True to her word Kira (wrapped in a dress made of leaves) showed him the entrance to the mysterious castle/volcano/portal.
"Shang Tsung..." Kano said almost laughing. Of course- who else would be behind this?
"who?" kira said with a raised eyebrow.
"he often looks like a random bloke in a suit."
"OH..." she said now realizing what he was saying; this island test was all Shang Tsung's doing. And she was about to meet the man fact to face.
The actual place was a volcano with an intricately carved entrance (the castle aspect). Kano placed his hand on the door and it flickered with out-world energy. Kira stepped forward. She touched her hand to the door and it opened to reveal a portal.
"are you afraid?" Kano said in mockingly. But as he said it, he held her hand.
Almost imminently they were attacked but robots, mutants, and other random warriors. In the mayhem they were separated by random floating walls.
Kira swiftly fought through hordes of strange mutants with giant claws, all with the single knife she brought in. "IS THAT ALL YOU GOT!" she said, a little too much like a 90's horror movie heroine who was about to die very painfully.
"You certainly have spirit, little girl." a voice said from another room. Suddenly four walls boxed Kira in to a stone coffin and forcibly moved her to meet the man in charge.
Meanwhile Kano fought an army of robots. This seemed oddly familiar, especially when one got a hit in. The cut it left looked a lot like the various scars he awoke with.
"You were certainly worth the investment." a voice said from behind a wall.
WTF did that mean?
"Your body is now 35% cybernetic." the voice continued. "I would have stopped with just the eye, but on its own the technology of the eye was insufficient; it would have been a glorified prosthesis." the wall opened to reveal Shang Tsung standing with Kira (looking confused but unharmed.)
"For the eye to have any functionality your entire brain had to be re-structured; pieces removed and rebuilt. The circuitry extends throughout your central nervous system." He paused to give Kano a chance to reflect upon just what that meant.
"but unlike previous projects I have overseen- it appears your personality remains unchanged."
"WHY?! I NEVER GAVE YOU PERMISSION TO RIP OPEN MY SKULL?!" Kano lunged at the wizard- and he really should have guessed what would happen next.
Shang Tsung raised one hand and emitted a sound wave that activated a kill switch. Pain shot through Kano's body as the 35% of his body that was robotic started to burn at 200 degrees.. and rising.
"You would have died during the initial surgery if not for my intervention. Perhaps that would have been as they say- 'natural selection'. After all not everyone can get their face caved in by a simple human." Shang Tsung said referring to the fact that officer Jax punched in the entire left side of Kano's using only his fists. (It would be much later when he received his robotic arms, after surviving an explosion.)
"I can also make this." Shang Tsung closed his hand then opened it revealing a button on a wooden box.
"please..." Kira knew what Shang Tsung was going to ask of her. She looked at Kano who was barely removed from the previous blast.
She looked to Kano for what to do; and Kano silently mouthed "he's bluffing". Or at least Kano assumed that even the mighty Shang Tsung would not want to have wanted too much time and technology on a project just to kill him.
Shang Tsung placed the button in her hands "pledge your loyalty, child."
Kira pressed the button. But what made it worse was this button was not a onetime activation; she had to hold her finger on the button, watching as Kano's flesh burned. Blood oozed from his eyes nose and ears as his brain was getting boiled alive.
She held the button until Shang Tsung told her she could stop. "I think he's learned his lesson."
The lesson of course being; it is only thanks to out world technology and magic that Kano was not already dead.
"You were always a worthy project; that's why when I met you I took dna for a future warrior- someone I could add to my army. That was, what, 9, 10 years ago? With accelerated aging we have-" he pointed to Kira who dropped the button in shock.
"I added some different features; new hair new skin new eyes- after all a strictly female version of you would have been quite repulsive. Then I set this lovely angel loose on a sex trafficking operation; just to see what she could accomplish- she did not disappoint." he stroke Kira's cheek.
"Kano, I present to you- your clone- or perhaps you might like to call her your daughter."
He expected Kano to get stick to his stomach or at least cringe- but he did neither. He got up off his knees. Kano's body was in horrific pain; his face was still bleeding, he could barely see and his back muscles were spasming so bad he could barely stand. But he was not about to show weakness.
Kira ran to him, she hugged him, burying her face in his shoulder "I'm so sorry." she said in a whisper. She almost felt tears in her eyes.
"Don't be." he lifted her head, then kissed her deep and passionately "I knew there was a reason I loved you- we share the same soul." He said in a voice that was calm and confident while also racked with agony.
Kira smiled. She had never had a family but now she knew both her father and the love of her life.
This was not the reaction Shang Tsung was expecting. "um, wow. you, Kano, are a sick individual."
Kira turned to the surprised out-word sorer "are we free to go, then?" she asked with a renewed sense of happiness.
"fine. but always remember- I can call upon you at any time- do not ever think of double crossing me."
"you go it." kira smiled, "luv" she added in a fake aussie accent.
With that Shang Tsung opened a portal and teleported the couple away. They landed in an alley way and immediately Kano lost consciousness from the horrific pain.