think there's any chance on pacifying them." He doubted Kitana's words on doing so with the Shokan and Centaurs.

He and Aiko were still surprised as Syzoth stated that they were the early inhabitants of Earthrealm, until his kind managed to escape to another realm, Zaterra, which neighbored Edenia, but was neglected and forgotten; rumor had it that Raiden aided their escape as he and Fujin, along with the Gods, kombatted Shinnok for the first time, which resulted in the extinction of their species and enveloped the world in darkness for centuries.

"So...lemme get this straight." Aiko was dumbfounded. "The Zaterrans were originally from Earthrealm and they were its earliest inhabitants, which means they'd been around since the dinosaurs existed..! Yet they had been moved to another realm as Raiden and Shinnok were fighting each other which caused their cataclysmic extinction millions of years ago??"

The Zaterrans just murmured in confirmation.

"God do I feel sorry for you guys!" She held her head.

"No wonder you're always on high alert, defending your kind and all."

"If only our realm hasn't been abandoned for so long." Syzoth despaired.

"We'll make it up to you when all this is over. But...your tribe is doomed if you should venture in alone. We must recruit the Edenians, Shokan and Centaurs. And maybe the Tarkans if we're lucky."

The mentioning of the carnivorous outcasts made Lao and Aiko grimace.

"If possible."

"If the other peoples are willing to unite with us against Shinnok, then maybe there can be an exception. Our lives depend on it, and I certainly don't want our land and civilization be enslaved again."

"It shall be done, Syzoth." Kitana declared. Word got out and the other Zaterrans decided to honor their breed, and perhaps find a way to repopulate their species without the horrific results of necromancy. They were once humanoids much like the Edenians, after all.

While the pacifiers slumbered, Syzoth marched out to one of the balconies overridden with overgrowth and sneered, "Yesss... Everything iss according to plan. Sssoon the Zaterranss will reclaim what is oursss and take revenge on the other realmsss. We shall fulfill the will of Shinnok..!"

A/N: I'm not sure if this is correct or not, but am I the only one who thinks that Shinnok has been inspired by Jafar in Aladdin?? I mean, seriously, his ominous colorful robes, the matching helmet, the tall, menacing staff and the fact he's a sorcerer wielding the black arts...! If NO ONE ELSE has/would make that connection, like they ignored Ganon and Shao Kahn being inspired by each other, I'm going to lose it!!

As you noticed, there were some elements from Defenders of the Realm and Conquest, connecting with Shinnok and Quan Chi. I made Kitana and the Saurians reference those events cuz, just like Zaterra they'd been long ignored. Everything's connected with these two foes, and these two pieces of media should be explored more often and NOT be left as non-canon! Seriously, with story elements like these, they SHOULD be important to the overall plot!! Those asinine creators always abandon so many elements that have so much potential! The fans should be listened to and take charge of all games, movies, shows, etc. Fuck those ignorant corporate bastards!!

This is what MK4 should be, a war that required the unification of all the peoples in Edenia, before jumping from Kombatant to Kombatant! This is the one game that's been starving for a remake aside from Shaolin Monks! But Ed Boon and his pathetic developers, even the higher-ups in Warner Bros, don't care!

I threw in the Koopas cuz a long time ago when I was around 9-ish, my mind was going wild while I was watching DotR! I kinda figured all those random ideas were just those from various realms that assisted the heroes temporarily, before they'd been sealed away permanently after Kahn's failed insurrection, aka the final episode before being canned. Thus, Aiko's forced resignation and the rips in the dimensional fabric can cause all those anomalies. The Koopas, I felt, were the ones that held up well, especially involving the evil gem of Tetsurri. More can be explained in my MK Retrospective; just do a little digging and it can be found.

I was also shocked that Raiden and Shinnok's first conflict triggered the extinction of the dinosaurs and the Saurians!! I feel so sorry for them and Aiko's quote was my exact impression on that! I wish they'd apply more real-life events into the MK universe! And I just loved Kung Lao's challenge over Reptile in MKX, my all-time favorite since Underdawg Gaming mentioned it in his vid, the Greatest Downfall in MK History! :D

At first, I was gonna pick the Battle theme from Final Fantasy X for the first battle, but I'd changed my mind and found Fight scene 01 Alternate version from Defenders of the Realm to be more suitable! Just after the Wastelands Battle Theme I from Shaolin Monks. Bill's Thene from Starfox 64 shall chime in whenever the Kombatants receive a reinforcement/reunion with another hero; Starfox 64 was made in the same year as MK4 anyway! As would Join the Party from FFIV like in Shaolin Monks, Part II! The Woods from MK4 was one of the few memorable tunes in the game so of course it'll play as the trio traverses to the Ruins of Zaterra. Snake would play when Lao faces off with Syzoth, Quan Chi's theme from Conquest would play as the Saurians and Kitana would recall the tragic events, and Shang Tsung's theme from Paul Unfaces shall play at the end.

So, Kung Lao, Aiko and Kitana recruited the Saurians, but what is Syzoth's ulterior motive?

Con't IV - Into the Cobalt Mines

Johnny and Sonya were still running away from the gathering Army of Darkness! Climbing from hill to hill, the Special Forces Agent took out her machine gun over her shoulder and managed to shoot and obliterate several Shadows and Onis. They were reluctant to scatter and run away from the fray, but they had very little choice as the odds were against them!

The Brotherhood of Shadows in particular were giving them the most trouble as they strategically covered beneath the ground while Sonya shot the gathering generals. One actually managed to trip the poor lieutenant as it gained up and reached for her kombat boot! She tripped and the sudden grab made her tumble and roll down another hill! Johnny screamed her name and dove after her, but just as he was about to lift her, the ground gave away!

They slid down some loose soil before they reached a sharp edge! Johnny went and grabbed for his partner, but her rifle wasn't so lucky as it detached, and the strap fell around some jagged rock with the flashlight still on!

Both Kombatants regained their footing and composure. "That was close," Sonya stated with relief.

"Ergh, good thing those creepy bastards didn't find us. They must think we're dead." Their voices echoed as they bounced off the void and distant cavern walls.

With their sore bodies, they sat for a few minutes before they stood up slowly. They both figured it was too risky to emerge into the surface, until Sonya's keen vision spotted a narrow path to the right of the landslide. She took the lead and Cage followed, till their eyes beheld flickering, bright lights refracting from the rock walls. Those firings belonged to some forgers as if they were structuring weapons or armor. Turned out the alchemists were none other than the four-armed beasts they were too familiar with, the Shokan!

Each one was assigned different tasks, whether it'd be hammering a piece of metal flat, shoveling dirt into a burner, sculpturing, heating and cooling, lifting heavy equipment with all four arms, or grinding a piece letting out an irritating screech! Even though it seemed like a factory making equipment manually, the atmosphere was surely creepy counting the chains hanging and all the deadly weapons lying around!

The pair suddenly heard thumps beside them and in walked a male Shokan which was twice their height, including Johnny's!

He queried, "Do you have an alliance with the overlord, Shinnok?"

Johnny immediately made a striking pose as he noticed the approaching beast looked very similar to an old enemy of his... Before a fight should break out, Sonya replied, "We belong to Earthrealm and we just escaped from that army of demons."

"Hmm... You speak of the Army of Darkness. You two shall be lucky escaping from an unfortunate fate. Our kind had borne witness to an attack upon the Edenian Palace fifty miles away, while we were at the subterranean city of Kuatan. During a peace treaty with the Centaurs, the new princess, Kitana, became distraught, but we hid away here as well, while the rest of us escaped into the darker corners of Outworld."

"Where's Goro!?"

"Johnny!" Sonya became nervous that the celebrity was about to instigate and raise tension. The last thing she wanted was to become a victim to merciless slaughter by a group of the monstrous Shokan!

"He has hidden himself after several years, too ashamed to show his face upon his consecutive defeats in the previous tournaments."

"He'd better stay away, especially from the likes of me." Johnny pointed at himself.

"Enough, Mr. Egotistical. What is going on here?"

"This is the Cobalt Mines. We are currently using alchemy to create armor and weapons made of that sacred material. We believe in this legend that the demon sorcerer of the Netherrealm, Quan Chi, had his magic negated by making contact with that same compound."

Sonya continued to interrogate, "How do you know so much of our enemies, or this place?"

Over five centuries ago, Shao Kahn used this advantage and made Quan Chi turn against Shang Tsung once the Konquerer sided with him. This took place when the sorcerer attempted to end the Great Kung Lao's life, but he often failed.

The Cobalt Mines of Shokan was a location originally in Outworld which was often used as a prison for "the lowest scum of all realms" by the Konquerer and the Shokan race loyal to him. Interestingly enough on account on being productive with four arms, their special abilities and tremendous strength, these warriors were the reason why they were named as such. These mines were special containing pure cobalt embedded into the rock walls, and noticing these peculiar caverns, the cobalt was blue in color rather than silver in Earthrealm, much to Sonya's amazement.

Shang Tsung was once imprisoned here by Shao Kahn after his defeat at the hands of the Great Kung Lao. He kept the Kreeyan princess, Vorpax, who was also a prisoner in the Mines for lying to others, and to herself, as his personal slave. Taja was manipulated by the Kreeyan princess into thinking that her long-deceased father was still alive and was a prisoner in the Mines, only to all turn out to be nothing more than a trap for the Great Kung Lao.

Sonya then questioned the Shokan general of the hanging chains, and he mentioned that the Mines contained an execution and torture chamber. At the end was a wrought-iron sarcophagus containing a worm-infested rotting skeleton, but it was eventually obliterated after Kahn's defeat; once the Shokan occupied the Mines, they wanted to destroy its violent past. Legend had it that Shang Tsung's powers couldn't be unaffected by the cobalt in the mines, since he has a human heritage, but to outsiders, the cobalt poisons or weakens them, believing Quan Chi to be one of its many victims.

Johnny asked, "If this place was truly a prison, then what the hell do they eat down there? I doubt there's any livestock here."

The Shokan stated that food was usually either some kind of basic soup or stew served in a clay bowl, but Shang Tsung ate something that seemed to be close to shrimp; he then complimented he must've great hunting talents to exceed the more common delicacies.

Neither Sonya nor Johnny appreciated this, nor how prisoners had been treated so cruelly; thankfully the Mines had collapsed causing the burial and destruction of a lot of its disturbing denizens and scars of the past thanks to that sudden invasion!

"Ever since Edenia had been restored, we were in the process of reformation until the meddling Centaurs complicated matters! As we speak, they're awaiting outside guarding this place. There's a better exit than that slippery slope!"

"Whew, that's a relief," Sonya perspired.

"Because of the heavy safeguards by the Army of Darkness, we must approach it discreetly. As miserable as it may, we must traverse thru Jade's Desert."

The two humans gave an irritable sigh. They were NOT expecting to go over a scorching wasteland, let alone expecting that Edenia even had one.

"Jade...? Why would even she own a desert?" Johnny asked sarcastically.

All the general did was shrug, it was baffling to all the Shokan! He appreciated if the two Earthlings would become allies to their cause, even if they would put aside their jealousy and insecurities regarding the Centaur; they reluctantly accepted.

As the general suggested, they headed to the barren, abominable sands, though he heeded they must approach thru it before the sun should rise and irritate the blistering earth even more. Luckily, each of the Shokan as well as Sonya and Johnny were able to take naps upon the Centaurs backs; they weren't as unsteady as they thought while they pranced onto the loose and merciless dunes. They all were very wary if there should be a lethal haboob popping out of the blue.

At one point during their trek, Sonya was awoken by a sudden jerk of a Centaur's mount. Her eyes cleared almost instantly, then it spotted a yellow robot sticking out of the surface! At first, Sonya thought it was an illusion, as deserts had a tendency to allude the mind, or maybe she was still restful, but her transport kept on trodden away from it, never wavering.

She signaled the beast to halt, and he commandeered the others to do the same. Some even grunted as the sun was quickly rising! Sonya ran toward the lone cyborg and realized it was one of the Lin Kuei cyborgs, Cyrax! Johnny awakened soon after when his mount abruptly stopped.

Sonya shouted for the armies to help her pull the half-dead cyborg out, which didn't seem to move nor respond. All it did was let out some faint staticky noises before he was carried onto one of the half-horse's backs. Sonya mounted her perch again before they continued on their journey which they had alerted to speed up into canters before the sun should show its merciless, dehydrating face! It was as if they were running as fast and hard as a herd full of wildebeests!

Thanks to approaching and evacuating from Jade's Desert early, Sonya and Johnny eventually made it out, although the heroes still couldn't understand why it'd be hers; deserts in general were very unsettling and they just couldn't favor Cyrax being stuck in the sand.

They soon arrived at a swamp of sorts and the temperature was a lot cooler as they felt the refreshing air emitting from a nearby lake, much to their relief.

Out of the corner of her peripheral vision, Sonya noticed a familiar man wearing tattered clothing and tan skin with a thin, brown beard and crewcut. She signaled the Centaur to halt, and he looked over. "Wait. I need to take care of some unfinished business. It's Jarek!"

"Jarek?" Johnny asked, dumbfounded.

"He's the last member of the disbanded Black Dragons. I was chasing him in Shanghai earlier."

"Black Dragons... You mean Kano?"

At the sound of his name, Soyna quickly dismounted from the beast's back. Johnny bickered for her to stay but she still went straight toward him!

Soon enough, the fugitive looked up and saw her assailant. All he let out was a wide grin, just savoring on killing his woman victim.

"It's over, Jarek! You're coming back with me!" Sonya challenged as she walked up to him.

"Never, Sonya! I agreed to myself I'd defeat Shinnok. Not turn myself in to the Special Forces! The Black Dragons live on!"

Despite the threat, she still put her dukes up. She countered, "The Black Dragons died with Kano! You're the last one, Jarek! Surrender or you will perish!"

"Never!" He ran up to her like a raging bull, though the Special Agent was always quick on her feet as she sidestepped away at a moment's notice! She then heard Jarek wail in a hilarious manner. She then picked up her communicator.

"Come in Jax. This is Lt. Sonya Blade. Jarek is dead, and the Black Dragons had finally fallen-"

All of a sudden, she was grabbed by the leg from the same strong black biker glove! Jarek used all his strength to drag his enemy down! It was just enough as she got pulled off the precipice! She began to fall towards the lake just fifty feet below! Her legs and arms were flailing about-

Until she was abruptly caught by someone else who was airborne! His firm grip was about thirty feet up and Sonya nearly startled while she was caught unaware! She had her eyes squeezed shut, then she noticed she was on more firmer ground, then brought down softly as she held onto his shoulders.

Her eyes opened and she recognized her hero! "Ah-Kung Lao!"

"Surprised to see me?" He replied with a sneer. Then his face fell. "What happened here? I heard you scream as you fell, and-who is this guy?" He pointed to the tip of the precipice in which their eyes blurred as they looked up in the bright sunlight and the long distance. They barely saw a muscular man grab him by the throat and had his feet dangling just a few inches up.

"Going somewhere, Jarek?" A deep voice intimidated the criminal.

"Jax! I thought you were going to-"

"You thought I was what, dead? Like my partner you just tossed off the cliff?" The Agent dragged him to the tip of it.

"I-I'm sorry, Jax. Please. Don't drop me! W-wait, I promise-"

"Too late, Jarek!" His grip grew a bit looser, as he couldn't wait to drop the last surviving Black Dragon to his demise.

Still, Jarek continued to beg him for mercy, "You can't drop me! You have to uphold the law! You have to arrest me. Wait, wait! This is brutality! You can't do it!"

"Wrong, Jarek! This is not a brutality! This is a FATALITY!" With that statement, Jax finally let go of his trachea and the doomed criminal simply fell like a large rock! Kung Lao, Aiko and Sonya simply watched from within the shade beneath the cliff's edge. Jarek's holler grew louder until his body smacked onto the lake's surface as if he hit cement! The trio shielded their eyes, and they were lucky they never saw his battered body ever again! Some thin red streaks broke away, though.

They sighed with relief. Especially Sonya knowing she wouldn't have to deal with the accursed organization anymore. Unless if there should be more stragglers scattered around the world, or in other realms.

"Finally...!" Aiko perspired. She can never forget her obsession on killing nor arresting Kano since he was responsible on her partner's death; she recalled bits and pieces as Jax was highlighting the lethal invasion in an apartment complex as Kano rigged it, during that time of Jax's story, the Kombatants were having a wild globetrotting goose chase thanks to deceiving Nightwolf's equipment!

The trio marched up the path toward the top which wasn't very steep.

"Hey! What's been goin' on up here?" A tenor greeted Jax and was astonished to see the formerly deceased celebrity!

"Johnny! I thought you got your head ripped off!"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Nah, I'm good. I don't know how he pulled it off, I can't understand, but uh...Raiden resurrected me."

"Did he?" Jax's eyes grew wide.

"Yeah, he said it took two years to recuperate."

"Right... Listen, the rogue Black Dragon, Jarek, I just tossed him off a cliff and-"

"Jax!" He heard Sonya march up to him and he nearly tripped over his own shoelaces from his black combat boots as he embraced her! Johnny just gave them a dirty look, but the Agents didn't notice.

"I thought you fell flat off the cliff."

"I would have if it wasn't for Kung Lao here!" She pointed to the monk; he tipped his razor-rimmed hat in greeting. "Look, Jax, you can't stay here. There's so much heat with the fallen Elder God, Shinnok, and his apprentice, Quan Chi."

Jax's eyes narrowed, "God, why does that name sound familiar?"

"Nevermind. You gotta get outta here. Can you make a portal?"

"Yeah, I think so. Thanks to those new hefty gadgets. Why?"

"It's Cyrax, one of the Lin Kuei cyborgs. Johnny and I found him in a desert, stuck in the sand."

"The Lin Kuei? You mean all those robot ninja assassins?" Jax never liked the sound of that; he won't forget the lethal scrimmages he saw involving Oniro and Sub-Zero.

"The Lin Kuei has changed, Jax. You need to hurry; he might die if he doesn't get the proper treatment. He won't survive here!"

He rose his hands, "Ok, ok, chill, girl. I can create a portal back. It's gonna need some work, though."

"Thanks, Jax. Do whatever you can." He nodded and she marched toward the trio.

"So, you finally got rid of Kano's thugs?" Johnny remarked.

"Yes, Cyrax will be taken to headquarters. He should be fine."

Lao wasn't so thrilled as he saw the gathering army full of vicious beasts. "Sonya. You rallied up the Shokan and the Centaurs? They'll tear each other apart limb from limb! They can't break their vow on not being friendly."

"They're both fine. The Centaurs helped us traverse thru the desert and retrieve Cyrax. Kung Lao, they can help us win. Even they despise having their lands conquered."

"They also created armor containing cobalt. I still don't know how that's gonna help against Quan Chi."

The former monk remembered the same tactic involving his ancestor, but he thought it was just a rumor. "Shang Tsung used to be banished there."

Aiko changed the subject, "We have the Saurians on our side, too! We kinda decided to take their customs on camouflage. I guess it really works."

"So that explains the weird getup." Johnny noticed Aiko's and Lao's dark olive-green and black warpaint on their bodies, even several stray leaves as they once wore them for cover.

"Like a soldier in kombat. Good call." Sonya complimented. "I can't believe Kitana was able to meet up with you guys and lead the rebellion! Look, we should get moving. Hopefully we'll meet up with more of our allies."

They all nodded in confirmation and mingled with the rest of the group. Surprisingly, there were no confrontations between the Saurians with the Shokan and Centaur forces.

A/N: I first heard about the nefarious Jarek as well as his demise by 616Entertainment as he described the terrible voice acting in MK4. He said it's very close as being as abysmal as Resident Evil's, Mega Man 8's and House of the Dead's; even though I never played those games, they were often used as very flawed examples! C'mon, Boon! Do Tobias and us a favor and remake the damned game! Shaolin Monks may need it, but MK4 is starving for a massive makeover!

Also, I have to admit that Cyrax, as well as the cyber warriors, was one of the highlights of MK3 ever since I was young, so just like Motaro, I didn't want to get rid of him. And concerning MK Gold, they had him play a minor role and I liked his ending video when the Special Forces rescue him from Jade's Desert and have his humanity restored much like Smoke thanks to Nightwolf in my previous epic thus making him as a valuable ally to defend Earthrealm.

The Master from The Time Machine (2002) will play when Sonya and Cage reach the Cobalt Mines. The theme from MK: Conquest would chime in during the flashback involving the Great Kung Lao. Jade's Desert shall sound when they find Cyrax in the sand as the Centaurs help them through. Rain from MK4, the arena not character, plays during those infamous Jarek scenes. And Dark Ice Mines Surface Caves from Starfox Adventures'd tune in during the respite. As would Join the Party when the team reunites.

As you can see, I took some inspiration from MK: Conquest and MK Gold. It's criminal that Gold was considered the ugly duckling out of all the ports, since it had extra characters and their own cutscenes. Even though having Cyrax was a nice Easter egg introduced in UMK3. I just can't wait to get rid of Jarek and recruit the Shokan and Centaurs on the Kombatants' side! I'm trying to unite all of Edenia here! Damn I wish MK4 would explore more of this concept and Edenia like Shaolin Monks did as it linked with Earthrealm and Outworld! And no, I'm not taking any elements from the pathetic Special Forces, so another scrappy eliminated!

We're halfway done with the separated teams. We still have Nightwolf and Sub-Zero's formation as well as Liu's and Kai's. I hope I'll have the inspiration and motivation to do more; things had been at a crawl as of late. Sorry for misspelling Kuatan, btw.

Con't V - An Unlikely Ally

With their team dispersing, Liu and Kai continued to fight off the Army of Darkness diligently; they were reluctant on running away from the tremendous wave of Shinnok's followers, and they refused to turn tail. However, circumstances were not in the Shaolins' favors as they were still overwhelming them despite the more even footing contrast to the steep hills as well as the Champion's unbeatable prowess! At times, Kai managed to mimic and master some of Liu's legendary maneuvers, including his Flying and Bicycle Kicks, yet still it was too much for the esteemed protégé, as he was mostly specialized in close combat including the use of his own Ghurka Knife.

Seeing his close friend in peril, Liu spotted an opaque hill in his peripheral vision. He then faced him and spoke, "Kai! Duǒ zài nà zuò shān hòu mian!"

Kai nodded in confirmation hid into the hills while Liu was still in the endless fray! He blocked his face as he conjured up his pyrokinesis skyrocketing his body temperature! He shot open his eyes which churned into bright pupils and moments later, his body elongated! The merciless demons hesitated as they saw the awe of his Fury! Liu simply just vanished as the olive-green mist encoated him! And the serpent itself simply reared back its head and let out all its fatal fiery breath incinerating the waves! Hell, even the elites at the rear were caught in the crossfire while they collided into the immobilized demons making the volley larger!

As the thick smoke settled beneath the burnt earth, Liu was back to his human self. Kai couldn't help but feel enthralled on what his sensei could do! This was the first time he witnessed his master's greatest potential yet! He was so fixated that he was knocked to the ground from the side! One of the generals managed to evade the wildfire, though it wasn't long for Liu to burn him to a crisp! This was just the relief the monk truly needed after the Animality, soothing his ardency.

He offered Kai a hand in which his partner took. Kai was fine physically, yet still he was despondent hanging his head. He couldn't help but feel envious as he was defeated while his partner was still standing. All he did was shake his head and exasperated, "Damn it, Liu! I'll never be as good as you! You being the Mortal Kombat Champion and all..!"

He calmly answered with a raised finger, "Remember what I've told you, Kai. There's more to martial arts than just fighting. You must become one with your inner spirit. Only then can you summon your real inner strength and have that power that you've only dreamed about."

Kai just let out a defeated sigh, then a firm hand laid on his broad shoulder. He looked up and Liu pointed to a distant structure with a dome top, "We should head to that tower. We'll gather our bearings and infiltrate the Palace from there. I doubt it's likely the army would be suspecting us." Perhaps Kitana's trapped along with the fallen Edenians...

Liu and Kai reached the upmost floor without incident. The violet and scarlet sky continued to make a dim light into the circular morgue. Liu used his pyrotic skills to light the distant torches, making the space more manageable for their strained eyes. They saw numerous coffins surrounding the center, and they hardly noticed a fallen warrior on top of the altar at the backwall.

"The decor in this place stinks!" Kai retorted, holding his nose. Liu couldn't agree more.

"Yet still..." The monk's eyes examined the area. "I see no signs of any of the prisoners here, let alone Kitana. Someone must've beaten this poor Edenian here," he mentioned the lifeless humanoid. "Somebody has definitely reached this place first, but who..?"

As if on cue, a deafening clang was heard very close by! The arched exit was barred! Then, the sarcophaguses began to move! Lids popped off. though they didn't belong to some bony nor decaying hands! Instead, more of the Onis and generals came out of hiding and surrounded the heroes! Liu commandeered Kai to go back-to-back and their eyes covered more ground. They braced for the worst! Then a tiny shriek was heard from above. Kai looked up and noticed they were covered overhead by a massive shadow.

"Look out!" He tackled Liu aside as he staggered when an immense block caved in from the ceiling! It also had massive spikes underneath that seemed to belong to a Tyrannosaurus' incisors! A flexible, opaque warrior leapt and flipped from the top and landed with a thud toward the group!

Kai and Kang unshielded their eyes and they barely made out a a male adult with glowing blue eyes and black markings on his face. The monk could've sworn they looked similar to Shang Tsung's. The stranger's grey and white hair at his temples and wrinkles were barely noticeable in the dim light, giving him a somewhat stern and sinister appearance. He looked like the standard ninja with a maroon sheen, although lacking the traditional face cover, but his spiked shoulder blades made the Champion cringe thinking he was a younger version of Shao Kahn!

"Who're you!?" he challenged with his dukes up along with Kai's.

The intimidating man declared proudly, "I happen to be one of Shinnok's most prestigious generals, Reiko! You two fellow warriors are just in time for your elegy, so it seems!" His smile curled, "Ah, no better time as I see the legendary three-time Champion in my midst!"

"You're one of Shinnok's cronies? What have you done with Kitana and the others?"

"Hmph, glad you asked, feeble mortal. They barely have time to spare. My master would be pleased if I should rob the lives of both of you. You do well to hurry, if you value the Edenians' lives. Though it may be impossible considering our armies are perpetually massive," he chuckled with his shiny teeth baring. He clapped his hands, and the duo was surrounded. "You will both be joining them pretty shortly, humans!"

"I wouldn't bet on that if I were you!" Liu growled. "Kai, wǒ huì dài tā qù de!"

The tyro nodded as he kept the Onis busy, while the Champion went on the prowl against Reiko! The elite matched Liu's brute strength and nimbleness, only slightly with the latter since his armor tended to slow him down. He, at first, was thrown off by Liu's honed agility leaving him open for a millisecond. His spiked arm blades gave him the advantage on defense and offense while he caught Liu off guard when he got too close. With those counters, Liu strategized to keep his distance and unleash his streaks of fire, causing Reiko to back away a few notches. He did block another onslaught with his spiked arms, then took out his club, clobbering them! Reiko charged toward his opponent, before he made a jerk and threw his melee weapon toward the Champion! Luckily, his crackerjack thinking made him scrunch down and the club passed over, hitting a bystander general much to Kai's relief! He finished the demon off and wiped sweat from his forehead before he advanced to the other minions.

Reiko threw a few sharp Shurikens toward the Champion, two he evaded but one he abruptly blocked due to its closing distance and it sliced the side of his arm. He closed in with his Bicycle Kick which made Reiko falter, then he followed with a Flying Kick sending his enemy colliding his head against a stone wall! Reiko was stunned upon impact as Liu marched up to him. "Release our allies, Reiko!"

He slowly rose, "You're out of luck, Earthrealmer!" He then spotted the melee Kai was in, fighting a few remaining stragglers. He then dissipated thru the floor just seconds before Liu was about to mop the floor with a fist!

"Agh!" The monk's eyes fixed on Kai wrapped in one of Reiko's spiked arms in a stranglehold!

"SUCKER!" The crafty general stormed out as he leapt from a carved opening and dropped into the bleakness with the few stray demons! Liu was unable to catch up to the wounded warrior before he gave him the slip with his good friend at his mercy!

Silence fell over the morgue like the dead themselves. Liu never felt this hopeless nor this vulnerable! First, he lost Kitana due to the likes of Quan Chi and Shinnok, Edenia has fallen, he was separated from his friends, and he lost Kai too! He instantly recalled Raiden's words,

No one is Champion alone. If one of us is in chains, none of us are free...

This definitely filled him with doubt and regret. He only wished Kung Lao, a more skilled, seasoned warrior, was here...

He only sulked, and he hardly heard the soft pitter patter beside him.

"Are you...the Champion, Liu Kang?"

He perked up and saw a black face emerge. As it drew nearer, the dim light made out more features. Black wavy hair laid at its sides. It was a woman with a yellow and black leotard. Liu noticed that unlike the other female ninjas, she didn't wear a mask. "I am Tanya."

The cat certainly got Liu's tongue, or maybe it was just his tight throat preventing him to speak or was it her beauty...?

She stepped closer to the hurt hero. "I'm so relieved I'd found you. I escaped from the chaotic assault over the Edenian Palace. My village was invaded as it was close to it. So, I fled and looked for help. I'm glad I finally came to you."

"Uh, I'm...sorry for what has happened. I was looking for my friends, but we were separated, and my good friend, Kai, was captured."

"Hm...it seems both you and I are alone. We cannot breach the Palace unless we should approach it without being noticed."

He was full of doubt, "How? The demonic army, and one of Shinnok's generals, had caught us at every turn."

Tanya softened, "I was hoping to find more allies before I should lead them thru the subterranean tunnels. But I was gravely mistaken..."

"Underground tunnels... I'm sure that our enemies have occupied them as well."

"No! There are some secret passageways leading to the Palace. Fit for prisoners to escape under the former Konquerer's nose. I had managed to slip in and release only a few."

"Is Kitana with you?" Liu's eyes widened.

She shook her head, "I'm afraid not. I needed to hurry and rescue whoever I could. It's likely she's still there, if she's even alive, that is."

The monk became desperate. "Tanya, I must save her, and the other prisoners! Reiko said there's not much time for them."

"Alas, there isn't. Do not fret, warrior. I am an Edenian. I've known all the ins and outs since I was young. Shinnok's generals will never take me, I'm a survivor!"

He nodded, "Alright. I'm counting on you. So many are at stake, including my friends."

"Of course. I shall accompany you, then."

Tanya led Liu out of the unsettling keep and thru the shadows of Edenia.

She was proven to be an expert guide, as well as a decent Kombatant when she assisted Liu on countering the demon hordes with her boomerang, resilience, and her dual spiked sais from her sides. Other than a few random waves of enemies, everything seemed a bit too quiet. Until they made it to a stone slab which reminded Liu of the entrance to the sacred Wu Shi Dragon Grotto. Tanya brushed away some dead leaves and branches and unveiled the slab. She asked Liu to help her remove the heavy stone which he did with ease. She found a stray thick branch and asked the Champion to light it as a torch before they descended. Conveniently, there was a sturdy staircase leading into the tunnels, which settled Liu's mind a bit since Tanya's words were true on escorting prisoners away.

Even more impressive there was some intact stone walls and floors laid out! Liu was intrigued on the Edenians erecting such a place set for runaways! His fascination distracted him that he didn't notice Tanya who stopped at the center of an archway a few feet away.

She faced him, "Follow me, Liu Kang. Stay alert for any demons who dare to slip in. The prisoners and Kai should be just ahead."

"What about the others?" He said, puzzled.

"I hadn't seen them yet. I had only seen Kitana and Kai here. Those were the only warriors I had recognized."

He continued to follow her thru what seemed to be an abandoned tomb which had a natural, jagged stone wall in the rear shone by Tanya's torch.

"Wait!"

Liu was startled as she heard another female voice from behind! He looked, but there was no one except him! A green stiletto stomped on a piece of limestone in the ground which dropped! Suddenly, two metal slabs collided vertically iIn front of the duo!

"What!?" Tanya was astonished and irritated, and Liu stormed toward the trapdoor, failing to pry it apart! She was then impaled by a thrown Triblade! He then rushed to her aid.

"Don't, Champion! Don't!" There was that voice again. But another lit torch made out a female ninja clad in emerald!

Tanya continued to struggle until she tugged the weapon out of her leotard piercing her brown skin!

"Let it be..!" The green Edenian came close and ordered Liu to stand down. He just hesitated as he tried to register the familiar girl. "That voice..."

With her quick reflexes, Tanya threw the weapon back, but the other ninja knocked it away with a steel fan. "I should've known you'd be here!"

"I can't believe you're still alive!"

"Same to you! I will rectify this mistake!"

Liu just stood there, still as a statue while the two lethal women clashed! There was just no way he wanted to fight against a woman, even though he once fought against three when the green ninja jogged his memory... Nor was he sure whom he should trust. His mind was at an absolute stalemate, especially upon the failure of protecting Kai.

With her staff against Tanya's, the duel turned into an en guarde battle! Both of them slicing, blocking, and dicing every blow! That was until the jade woman outsmarted Tanya as she made a charge with the Blazing Nitro Kick which surrounded her in the same aura and reminded Liu of Johnny's Shadow Kicks. Tanya wasn't done as she made her own counters with her Human Cannon Drill, the Air-Fire Blast and Surging Blast, each move accompanied by swift kicks and pyrokinesis from her legs! The heroine kept blocking and charging at Tanya's legs, attempting to immobilize her. She then came up with the same strategy, "no different than with Kitana's! Always about the legs!"

"Kitana..." Liu was speechless, "Could she be..?"

Before Tanya got up, the green lady made another charge, only this time...her staff went thru the betrayer's body! She became limp before it collapsed into pieces! The victor twirled her staff getting rid of any drips of blood before she put it in her back scabbard. She headed to the stupefied monk.

"Long time no see, eh, Champion?" She offered him a hand and he shook it in a fish grip. "That woman over there was Tanya! You had been fooled! She was just about to lure you into a trap. Heh don't sweat it. She's always a traitor anyway."

Liu finally found his words, "Jade..?"

"About time you recognized me." She folded her arms sternly.

She stated she was following the Edenian rebel, and averted Liu's death slaughtering the holier-than-thou backstabber! It wasn't uncommon on foolish, hapless denizens taking on Tanya's superficial charm and false intellect. Jade confessed she knew the monk whom he, along with Kung Lao, straight up murdered both her and Mileena a couple years ago on top of the Tower.

Liu just hung his head in remorse on making the mistake killing off Kitana's best friend-

"Shh! Don't say a word, mortal..!" Jade interrupted as she reached a finger to his mouth. "To be fair...perhaps I and Kitana were both brainwashed by Kahn... However, thanks to Raiden, I was brought back to life. Hmph, better than being in those vile Flesh Pits!"

Liu Kang figured something happened to the princess since Edenia and the Palace had been invaded, but Jade assured if there was something transpiring to her, she would've sensed something amiss... They'd known each other for millennia after all.

She was also well aware of the Elder Gods' crisis against the fallen demon, Shinnok; she hypothesized he employed the necromancer Quan Chi, and they'd be useless without each other.

Apparently, she saw Liu Kang as her soul was imprisoned in the Soul Tombs after her body was brutally battered by the two Shaolin Monks. He brought up the Tombs had been destroyed since the last time he and Lao faced off Baraka. Actually, she remembered after ascending waking up in a bright fountain, courtesy of Raiden. Liu concluded it had to be the Jinsei Chamber that brought her back!

Ever since her resurrection, Jade was anxious to reunite with her best friend once more, as was he aside from regrouping with Kai and his lost friends. She was impressed on how much Edenia prospered before Shinnok's invasion; thusly, this proved that Kahn had finally been overthrown and destroyed after ten millennia, and she knew from Raiden that Liu Kang was destined as the Chosen One.

"So... will you lend me your assistance on rescuing Kitana?"

With a low curtsy, she reassured, "Consider them yours, Champion!" She plucked out Tanya's discarded weapons, and they were on their way!

Minutes later, the metal slabs were blasted apart with extreme force as much as TNT! With a raised hand, Quan Chi stepped out of the would-be prison and noticed the chamber and stairwell were deserted, excepting for a bloody, decimated female corpse!

He clenched his hand into a tight, quivering fist! "You have failed, Tanya!" He looked into the dark void and vowed to destroy the Champion himself!

"You should be lucky Tanya hasn't used her deadly boomerang or be her next victim."

Jade led Liu Kang thru some thick brushes toward the Palace. And she described on who treacherous Tanya really was. "I've killed her before several millennia ago, after she tried to frame me wearing my garb as a disguise and accusing me on slaying fellow Edenians, though Kitana never believed it. Then, we sent her to the Netherrealm. I can't believe Quan Chi and Shinnok helped her escape from that eternal prison!"

Liu nearly tripped on a steep slope. "Wait-how did you know so much about her? Who is she?"

Jade stopped and summarized Tanya was a slender woman from Edenia. Originally appearing to be an apparent innocent, her main method was deception. Jade and Kitana witnessed she was quickly revealed to be corrupted by evil, a worshiper of Shinnok no less, and an ally to the Brotherhood of Shadow. Jade was relieved she killed her before she would serve the likes of the aggressor, Shao Kahn. She said that aside from her treachery and sexy appeal, Tanya also had facile beauty and smarts as she always claimed herself as a survivor more than anything else, justifying her choices as being the "right decisions." She and Kitana knew she was absolute malice as she prided herself on her superior knowledge of magic and diplomacy. Because of her frequent betrayals of the Edenian cause, she has earned the rivalry and bitter hatred of Jade particularly as well as others who fell prey to her duality and ferocious ways.

"Like I've said, Champion. You are not alone."

The ground shook and a large, deep boom was heard in the distance. The two warriors hesitated, and their ears soon adjusted to muffled shouts and war cries along with metal mingling with them! Jade tiptoed forward and looked over a hill toward the flickering lights beside the city below! "Kitana must've sent the cavalry. She had to recruit all the Edenians, including the..."

She silenced herself, trying to confirm her reasoning. Then, she left in a sprint.

"Wha-how do you know? Is it really Kitana!?"

"It must be! Kitana!" Liu desperately followed Jade toward the distant war!

A/N: I couldn't stand Tanya's ending while I was looking for ideas on this fic! It always bothered me how gullible Liu Kang was, even as far as his friends went. Just another Scrappy eliminated! I feel so vindicated here! Also...I tried using the polls on Twitter to see which faction I want to cover; however, they never gave me any relief to my indecision as both polls resulted in ties!

Sorry to any Kai fans out there for me trying to make him have a tad of potential but not enough. I just didn't have a lot of ideas for him considering he's a newbie. Plus, I wanted Liu to be more vulnerable as the Champion isn't always unstoppable; it was kind of formulaic on recruiting other races with the previous chapters. After all, it led up to the elimination of Tanya, and since she hates Jade, what can be better! I even thrown in some Chinese cues via online translator for lulz, just to prove that Kung Lao, Liu Kang, and also Kai can be bilingual characters; Kai has to be considering he's Liu's disciple.

Ok, yeah, it was intentional on allying Jade with Liu Kang, as it kinda followed the same idea from Annihilation which was made in the same year as 4 and Mythologies, but what the hell. As we all know, there are worser installments out there, so Annihilation's like the lesser of several evils. On a side note, I can see 4 being similar to separating party members like Final Fantasy VI and Sonic Heroes; each faction having their own difficulty and style before reuniting for the climax, even though the former failed.

Bowser's Castle from Mario Kart 64 may be a nice addition, especially with the dark macabre of Edenia that was formerly Outworld. Eternal Palace from Mortal Kombat: Annihilation fits well with the intense part during Liu's Multality and the calmer parts before they got to the Tomb, while it gets tense again when Liu and Kai are trapped. This random idea hit me hard as I thought and listened to Force Your Way, the Dissidia rearrangement, to play during the boss fight with Reiko; he seems intimidating as he's very similar to Shao Kahn in looks and skills, and this battle song fits very well especially considering I was never into Final Fantasy VIII! Leave Your Fear Behind from Annihilation may fit nice with Kai against the minions till he's captured anyway. Animality may be a decent choice upon Liu's vulnerability; every hero needs a moment like this since they aren't invincible. The Main Theme from Shaolin Monks can be good as a subtle track with Liu and Tanya till she's ambushed by Jade with Panik Kontrol, and finally closing things up with Kitana's Abduction.

Whew...only one more faction to cover, this time with Sub-Zero and Nightwolf!

A/N: This was definitely the hardest faction I had to make!! I swear if this was made into a game with each separate scenario, this would've been labelled as Difficult, hands down! I hope I'll feel sooo much better once this is done!

Con't VI - Bloodstained Hands

Nightwolf and Sub-Zero continued to fight off the Army of Darkness while they lost the other Kombatants in the melee. It wasn't too long before the waves of enemies began to overwhelm the duo. Kuai tried to keep at it with his skilled cryokinesis allowing him and Nightwolf to land several targets, however, the stampede was able to breach thru the ice blockade making the warriors retreat. They still looked back and took out any foe that was closest to them, yet still, the endless barrage kept drawing the men away, and into a nearby abandoned granary.

Sub-Zero was about to form another, though larger, ice block covering the outer space...

Until, their eyes adjusted to the shadows, making out a silhouette of a monster with a blade protruding from each of his two arms. He slashed thru every Oni, general and demon with minimal effort, and kept letting out those monstrous hisses all the while. As if he had an insatiable appetite of flesh and blood! He never fed on the enemies, though, just sliced right thru them! The oncoming melee began to ease up afterwards, and Nightwolf and Sub-Zero braced for the worst as the stranger sneered at them!

It wasn't entirely unexpected as that mutant lunged to the group! Nightwolf took on the battle, with his soul weapons clashing against the retractable arm blades! From the dim lighting, the heroes made out the assailant, baring fangs and all!

"It's a Tarkan!" The ice ninja exasperated.

"Could it be Baraka!?"

The shaman continued to clash with him, and the carnivore's only drawback was relying too much on close combat! The Matokan remembered fighting Sheeva and keeping his distance, so he did the same; he was fortunate the enemy didn't have a lot of body armor, so the Indian had clear shots! He then decided to throw in his tomahawk, impaling Baraka in the chest! Once he was vulnerable enough, the warrior closed the distance and klobbered over him! While he was down, Sub-Zero froze him up to his neck, which actually caused the axe to slip out!

"This should staunch your bleeding! Suffer from your pain! You're not going anywhere!" The ninja retorted.

Baraka just let out another disgusted hiss while the heroes walked up to him. "Who do you fight for?" Nightwolf demanded. "We saw you hold back the Army of Darkness, then you turned on us! We don't work for Quan Chi nor Shinnok!"

"Obviously, you're obsessed on working for the next in line like you did with Shao Kahn, to quench your insatiable appetite of flesh and blood! That was why you massacred those innocent monks in the Wu Shi Academy! Your leader is finished and so will you!" Sub-Zero reached in and squeezed Baraka's neck.

He roared in protest then spoke in a softened snarl. Apparently, his defeat put an end to his ravenous and bloodthirsty ways.

Nightwolf and Sub-Zero weren't buying it, and they questioned as to why he decided to attack them after he got rid of the demonic horde. Then again, the Tarkans were known to have an uncontrollable urge to kill and sometimes devour their prey!

The monster stated, "I have known those slick demons from the Netherrealm. Me and my kind were once bred from those abominable creatures, or at least had our DNA mixed with their blood!"

With that statement, the process on creating Mileena from the Flesh Pits entered their minds and made them stutter.

"So, you were all classified as mutants, each with different abilities they had excelled, like different specialized hunters aside from being seasoned cannibals. Then you got your blood soaked with demons'!?" Nightwolf was in complete disbelief.

Baraka was relieved that Kahn didn't reemerge after his demise; he countered that he and his army were employed by the Emperor on causing that massacre at the Academy thus igniting the second tournament. While the invasion of Earthrealm was just out of spite! Baraka also knew of the many stragglers that managed to escape from the horrid plane of existence about a day ago, and he recognized some of them including the half breed, Mileena, to which he despises, as well as Scorpion!

Kuai was flabbergasted he had escaped... "What do you know of him!?"

"He only escaped, mortal! He was involved in the breach from the Netherrealm and invaded Edenia! I witnessed this incident and rallied up my clan till we were constantly being bombarded by those same demons! I cannot stand being konquered! And be treated like feral rats!"

Unusually, Kuai had no desire on killing Scorpion after finding out the truth from...

"Sub-Zero! Heads up!"

He looked up and the duo leapt away just seconds before a volley of fire burnt them! He let out his wrath like a dragon's fury, melting Baraka's icy prison! The flames created just enough light making out the assailant's eerie features, including his horrid skull and yellow and black attire!

"Scorpion!" Everyone chorused, including the Tarkan with the sore throat!

The assassin covered his face with the signature mask and was only fixated on Sub-Zero! "GET OVER HERE!" He stuck out two of the lethal spears from his left hand toward his bitter rival, in which he backflipped and created an icy statue to which it shattered into thousands of crystal shards!

Kuai closed in with some air kicks that knocked his opponent down, but he got up quickly! Kuai grabbed his kicked leg and socked him in the face, but Scorpion's reflexes were resilient enough to knock him off with a countered kick! A series of punches and kicks fluttered toward each other, until Scorpion suddenly dove thru the ground! Kuai hesitated, until he felt the sudden body heat from behind! He grabbed and tossed Scorpion over his shoulder, then Scorpion countered with a direct kick to his chest! This made him back away and left him hunched and sore. Vulnerable, the assailant did a roundhouse kick to Kuai's face, pummeling him to the ground! He unveiled his skull and breathed fire again and countered against Kuai's ice blast, even backing it away! He dodged the volley, but was caught off guard from Scorpion's teleportation kicks, both on the ground and in the air! The hapless ninja was caught in each merciless blow, till he was slammed back into the ground, with his lethal impact creating a small crater and fissure.

As he slowly rose, he spoke, "I do not wish to fight you, Scorpion! I did not kill your clan, and neither did my brother!"

Scorpion held his rival down with a heavy boot on his chest! "You and your sibling are murderers, Sub-Zero! You may be my killer's brother, but that doesn't make you innocent, and yet you still have my clan's blood in your hands! You shall perish and suffer for eternity in the Netherrealm just as I did!"

"No! I'm not responsible for your family's deaths! Quan Chi framed my brother! He killed them himself!"

"You're LYING!" Scorpion roared into his face.

Still stunned on his back, he implored, "I can prove it! Nightwolf and Smoke reprogrammed a leftover data chip of Sektor, one of the Lin Kuei's cyber assassins!" He should've known that Scorpion wasn't quite aware nor around when Oniro declared the advanced and soul-wrenching program and transformations.

Baraka hissed again crossing his blades from the distant shadows, urgent to slice open that demon limb from limb! "I will annihilate that hell spawn!"

Nightwolf just stuck out an arm, preventing the carnivorous mutant from progressing! "No! We have what we need to prove him otherwise!" He dug into his side pocket and pulled out the shiny data chip! "Scorpion!"

The cursed ninja turned and saw the shaman walk out of the opaqueness, ready to pounce on him like hapless prey!

"Smoke and I managed to reprogram Sektor's data! This chip shall show you what really happened! Quan Chi has lied to you all this time! I will prove it to you, but you must fight the darkness that is consuming you from within your soul! Resist the manifestation!" He stuck out a hand as the ninja continuously marched toward him! He kept on the incantation which seemed to grind the curse-bearer to a halt!

"Fight the darkness, fight the darkness!" As if he was speaking into the undead's mind, if he actually had one.

With his free hand, Nightwolf activated the data chip which flashed a neon red and opened a hologram over what transpired. Through the fuzzy surveillance which would've been as clear as the Virtual Boy, it shown Quan Chi in a recording of a conspiracy. He was discussing with the former Grandmaster inside the Shaolin Temple at a circular throne room which was the topmost floor. Bi-Han was received with gratitude as the thief was successful on his deeds eliminating Hanzo. Quan Chi had in fact offered a map which was said to lead to the Temple of the Elements housing a powerful amulet. He hired Bi-Han to retrieve that aforementioned artifact, and he dumped a series of fallen bones and skulls, spilling them onto the floor in order to give the Lin Kuei his payment. Through the fuzzy screening, there were three skulls, one smaller as if belonging to a young child!

Scorpion's soulless eyes widened as an image of a little boy still in flesh close to his mom flashed before them!

The words in the chip were muffled, but the conversation between Quan Chi and Bi-Han ignited between them, symbolizing their bitter service to one another.

It then shifted in clearing static to the footage in which Bi-Han laid wounded as Scorpion towered over him, about to kill the cryomancer for vengeance, until Quan Chi stepped from the shadows and even mocked to Hanzo that he was indeed responsible! Quan confessed in front of the doomed ninjas that he not only killed the Shirai Ryu by himself, but also created Scorpion from Hanzo's corrupt soul after his death, turning him into the vengeful specter that compelled him to unfairly blame and kill Bi-Han during the first tournament, and had been the curse-bearer ever since... In his rage, Scorpion ran into the demon sorcerer while his head was flashing, before they both dissipated in thin air! The chip went blank after that.

Nightwolf gasped. "Hanzo's corrupt spirit... Just like Takeda's... The Great Kung Lao fought off a wraith possessing him, and churned him as the demon, Scorpion...! He was the one who burned Jen inside the Temple of Light! This must've been the acts of Quan Chi's necromancy!"

"Actually, that was by Shang Tsung." Kuai Liang, who rose gradually by Nightwolf's assistance, blamed Quan Chi's treachery for Scorpion's downfall and Bi-Han's death, holding no grudge against Hanzo.

He held his head, trying to process the new intel which contradicted his own actions believing Quan all this time. "Why...why was I so consumed by hate...!" While doubtful, his voice sounded different, more human, no longer having that unnatural echo.

"You finally regained your senses, then." Nightwolf noticed. "Do you remember your son's name?"

"My son. His name was Satoshi, and my wife, Harumi."

Both men were stunned. Instead of Baraka's, as he just hid himself from behind one of the rear pillars before he slipped away.

"Where's Baraka?" Kuai queried.

The shaman looked around, "He's gone. He must have escaped while Scorpion exhaled that fiery stream."

The yellow ninja pointed a finger up, "Hanzo, please."

The pair marched up to him, and Kuai hesitated before he offered a hand.

"But...why?"

"It was not your fault, Hanzo. You weren't responsible for my brother's death. Just as we didn't massacre your own clan, despite us being blind rivals. As that wraith inside you brought despair and darkness to yours, and mine."

"You were being manipulated by the all-evil power of Quan Chi. Your dead vessel by Bi-Han rendered your soul to be an easy target for Quan's influence and bound your thoughts to his. This...wasn't the first time, as Sub-Zero here was one of his victims as well while he and my comrades were infected by the Gem of Tetsurri manifested by him.

"I had heard stories of the Great Kung Lao, and Shang Tsung tried on multiple occasions to keep his soul for himself, even Quan; one of those times was when he used a wraith possessing Takeda, a promising friend of Baron's, to kill Jen, before his body rotted. It was all that impure spirit, all along."

"We both were played with by the Quan Chi, and we're on our way to finish him. But...with the overwhelming army, we can't do this alone. Blame Quan Chi, and together we shall restore all our clans."

Kuai flashed back to the times when his elder brother served Quan Chi. At one time, before he lost his elder brother, Kuai remembered a talk he had with him concerning the Temple of the Elements.

"What is the Temple of Elements?" Kuai asked.

Bi-Han responded, "It only exists to protect Shinnok's sacred amulet. That amulet that keeps him trapped in the Netherrealm."

"I do not understand..."

"It is protected by the four elements: fire, wind, water, and earth. As long as that amulet remains on Earth, Shinnok can't escape the underworld."

"What has happened here, Brother? I came here to make peace with the Gods of the Elements that you fought. But they're all gone! Which means the Temple is unguarded."

Kuai's mind returned to the present, confused as to what the undiscovered amulet was and why was the sacred Temple unprotected. "Unless Shinnok drove them away..."

"To think we were all connected by this madman, even the monk that defeated me twice in the Netherrealm," Hanzo recalled both kombats, even though Kung Lao was an honorable opponent.

"Your chance to redeem yourself and bring peace to your family is now. I can't help but feel this was by my brother's own doing, bringing the sorcerers back from Hell. I should bare this burden. But...what of this omnipotent amulet?"

Before Hanzo peeped, footsteps shifted at a distance. There was a tremendous array of shadowy figures with pointed edges, which the guys thought they were concealed weapons. Baraka stepped forward and hissed again. The crowd roared with their retractable blades raised!

Nightwolf grinned, "So you all came here to fight, eh?"

"We cannot wait to slice Quan Chi down to ribbons! We had been manipulated for the last time! We are the wild Tarkans and shall not be tamed!" Baraka's motivation caused another uproar.

"The Tarkans are willing to fight alongside us... Figures, especially since they rave for killing and destruction. Typical nomads," Hanzo summarized, shaking his head at the last statement. "If I'm correct, Mileena should be in your midst." This made Baraka spat out profanities.

"We hold our own allegiance! I'll be more than happy to sic that weak half breed into a blood sprinkler, just like Quan Chi!" There'd been some rumors from the Edenian invasion that she has returned from the Netherrealm, so they took the fight to fangs and blades!

While mostly neutral, Baraka said the Tarkans still functioned as hobos, carnivores and scavengers in the Wastelands yet decided to work with Sheeva and Kitana, since Mileena was out of the picture, and he was glad to no longer loathe the half-Tarkan. Until now!

Baraka and the Tarkans ran straight for the Edenian Palace, clearing the way for the heroes... All they did was face each other and shrugged in disbelief before they followed them.

A/N: Most of the inspiration for this chapter was from TrueUnderdawgGaming on the Biggest Loser in MK History, that being Baraka! Ever since MK2, I was enthralled by that deadly general! Underdawg himself stated he used to be a mutant, till the term Tarkan was made official in Deadly Alliance and were merged with demons. Unfortunately, they didn't seem to be as different as him nor Mileena, sadly. I'm also so damned sick on having Baraka be a punching bag like Kung Lao, especially in the Nether Realm games AND his own ending in MK4!

If you guys remember on my last epic, Baraka only fell into the water as he was knocked off the Bridge by Liu Kang; at least he wasn't slain like Mileena! I thought he was cool in Annihilation as well, even his kind depicting in Defenders of the Realm.

Ok, it's gross that his fangs were made from fingernails, and he was roughly inspired by Wolverine, but Baraka deserves a fair shot!

And yeah, I included Scorpion's end scenario from MK4, depicted as winning over Bi-Han, and there was a reference to the MK4 prequel komic, but I had to add them somehow. And if there's a thing I liked about the Nether Realm games, there's the moment in which Kuai analyzed Sektor's data and presented it to Scorpion, err Hanzo, thus bringing peace to both clans! I thought this was the best thing X had covered! :DBesides, with Nightwolf and Smoke part of the team, how can I pass it up?

Smoke's theme from Annihilation, played as the Booster remix, shall be at the start when Nightwolf and Sub-Zero face off the army. The Boss Theme in Majora's Mask would chime in as the former deals with Baraka, the Boss Theme in Ocarina of Time would play in the fight with Scorpion, Shaolin Temple from Mythologies would sound in the distant flashbacks, and Secrets Revealed from Austin Powers in Goldmember would sound when Scorpion looks over Sektor's data, starting at 0:45. Neat on how there were 2 New Line Cinema properties in one soundtrack! God how I wish they'd continue, or rather Warner Bros, with the Austin Powers series, especially the origins of Dr. Evil.

I finally got all the factions outta the way! I'm so relieved, especially since I'm close to the infiltration of the Edenian Palace! I disliked how I needed to be out of my comfort zone, particularly Kung Lao and Aiko. Can't wait to do the next chapter!

Con't VII - Reunion

Liu and Jade were cut off short by more of those lethal generals which took the duo by surprise!

One distant warrior wrapped in stray leaves and branches came in and kicked the assailant aside off of Liu Kang's chest! He looked yonder and tossed his razor-rimmed hat which decapitated a nearby enemy, and another when it returned to its user. He swiped the rim free of blood as he tossed his stealthy cover away.

"Heeeey!" Another tenor ran to them. Out came Johnny! "Looks like we got here just in time! Who is this hot chick?"

"Nice to see you again!" Jade retorted to Kung Lao. "Let's see if you can lop MY head off!"

Liu broke the quarrel, and she settled once she saw her awestruck friend! They reunited in a tight embrace, almost breaking into tears.

The Tarkans had been warned if they slip up and decide to attack the heroes, they'd be slain. Nightwolf mentioned the Tarkan invasion in the Wu Shi Academy a few years ago, hence enforcing his surveillance over it.

With Scorpion as the new ally, he jons in as well. Hanzo actually saves Baraka's life as he was deceived by Quan Chi's doppelganger, making an ambush from behind! However...

"GET OVER HERE!!" Scorpion's spear wrapped around the REAL sorcerer's neck, strangling him and attempting to rip his head off!! He did just that, took off his vile which unveiled a skull with flaming eyes! He almost instantly unleashed his fiery breath onto Quan Chi's hapless corpse along with his severed head!!

With his actual assassin killed, and his clan finally able to rest, Hanzo decided to side with Kuai and make a peace offering. They, and Baraka, proceeded forward!

Scorpion eventually beheads Quan Chi after finding the truth of him; he's their insider of Shinnok''s Amulet. He believed he has the real one while Shinnok has the fake and if so, there'd be a better chance!

The sacred Amulet of Shinnok is the only one relic still revered as divine within the twisted religion of the Brotherhood of the Shadow, because it was the malevolent Elder God's most precious treasure and his greatest creation.

Millennia ago, Shinnok created the amulet as a central focus of his divine power, in a bid to control all of the realms. He was only narrowly thwarted by Raiden. For ages thereafter, the amulet remained mostly unknown and hidden deep within the Temple of Elements in Earthrealm. It was later retrieved by the original Sub-Zero after the Lin Kuei were hired by the demon sorcerer, Quan Chi. Quan Chi had delivered to his master Shinnok an exact duplicate, while he kept the original himself.

Kitana remembered in a flashback it was Quan Chi that held the Amulet back in Kahn's arena behind the audience appreciating the Champions. She thinks he has the real amulet, while Shinnok only used the duplicate; if so, there's a winning chance, but Quan Chi must be stopped first within the Palace! She thought that he's an idiot despite how intimidating he is, especially in Aiko's future. Lao questioned as to why he created it, she said he needed it to be absolute; since he's the Elder God of death and corruption, it symbolized great power, and is divine despite it being twisted by the Brotherhood of Shadow.

Inflexible Determination (Final Fantasy X)

Sandstorm - Long Version (Darude)

Elder God (MK4)

Continue - N64 Style (Mortal Kombat 4)

This is Your Story (Final Fantasy X)

The Paladin (Final Fantasy IV DS)

Dark Ice Mines - Underground (Starfox Adventures)

Out of Control/The Crash (Star Trek: Generations)

Prison (Mortal Kombat 4)

Don't Be Afraid (Final Fantasy VIII - Dissidia rearrangement)

Final Boss (Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks)

The Well (Mortal Kombat 4)

Fight with Seymour (Final Fantasy X)

Spy Family Finale (Spy Kids)

Sub-Zero and Smoke - Slow Version (Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm)

Engel (Sehnsucht)

Con't VIII - Prison Break

At one point, Syzoth revealed his true colors as he unveiled his Zaterran devolvement from his vial! He unveiled to be Reptile, betraying Kung Lao over the Raptor rebels since he desired for revenge upon Sindel banning him to the Netherrealm, or at least to the Cobalt Mines where he escaped. He appreciated his new Master's, Shinnok's talents in necromancy while at the same time bringing his lost race back to life!

The Raptor rebels came to his rescue as they tore apart Reptile limb from limb! It was stated that Reptile made his tribe corrupt since the first tournament, as Tsung warped the same contest Lao added...

Prison

The Prison is a large octagonal cell in the Netherrealm's Prison of Souls. This arena made its debut in Mortal Kombat 4 and Mortal Kombat Gold.

At the center of the back wall is a large metal fan. The ground is made of cement with a large, square, sewer-like ventilation in the middle, surrounded by four metallic paths leading to the North, South, East, and West ends of the cell. The cell is enclosed by electronic metal doors to either side.

Stage Fatality

The Prison Stage featured a stage fatality where the player could spin and toss the opponent flying into the large metal fan, which proceeded to chop them into bits and pieces and send their head flying towards the screen, leaving a stain of blood on it.

Kung Lao faces Reiko there while attempting to rescue POWs, even teleporting inside the cages and rescuing them. Kitana escaped easily, knowing she's a veteran of prisons and knew how the Edenia Palace prison works! They found Kai wounded, but Aiko needed an energy source to revive him; he failed to defeat "another one of Shinnok's generals?"

Reiko possesses a Spiked club, scythe and shurikens

In his first appearance, Reiko appeared as a male adult with glowing blue eyes and black markings on his face, similar to Shang Tsung's in MK3. He appears to be a slightly older man, with grey/white hair at his temples and wrinkles on his forehead and the corners of his eyes, giving him a somewhat stern and grizzled appearance. Much like many of the characters that debuted in MK4, Reiko bore a facial semblance to another person in the MK team, with the case of Reiko being Ed Boon himself. His attire was the standard ninja outfit with a maroon sheen, although lacking the traditional mask, with The Brotherhood of Shadow insignia printed in yellow on the back. This outfit was used in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon as his alternate costume, excluding the Brotherhood of Shadow insignia. He wore an outfit strikingly similar to Shao Kahn, as a reference to him fancying wearing his helmet and pretending to be him when he was not around. However, unlike Shao Kahn, Reiko sports a slightly tanned skin and wears dark pants under his armor.

The wounded Kai thanks Aiko for her assistance, but....IT WAS A TRAP!!

The wounded Kai managed to mimic Aiko's cardiokinesis!! He weakened her and Lao effortlessly! He took them to the Fire Well to lure in the Champions of Earthrealm!

Possible battle song - Force Your Way (FFVIII - Dissidia rearrangement)

At the end, Kung Lao uses his Whirlwind Kick to toss Reiko into the spiked ceiling!! Cue MKII scream, and the random guy shouts, "Toasty!"

Con't IX - Showdown with Shinnok!

Aiko was held captive, as was Kung Lao...after they were both incapacitated by Shinnok's mimicry of her cardiokinesis by draining their vitality rapidly. They were held in chains and shackles within the Fire Well as he was manipulating their minds, feeding them with dark illusions of their dystopian future, and churning them into his mindless slaves.

Shinnok kept feeding Aiko that all of Earthrealm is against her mental defects; take notes from the rant on Twitter. Kung Lao was also fed dark illusions of failing everyone and being churned into Revenants; he must fight them in order to prevent this calamity.

Liu Kang, Raiden and Fujin faced them off, though the latter warped them to the Jinsei chamber to heal with Nightwolf's assistance restoring them. "Fight the darkness..!"

Liu Kang took the fight, but the Kombatants grew hopeless...that was until Hanso unveiled Shinnok didn't have a...certain artifact on hand! As Quan Chi possessed the ACTUAL Amulet once his corpse and soul got sealt into the Netherrealm!!

Nightwolf then summoned the Kombatants and empower his soul-enriched tomahawk! With their prayers on assisting the Champion and defending both realms, everyone including the Shokan, Centaurs, Saurians, and even several reluctant Tarkatans including Baraka lent some of their strength into the axe, empowering Liu Kang! Shinnok used Aiko's cardiokinesis, reading his heart and warping it with his dark thoughts. However, the prayers and positivity began to weaken and sting Shinnok!! Since Shinnok was feeding Liu lies on never defeating an Elder God, he's still one of darkness and death; thus absorbing the opposite of light and life!

Shinnok was powerless, leaving him vulnerable! Fujin did shove Liu into a portal, taking him out of the Palace, just to let the Gods finish their fight and no longer have the former Champion cursed!

In the end, Raiden was promoted to Elder God status, meaning his younger brother shall take his place as the guardian of Earthrealm... Which meant, much to Liu's and Aiko's disappointment, that he won't be around to look over the Monks as their direct mentor... Aiko questioned if it was because of her dystopian future, to which he shook.

Fire Well (fight with Shinnok)

The Fire Well is an arena that appears to be surrounded by fire and its walls are decorated with the skeletal remains of defeated warriors. The skulls of some fighters even litter the floor, and hellfire burns endlessly and deeply behind the arena's grates. This arena made its debut in Mortal Kombat 4 and Mortal Kombat Gold. The arena has returned in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon with an updated version of itself.

Overview

The skulls that litter the ground can also be used as throwing weapons against your opponent. There appears to be only one entrance from a dark hallway. The Fire Well might be part of the hoary Netherrealm, as hellfire burns endlessly and deeply behind the grates, and the fallen Elder God Shinnok awaits challengers to add to his collection of mutilated bodies. It is where the heroes of Mortal Kombat battled with him in order to save the realms.

A different and also updated version of the same Mortal Kombat 4 arena in which the defenders of Earthrealm did battle with the evil Elder God Shinnok was featured in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. On its bottom level, a conveyor belt which players can utilize as a death trap, operates on each wall with a large wheel at their ends, crushing blocks of stone. Should a kombatant lose sense of their footing and be knocked onto the belt, their life would soon end as their bones are ground into powder. In Mortal Kombat: Armageddon a Hot Poker can be found on the bottom level which can be picked up and used in combat.

Trivia

There was an original sketch of the Fire Well but it wound up as a sketch in the Krypt and Kontent gallery special features of Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance. This concept was later incorporated into what is now the Lava Shrine.

Epilogue

Aiko told both Sonya and Johnny they were parents in her dystopian future, and raised a daughter named Cassie; however, they soon divorced since they were both obsessed over their positions in the Special Forces. As for Jax, he had a daughter named Jacqui, but forgot who the mom was.

Kung Lao made a ceremonial appearance during a peace treaty established by Kitana and Goro to restore order between the Shokan and Edenians; as if the Draconian and Tigerian conflict wasn't bad enough with their prejudice with the Centuars. Kung Lao made amends with Goro, and the prince realized he has the same noble heart, looks and skill similar to the Great Kung Lao; they shake hands and he becomes an ally.

While Sub-Zero was out defending Edenia, Smoke disobeyed orders defending the Lin Kuei headquarters as he recalled the brutal scrimmages with Oniro. He then decided to venture to the Appalachian Mountains and sure enough, he had the sacred Dragon Medallion! Kuai should've known since he had the abilities to enhance his moves and transform into deadly creatures; with it, the user can enhance his or her own fighting prowess, though it required a lot of discipline and is often given to the Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei. It was a relic so ancient that it had even been around before the Great Kung Lao's time, to which Kuai and Smoke read about. Smoke gladly gave it to the proud leader, then he decided to move. Aiko was saddened though Kuai promised he'd visit and maybe he'd be more immune to the intense heat with the Medallion in hand.

Kuai and Smoke were able to reform the Lin Kuei since Oniro, the former Grandmaster, was obliterated by Kung Lao's Tornado and Aiko's cardiokinesis back within the Appalachian Mountain range. They were, however, concerned of the whereabouts of Cyrax and believed he's still active. Sub-Zero recalled Quan Chi's name, though, he doesn't know much. He only remembered his brother, Bi-Han, working for him just before the first tournament; it was also before Scorpion came to be as a wrathful soul from the Netherrealm. Later on, they shall look for the Dragon Medallion, in which Aiko believed that was how Oniro gained his scary transformations and enhanced his martial arts. Sub-Zero found it within the ravine and became the new Grandmaster. Hanso then offered to make the former Chinese base as his own training for his new clan while Smoke and Sub-Zero would leave to an artic land for a fresh, though frigid, start!

It was unfortunate they had to fight themselves, but it was for the best since many Zaterrans still support Kitana's cause. A female Raptor named Khameleon explained everything and still wanted to preserve their race with better methods in survival instead of constantly feasting on flesh and wreaking havoc.

Bonus tracks

Cyrax Theme (EZXD)

Sindel Theme (EZXD)

Raiden Theme (EZXD)

Jade Theme (EZXD)

Smoke Theme (EZXD)

Reptile's Theme Song (Mortal Kombat Conquest)

Goro's Lair (Mortal Kombat 4)

Reptile's Lair

In MK4, Reptile's Lair is a room decorated by scaly reptilian designs. On the center of the back wall is a large reptilian eye with a black vertical slit. There are spherical containers surrounded by snake-like designs at the sides. At the far corners are large stone skulls with wide-open jaws that reveal silhouettes of captive humans chained to the sides of the interiors. This lair belongs to the ninja Raptor Reptile.

Quan Chi possesses a spiked mace

Shinnok

Naginata (MK4, MKG), mimicry

Being a fallen Elder God, Shinnok possesses immeasurable powers. The nature of his powers seems to revolve around darkness and the Netherrealm, summoning skeletal hands from the ground to grab and bind his opponents as well as pulverize them. He also possesses Life-Force Manipulation and shape shifting powers comparable to Shang Tsung. Unlike Shang Tsung, he is not required to steal souls in order to perform this feat, instead, he must have to defeat them or for them to serve him (likely he defeated a large demon in an unknown time, so he can take on a larger demonic form as shown in the final level of Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero when his Sacred Amulet was stolen from him).

His powers of mimicry and shape shifting are absolute, as he can mimic the abilities and powers of other combatants; the only drawback to this is that the powers he mimics must be in his jurisdiction. He is unable to mimic every power due to the fact that he doesn't have his amulet nor his staff. Despite this, he can still mimic black magic freely, and nullify projectiles although for an unknown reason he cannot copy the powers of Shang Tsung or Quan Chi. With his amulet, Shinnok can freely traverse the realms and open up portals.

Related to his mimicking abilities, Shinnok is capable of creating clones or physical illusions via mirage mimicry of other warriors with their powers and abilities intact. His magic abilities also include the ability to manipulate souls via revenants, and or conjure demons and wraiths to do his bidding. He even created a clone of himself to aid Daegon in the Battle of Armageddon.

With his amulet, he regains all his immense power befitting a fallen Elder God. His amulet contains the ability to erase beings into dust as well as seal multiple people inside it, rendering them dormant until they are released. His amulet can even create forcefields, shoot fireballs, open interrealm portals, absorb souls, as demonstrated by Havik, and energy.

He is capable of using telekinesis, shown when he threw Raiden to the ground in their battle for Blaze's power as well as in Mortal Kombat X where he threw Johnny Cage to a wall. Shinnok can even turn into a cloud of dark gaseous substance that renders him impervious to physical attacks. His magical scepter allows him to conjure deadly weapons made out of bone.

Shinnok also wields some useful powers that aren't really suited for combat. He can banish someone away to another realm with a gesture, sense dark energies, teleport to another location and levitate through the air.

In Mortal Kombat X, when absorbing Earthrealm's life force through his amulet, he turns into a demonic creature with immense power and the ability to manipulate fire and lava, as well as conjuring objects such as stones and bladed pillars.

Arenas in story:

The Elder Gods' Arena, also known as the Elder Gods' Chamber, Chamber of the Elder Gods or the Hall of the Elder Gods, was a location that served not only as an arena between combatants, but primarily as a meeting place between the Elder Gods and their lesser but fellow deities. This grand arena-like chamber of supernatural origins took place during Shinnok's invasion upon the realms in Mortal Kombat 4 and Mortal Kombat Gold.

Overview

This octagonal arena was filled with doorways from which the faces of the Elder Gods witnessed the battles between kombatants.

The players are fighting on a hard floor with red and white designs in the middle. There is a dragon logo, with a glowing red eye, on the center wall. To either side are short paths that lead to the bright blue, celestial faces that light the room. On the far sides are walls with blue stars. Opposite the center wall is a large dark path sloping upward, with blue faces on either side of it.

The Deadly Alliance invade the Wu Shi Academy, and Liu's soul had been separated from his body. To prevent him ascend to the heavens or wander astray, Raiden and Fujin created an amulet similar to Shinnok's. Since then, Lao had Liu as his spirit guide as the responsibilities were onto him now. Shang was revived by Quan Chi, and Lao took his vengeance defeating them both thanks to Liu Kang's combined powers in him! But the sorcerers already accomplished their goals.

Soundtrack

Bill Theme (Starfox 64)

Dark Ice Mines Landing Pad (Starfox Adventures)

Facing a Huge Reactor (Metroid Fusion)

Mission Impossible (FC7)

However...things were in vain as Raiden and Kang were unable to stop the resurrection of the Dragon King, Onaga! The god had fallen, but Liu escaped! Only 9 Kombatants survived the ordeal, while the rest didn't make it...

One of them was Kung Lao who was taken to the Jinsei Chamber by Fujin, as Liu's spirit was left as a warning. Lao managed to see Raiden's demise while the dragon remained before he blacked out. Even he lost his strength by Onaga's intrusion after he succeeded against the Deadly Alliance. Liu, Lao, Fujin, Kitana, Goro, Sindel, Jade, Shujinko, and Nightwolf were left...

"Kung Lao...

"Wake up, Kung Lao, my chosen."

Kung Lao's eyes slowly opened and a white light with the silouhette of someone with a long ponytail was assured he came around.

To be certain Lao was his normal self, Fujin asked his name, rank, and who Onaga was... He stated it all, even what happened, but he never knew who Onaga was. It proved to the god he's clean. Lao was immediately worried of Aiko and Kung Jin, but Fujin assured they're safe since they stayed at the Academy with the Order of Light.

Lao could've sworn he heard his ancestor encouraging him to awaken, but it was only Fujin.

And the first thing Lao must do is head to Outworld to find some answers.

He was warned by Fujin that Outworld is already experiencing their early winter solstice while Earthrealm's nothern hemisphere is still in autumn. He creates the portal and Lao went thru. Thanks to Liu Kang's spirit, Lao received warmth almost instantly; instead of the stormy rain from earlier, there was a slight snow shower! He comes across Scorpion as his assistant as they head to the restored Edenia. Hanzo showed his condolences for the fallen Elder God.

The Shokan prevent them access, though Goro assures Lao as an ally. The recovery efforts were slow, but very successful, and it was thanks to Lao's alliance with the Shokan that made it possible. Kitana and Sindel take the throne, with Sheeva as their bodyguard. She was startled to find Liu Kang in his astral form. Sindel said Onaga was once posioned by Kahn as his power was too much; they had a power struggle, and Kahn poisoned the beast, though they were close allies beforehand. However, both of their agendas were the same, to merge all realms into one without any relent of the consequences, and only thru victories in Mortal Kombat. Sindel then told Lao, Scorpion and Aiko of the One Being, the consumption and war of the Elder Gods, and the separated Kamidogu; a warrior named Shujinko must be stopped before he should gather all of them, his journey was happening even way before the first tournament involving Lao's ancestor. Liu was trying to recollect his memories with just his astral form, but Damashi sounded familiar.

Everyone's been on high alert with the resurrection of Onaga, thus the Shokan being paranoid on allowing outsiders. Lao was surprised he took the form of Reptile, though his body was being corrupt to begin with during the rise of Shinnok. Onaga took advantage of it using his vessel for his reincarnation. A total beast of destruction was his purpose and raising the dead. Unfrotunately, as a mortal, Lao has no chance. He must find the orbs of the Kamidogu to stop him! During the Genesis era, the Elder Gods stood up to the One Being, and split his powers into 7, thus creating the realms including his.

Kahn was once his leader, till Onaga became too powerful, thus poisoning him. They kind of wished he was still around to put an end to his schemes, though, they figured what good would it do in the long-term...

Lao at one point met up with Bo' Rai Cho, and he wasn't thrilled. He remembered his mentor since he was a boy as he trained him and Liu Kang, but Bo's drunkedness and volatile bodily habits always got him in trouble and kicked out of the Academy. He lost faith and was then taught by Raiden more directly. Lao couldn't believe all this time he was trained by a disgusting tutor from Outworld!! Aiko thought it was Bo' Rai Cho who attacked her in the barren streets, thus releasing her cardiokinesis! Lao stopped her, and stated it wasn't him, but someone else who looked similar, probably his hair was darker and he didn't have an Oriental complexion.

It was revealed that Khameleon, preferablly called Kay, became the Raptors' new leader alongside her husband, Chameleon; Kay would let others tell the difference.

At one point, Liu Kang's body was reactivated, destroying the Academy. Many survived though Kung Jin and Aiko were shaking! Lao swears to put an end to Onaga. Goro becomes a powerful ally to Lao, even as his assistant when fighting Onaga and the undead, only temporarily. Lao was eventually able to knock the stones out of Onaga, weakening him. It was redemption on working alongside Lao, contrary to mangling his ancestor... Sindel enlisted herself, Goro, Sheeva and Jade to fight against the threat and for the sake of Princess Kitana and saving all realms. It turned out that Raiden was corrupt after his death upon Onaga's dark essence, however...it was NOT the actual Raiden!!

Just like Liu Kang's amulet, Raiden and Fujin were also inspired to create a decoy! If Quan Chi and Shinnok can do it, so can they!! They sent the double down onto Onaga, and Raiden was too weak to progress, until he found his corrupt copy, though it was a standoff! Either Lao or Liu's spirit assisted and thus restored the doomed fighters.

Lao and Fujin met up with Shujinko and the last Kamidogu! His hat kept the last orb, Shinnok's amulet from the Sky Temple, away! Lao had to play keep away before Fujin incapacitated Shujinko! Liu's fiery spirit recognized the name Damashi, a Japanese term meaning Deception!! Onaga was deceiving Shujinko!!

The battle'd be like Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy! 7 fighters taking turns to kill Onaga, like with Chaos!

For the final battle, Liu Kang possessed Kung Lao's vessel, though both Monks were still conscious, however, Lao was in less control over his body and mind... There wasn't any choice considering Liu's skills were prominent on winning the previous tournaments, providing Lao with his pyrokinesis combining with Lao's; their voices also seemed merged much like Gogeta/Vegito. They noticed if they touched the Kamidagu, Onaga's weakened, thus no direct kombat till all the Kamidagu were gathered; one fighter per realm possessed one to divide their strength equally when fighting Onaga.

7 warriors: Kung Lao w/ Liu Kang's spirit (Earthrealm), Goro (Outworld), Kitana (Edenia), maybe Havik (Chaosrealm), Hotaru (Orderrealm), Chameleon (Zaterra)

Together, with their combined strength, they were able to beat out the Komidogu out of him, and...forgiveness to Reptile, they wound up, formed a fiery F3 tornado and obliterated Onaga!! "Fatality!" They said in unison. Liu Kang then took his spirit into the amulet leaving Lao weak.

Fujin requested him and Liu to head to the Jinsei, so that the Elder Gods would assist the merging process; it won't be easy and it's a very risky stunt, though they must proceed with the fal-tor-pan. Liu's katra is reunited with his body in the dangerous procedure led by Fujin and Raiden, and guided by the Elder Gods, this has happened every once a millennium. The ceremony is successful and the former Champion is resurrected, alive and well, though Lao was first who became paralyzed and dazed by the gods' anesthetics.

Nightwolf announced the procedure was successful, though both Monks laughably said they'd miss sharing each other's skills acting as one entity.

Because of Goro's heroic involvement in the war against Onaga, and saving the Komidogu for all 7 realms, Earthrealm has united with them, excepting the damned Netherrealm of course, and its reputation has been exponentially stronger than ever before! The Monks' benevolent and prominent actions has caused the 6 realms to unite and work together, even win over Earhrealm's prejudices on being primitive and weak. And its corresponding paranoia and insecurity, and also making skeptics believe that the other realms exist.

To be concluded..!

Soundtrack

Kirk Saves the Day (Star Trek: Generations)

X Invasion (Metroid Fusion)

Sector 1 (Metroid Fusion)

Environmental Disquietude (Metroid Fusion)

Emergency in Sector 3! (Metroid Fusion)

Environmental Intrigue (Metroid Fusion)

Crisis Mission (Metroid Fusion)

Final Mission (Metroid Fusion)

The Roof is on Fire (House Mix, Club Mix '97)

The Elder Gods were appalled over Raiden revealing the secrets of Blaze, thus sapped his powers for good as punishment. They must prevent Armageddon. The factions of Light and Darkness were still formed and fought each other.

Scorpion can't join as he must take care of the baby, Takeda; Kenshi wanted to go after Tsung since he blinded him. He became Takeda's father since.

"There can only be one Champion. Only he must win. This will be...my final Kombat."

Raiden was weakened by Shao Kahn, to the point of dying. With his body restored, Liu Kang did the unthinkable as Raiden pleaded him to fuse into the latter's body, becoming the Fire and Thunder God. It was enough to defeat Kahn, but barely enough to withstand Blaze's heat blast. His own essence was the thermal cocoon by his Sacred Fire protecting the good, including Lao, while Blaze incinerated the rest of the fighters.

But...this obliterated Liu Kang and Raiden's bodies. His astral form was permanent, much to Lao's distraught. His destiny as descendant went full circle, as he's the only living Champion.

I'm not turned on by your looks, as you can't always judge a book by her cover. I'm only turned on by your pure heart, your merit, and your experience. I judge women by their inner strength, not just by their beauty alone. You have all those traits, Aiko.