Death. That is the punishment for many crimes against the Lin Kuei, even desertion. When Takeda left the Lin Kuei to return to his homeland, his death warrant was signed. Dead at the taste of a delicious cup of poisoned tea, but not before founding the Shirai Ryu, who become the hated enemies of his old clan.

Allowing a Shirai Ryu into the Lin Kuei temple would be an act of treason. Nonetheless, Tundra was more honorable than to leave a wounded, dying warrior out in the cold to meet his fate. As he sat in his room cross-legged on the floor, he wondered, what was a Shirai Ryu doing out here in the cold freezing mountains of Arctika?

The Shirai Ryu ninja slept soundly next to Tundra, a blanket covering his body and a wet dry cloth placed on his head. Watching him sleep, Tundra hoped the Shirai Ryu would get better soon. If he stayed any longer, the clan would surely discover him and no doubt bring both him and Tundra to the execution block.

Slowly, the ninja began to open his eyes and spoke softly and quietly. "...huh...wha...ugh...where...am I..."

"Hello there," Tundra greeted.

Turning his head, the ninja saw the blue painted stranger. "Ugh...blast it. I must be having another horrid dream."

"I can assure you, I am all too real."

"Are you? Then speak your name. I do not wish to linger here much longer."

"I am Kuai Liang of the Lin Kuei, but you may call me Tundra. And you must be Shirai Ryu, yes."

"I believe so. I hardly remember who I am. All I remember is my clan's name, but I will never forget how they were all killed a fortnight ago."

"Fortnight? Actually, the Shirai Ryu have been dead much longer than that. About four months ago, we received word that they were all dead without explanation. How they died, we do not know. Everything was burned to the ground that day. No survivors, no witnesses, no signs of how they died,...nothing."

"Four months...?"

"Yes. The Grandmaster was pleased that the Shirai Ryu were no more. The Lin Kuei have always been hated enemies with the Shirai Ryu. They mimicked our fighting style, our attire, everything about us. We have battled them for years. When that day came, our war with them was over."

Scorpion's mind again started to have vague images once more. He saw a battle between two different clans, one in yellow, one in blue. The yellow clan was quickly defeated by the blue clan, cut down until the blood started to spill. It was a massacre. Waking up from his vision, Scorpion quickly turned to the blue painted stranger and soon realized...he looked just like the warriors in his nightmare.

Without warning, Scorpion jumped out of the blanket and launched a fireball at the man. But the blue warrior quickly dodged it.

"YOU!...NO ONE DISRESPECTS THE SHIRAI RYU! YOU WILL DIE FOR MY CLAN'S EXTINCTION!" he shouted.

"Ninja, wait!" Tundra pleaded.

"For what? More treachery?...I WILL HAVE YOUR HEAD!"

Scorpion attacked Tundra. Each punch he threw was blocked, and each punch Tundra threw as well. For a while it was all kicks and punches, until Scorpion grabbed Tundra by his garb and kicked him into the wall. Grabbing his sword, he lunged at Tundra, ready to strike the killing blow. But Tundra quickly summoned a sword of ice and blocked it. However, Scorpion's strength appeared to be too much for Tundra. His sword was being pushed to his face as he was blocking.

Then, looking down at his garb, Scorpion saw something that made him pause...the symbol on the blue uniform. Suddenly, his thoughts went back to what the Titan said.

"...you must...gather...the thirteen...chosen...and you will...discover...for your...self..."

Remembering the wheel with the symbols, he recognized the insignia on Tundra's garb. Tundra managed to kick Scorpion off of him, and he landed on the ground.

"Your...your insignia," he exclaimed.

"What about it?" Tundra asked getting up.

"It matches the one on the medallion of this strange symbol wheel I uncovered in the Netherrealm."

"Medallion? I'm afraid you mistake me for my brother."

"Nonetheless, your symbol was on it. When I awoke in the Netherrealm, I've been having wretched nightmares and addle-minded delusions about my dead clan. When I slayed a large monster, claiming to be a Titan, he told me that I must bring together thirteen chosen fighters to avenge the Shirai Ryu. At first, I considered that meeting as nothing more than another delusion, but now i'm not so sure."

"What do you mean?"

"The Titan told me that his kind was freed by an unknown evil whose name was not spoken, and if he is not stopped, the realms will face Armageddon. When I threw his severed head into the river of magma, he created a wheel behind me, showing thirteen symbols around a strange helmet of some kind."

Tundra pondered the stranger's words. "How did you escape the Netherrealm?"

"I'm not sure. When I killed the Titan, the Netherrealm started to crumble. With no explanation, it disappeared into a strange void."

All of a sudden, the ground shook. The ceiling started to crumble. Scorpion and Tundra quickly jumped out of the way of the falling debris.

Getting up, they looked through the hole in the ceiling, wondering what could have caused it to collapse. Then, something slowly came into view. Something that Scorpion and Tundra couldn't believe their eyes...

...a Dragon's teeth.