Ahhh, now that warehouse conversation, which I do remember from the script, makes a lot more sense. I mean, it still did before, but now it seems much more significant due to the cyber connection...

This leads me to question something else, though. It's not necessarily anything to do with your scripts, but when Sub-Zero comes back to the Lin Kuei after MK4 to fight Sektor, we were ever told how many Lin Kuei members were automated by that point/how many human assassins were left? Because that whole aftermath of Sub-Zero becoming Grandmaster could be quite complicated, IMO. You can assume, if there were still-human Lin Kuei left, that not all of them followed Sub-Zero to Arctika, that some were opposed to Sub-Zero becoming Grandmaster, or that some wanted to stay put in China, or that some took neither side and fled into the shadows to start a new life for good.

And then what happened with the assassins that did become automated? Did they pledge alliegence to Sub-Zero because they saw him become Grandmaster or did they malfunction or did they follow Sektor to Japan or what?

Sektor, Cyrax, and Smoke are the only Lin Kuei who were ever automated in the original timeline, those gray henchmen robots didn't exist.

The plot specifically states that the playable 3 are prototypes, and that the invasion happens immediately after their creation, rendering the entire rest of the Lin Kuei soulless and dead like the rest of Earth's population, until it's over and things are restored to normal.

MK4 goes on to say that because of the damage done by Kahn's invasion and because the Cyber-Initiative was deemed a failure (Only 1 out of 3 returned in seemingly proper working order, and he failed his mission, Sub-Zero proved it's possible to abandon the Lin Kuei and survive, which probably inspired others to make the leap), the clan mostly fell apart until Sub-Zero showed up in DA to take over what was left and rebuild, restocking the ranks of the clan by holding a tournament for people who want to join the Lin Kuei to prove themselves, which is how he met Frost.

I'm sure those that stayed would have some complaints about Sub-Zero changing the way things are run, Deadly Alliance said the whole reason he left on Raiden's mission in person despite being the Grandmaster was to prove his worth to his underlings.
That said, I will also be using Cyber-Hydro as an NPC, but he'll be an unfinished, malfunctioning proto-prototype or "Beta Test" or whatever you might want to call it, that's created before Sektor is automated...because I want to show that this kind of process, you don't just go from zero to perfect working cyborg in one shot, you have to experiment, try and fail and figure out what works, before you have a finished product.

Please elaborate on Hydro, you've piqued my interest again.

Realistically, Cyber Hydro would never work. I mean, machinery and water does not equal a good time, lol.

I'm not sure how much there is to tell, I don't have a lot of story for him since he's just intended to be an NPC, but I was inspired by the Mugen sprite and his appearance in MK Legacy.

Like I said, I want to show a "before" stage where the prototypes failed or the machinery was tested on more expendable bodies before it was used on Sektor. Originally, I was considering having that role be filled by Bi-Han's corpse being turned into a version of Cyber-Sub, to replace the non-canon "Classic Sub-Zero"'s spot on the Trilogy roster.

But really, Bi-Han's body is way too burnt up and dead to work. And Hydro already exists in some material, so why not use him instead?



Oh, I'm sure their circuitry is waterproofed...then again, maybe that's why he doesn't work quite right? lol

For a clan of assassins that are supposed to be more techno advanced than their rivals, you'd think they'd realize that could very well happen. Then again, with Cyrax getting stuck waist deep in the desert, Smoke getting shut down and abandoned in a dungeon for years, and Sektor going Ultron and killing his own father, they probably should have rethought the whole cyber initiative deal, lol.

Sorry for the double post, but just curious, are any stage fatalities gonna be used during the MK2 tournament or further down the road?

I can't promise anything, but if I do use them, it'll be against NPCs since the only deaths in the plot are Mileena and Kintaro.

I was thinking it would be funny though if the reason Johnny loses against Mileena without getting killed at the end is when he sees her teeth, he deliberately runs away - by jumping overboard off the Pit II bridge and climbing down. But Ring Outs aren't a rule in Mortal Kombat, so I'm not sure why that would end the match.

Well, you did have Bi-Han fake his death falling off the Pit 1. Regardless what you do come up with, that does sound pretty damn hilarious.

Wow man I had no idea you did this what...2 years ago lol. Did you ever get to MK2? Regardless, good shit dude.

Not yet. Maybe once I get all the costumes drawn.

Alts included, or just the primaries?

Alts included, since they wear them at certain parts of the story, and I haven't even invented some of them yet, so having them all done will help me visualize scenes.

Cool.

I decided to bump this thread rather than your art thread since my question concerns the story/plot, and it makes more sense to ask here.

Continuing, about Scorpion's motives for entering the Outworld tourney... I know he caught wind in Netherrealm that Sub-Zero was attending and got pissed thinking his killer was still alive and all... but _why_ would Scorpion think he hadn't succeeded in killing Sub-Zero in the first place? He literally stalked Bi Han in MK1 and met him face-to-face, so you'd think he'd be pretty sure of his killer's identity by the time he actually killed him. Furthermore, he killed Bi Han quite thoroughly, at least in your take of events, so what's with Scorps thinking Sub-Zero could survive something like that when he himself burned his body to ashes?

Now I do remember in the MK1 script that Scorpion felt a sense of hollow-ness from his victory, and right now I'm going to assume Quan Chi is the one who informs Scorpion of Sub-Zero surviving in MK2... So my guess is perhaps Quan Chi was a manipulative bastard as usual and was really able to make Scorpion doubt himself, remind him of his "hollow" victory, and Scorpion took the bait...? Or I'm just way off.

Also, while I'm at it, if I recall correctly there are few ways to escape Netherrealm, yes? So if someone wants to escape, do they need to go to Shinnok, since he's the god of the realm and likely has the power to create an exit portal? Or are there other locations in Netherrealm outside of Shinnok's control that allow escape (I feel like this has been explained in certain MK games, although it's the Deception era I'm really fuzzy on). I am aware of Ashrah's story of cleansing her soul, so she won't be evil enough and the Netherrealm will basically spit her out... but this question is more directed at those who want to remain evil, but still escape.

Scorpion killing Bi-Han very definitively with the Toasty while Raiden witnessed it and told everybody else later was canon in the original comics and games, I didn't invent that.

So my interpretation was always that Scorpion didn't think Sub had "survived" (unless maybe he was expecting to find some kind of hideous burn victim when he went to the MK2 tourney), he thought he had come back from the dead somehow, or more like he literally just didn't know WHAT to think and was like "How can Sub-Zero be there? I killed him! That can't be possible...I HAVE to go see this shit for myself and figure out what is going on."

On a related note, I've always imagined that Scorp has never found out Noob is Bi-Han or else they'd have had a big fuckin' fight by now...unless it just got to be that by MK4, when Scorp found out that Quan Chi should have been his real target all along, hating Bi-Han stopped being important to him as a result. Especially since, like...if you killed me, and I killed you...we're even now, aren't we?

But I still kinda think Scorpion would hate Noob Saibot if he knew who he was. Not so much because of the murder and vengeance and stuff, but more because he'd feel responsible for creating a monster and want to clean up his mess. Scorpion tends to try and do something heroic when he feels regret like that.



That is sort of how the scene will play out. The trick is to make the intel Quan Chi gives sound vague, like "Hanzo, I heard a rumor that "Sub-Zero" is in Outworld...didn't you kill that guy? Maybe you better go back and finish the job..."

Because if Quan were to literally use the name Bi-Han, then the moment Scorp realized that this Sub is a different person, he'd be like "Quan Chi is lying to me. Why is Quan Chi lying to me?" And it's much too soon for Scorp to be catching on to the ruse.



The way Scorpion escapes is that a Spectre literally has the power of reincarnation. That's part of the abilities Quan Chi and Shinnok gave him when they created him, as long as his "mission", whatever that is, has not been fulfilled, he can raise himself from the dead at will. Which means his soul is automatically sucked out of Hell into a new body that spawns in whichever mortal realm his mission lies.

Shinnok, because he's the Ruler of Hell, has the power to bring anyone in his realm back from the dead, so when a person is brought back to life...I mean, obviously there are many different kinds of undead Shinnok can turn a person into, but some, like Scorpion, are literally reborn in another realm, their souls are just...sent into the body, wherever that is. So that's one way to escape. So it's not really a portal situation. And if Shinnok were dead or deposed, whoever replaced him as the next Ruler of Hell would gain this power too, I believe.

Another way to escape is, y'know, anyone who can make portals.

I don't actually think Shinnok can make portals, it's not clear (combat-teleporting like his MKA move doesn't count, he's still in the same realm)...but I believe out of everyone in the regular MK cast, "free-roaming sorcerers" like Quan Chi and Shang Tsung are the only ones who can for certain. And they both lose this ability during parts of MKDA because their magic is weakened by one thing or another.

Also, the games seem to go back and forth inconsistently on whether or not Raiden can make portals. He makes ones for Sub-Zero to enter and escape Hell in Mythologies, but he can't make any in MKDA, the good guys have to travel to one that already exists. And then he's repeatedly taking groups of mortals with him when he teleports between Earth, Outworld, Heaven, Hell, and back in MK9. I really think the way they made him the group taxi was cheap as shit storytelling in the reboot.

Besides, it may seem obvious that gods would have that power...but gods are supposed to be protecting these places, not doing damage to them, and portals have been sort of taken for granted as a regular occurrence as the games go on, but originally, they were supposed to be a really bad thing. I mean you're literally ripping a hole in the fabric of the space-time continuum every time you just poof, make a portal. You're weakening the threads that hold the whole damn planet together and prevent it from merging with others or falling apart. That's one of the reasons Blaze called for Armageddon to happen, he could feel the barriers between realms were super-weak from too many times the rules of the tournament were broken, too many invasions, too close to the One Being getting woken up or the universe just plain unraveling like loose thread from all the damage being done to the thin air.

So for the purposes of the Razorverse, Raiden can not take mortal flesh with him when he teleports, because he does so by turning into pure electricity and back, and while a god can teleport himself to any realm he wants, he cannot create portals at will, so the humans will always have to find their own damn transportation (In the case of MK2, this means going back to Shang's Island to get to Outworld). And we shall say that the portals in Mythologies were the Elder Gods' doing, because stopping Shinnok from getting his amulet back is serious enough shit for them to be willing to get involved.

A third way to escape is there's a portal that can only be opened by Shinnok's Amulet. Pretty sure there's only one of those in the Netherealm...but there could be more. (Outworld, for example, has two that we know of. One in Onaga's tomb and one in Li Mei's village.) The thing about the Amulet-Portals though is they behave in a network, they can only send you to another Amulet-Portal, you can't just go wherever you want.

And the fourth way is the portal Shujinko uses in Deception Konquest...but I THINK that portal will only open for the Champion of the Elder Gods and people who have Kamidogus, since it leads to the Nexus.

And the fifth, as you mentioned with Ashrah's sword, is if you somehow have all the evil in your soul removed, the universe will just automatically spit you out to a different realm because only evil things can even exist in Hell. You literally cannot go there if you're a good person.

I'm pretty sure that's ALL the ways there are to leave Hell.

Unless you just walk up to the front gate and push it open and walk right out the front door, so to speak....Nah, that'd be too easy.

Ah, my mistake, sorry. But yes, the explanation of Scorpion not knowing what to think makes more sense. I guess I have to keep in mind of Scorpion's mentality, how he can be easily misled by people like Quan Chi.
I very much agree with that; it fleshes out Scorpion's character to be more honorable like he should be than the grudge-holding douche he's become.

...now that I think of it, in the afterlife who is more powerful: Noob or Scorpion? I don't remember them ever encountering each other during the MK timeline, and I'm rather curious as to who could win in a one-on-one fight. Since Noob doesn't have ice-powers anymore, would that give him the upper hand?

And of course, thanks for the answers of escaping the Netherrealm.

Depends on the location and timing I think.

Under normal circumstances, I think Noob could take Scorpion because he'd technically outnumber him with the shadow clone.
But Scorpion gets more powerful the more time he spends in Hell because his powers draw on hellfire, while Noob's power is always flatly the same. Also, Scorpion I imagine got a big boost when he became Champion of the Elder Gods, because even though his ending didn't come true, he was still supposed to be tough enough to tackle a hole right through Kamidogu-powered Onaga's chest.

Is there a possibility that Dark Raiden might attack and destroy Vartarenus and its vampire inhabitants in the post MKA trilogy IF Nitara survives her fight with Ashrah in order to demonstrate the ultimate threat of him to the realms including Edenia? Also, will any villains survive the Armageddon battle besides Daegon and Shinnok?

I don't want to spoil too much, but A) Nitara will be a returning character, and B) at least one realm WILL be successfully destroyed by Dark Raiden but it won't be a minor one like Vaeturnus, it'll be major, one of the six that held Kamidogus.
Also, Shinnok technically doesn't survive Armageddon. I know he wasn't there in person, he sent a clone, but there will be consequences and some house cleaning done by Argus and the Elder Gods in order to end Armageddon and punish those responsible.

There's something I'd like to say to everybody, about my work.

Recently, Zmoke suggested in an argument in another thread that he has criticisms about the Outline, but he doesn't post in my threads because we don't like each other.

Now...on one level, I very much appreciate that. It certainly doesn't do anybody any favors if a thread that's ostensibly "mine", that's been active for several years straight and a lot of people are enjoying, were to be suddenly ruined by a lengthy argument or flame war between myself and anyone who I don't get along with on a personal level.

However, I want to make something clear: Though the "Razorverse" has its author's name in the title, the purpose of this project is currently NOT to be "one man's interpretation of events", or just another fanfic like any other.

The PURPOSE of the Razorverse is to be as perfect and definitive and accurate an adaptation of the pre-MK9 canon as it could ever be possible for an unofficial fanwork to be.

My goal is to directly translate all things that are in-continuity (pre-MK9), while adding to and deepening the lore with the addition of unused concept and rumor characters that were created by the creators or the community over the series' history, not by myself, and educated guesses/heavily-researched and logical extrapolations of characters' actions and motivations, withOUT ever contradicting anything that was officially canon before MK9. (And obviously to add in anything that MK9 made canon, where it's NOT a retcon that contradicts the old version of events. i.e. Sub-Zero and Smoke's real names can be used because they didn't HAVE names before, but Mileena's MK9 origin can't because she already had a different origin.)

At least, that's the plan for every part of the Razorverse that comes before Armageddon, after which point I DO, by necessity, have to invent my own fan fiction stories and characters, since the whole point is that MK9 is not part of the Razorverse, Some version of Taven winning must be how Armageddon ends since that's how MKA Konquest ends.

---

So with all that in mind, about me wanting to make the Razorverse as definitive a version of the original canon as it's possible for a fanwork to be...I say the following:

The Razorverse is in some ways a group effort, a project specifically designed to please the Mortal Kombat fandom as wide-reachingly as possible, not just for myself and my own personal satisfaction. That's why I've been so transparent about "spoilers" for the events in future Outlines and have asked for opinions and advice whenever I'm not sure how to approach a future plotpoint or costume design. The input guides the project.

I didn't invent Mortal Kombat and I'm not the only person with knowledge on the subject. I simply took it upon myself to be the guy who makes "the as-perfect-as-possible alternative to the reboot" because no one else was doing it, my knowledge is great enough to make the effort, and because I have skills in writing and art I might as well put to use somehow, and a desire to adhere to the source material much more strictly than most fanfic writers and artists, who prefer their versions to be some alternate take that meets their own personal sensibilities.

Also, I admit I'm not the best writer in the world as far as method and quality go, that's the whole reason this is just an outline and not a full length script - I suck at dialogue, so I decided to present the project in a form that contains as little dialogue as possble in the hopes that someone else who CAN write in full novel or script style may one day offer to pick up the ball and run with it. I would enjoy the collaboration.

To that end, ANYONE who has a CONSTRUCTIVE criticism related to either the narrative structure/quality of my writing, or to the accuracy of my continuity to the source material, even someone who I don't get along with often like Zmoke, Riyakou, or Icebaby...I want you to feel absolutely welcome to post said criticisms, provided you feel you can do so peacefully and diplomatically, and I WILL address them, just as I have from anybody else throughout this thread and the art one.

If I feel you have a valid point to make or your continuity knowledge is accurate and that you have concrete proof, that comes from an official source pre-MK9, that you've corrected a mistake I've made, I will even make my best effort to EDIT the Outline or my plans for the future outlines, to incorporate that information or correct that error.

I like what you have done so far, and am waiting for your MKII adaptation.

How's Blaze and the other NPCs coming along so far?

I haven't started on any art since Kahn to be honest because I've been completely stumped on how to pose Blaze.

I'd like something that portrays the fact that he's in some ways MK's equivalent of the Monitor from DC or the Watcher from Marvel, that he has some psychic ability to see what's happening in other realms and keep track of what's going on so he knows when the appropriate time to start Armageddon will be...but I have NO fucking clue how the hell to depict that idea visually. I mean, if he were a tech-y character, I might put floating TV screens around his head or something, but he's a magic guy with fire powers, what am I gonna do, draw cheesy looking thought bubbles?
(P.S. guys, I kinda wish y'all would keep art questions to the art thread and story questions in the script thread, but I'm not gonna be a dick about it, just a suggestion...)