Sareena woke up in the main palace, looking around as she slowly stood rubbing her head.

"W-What happened... where's Bi-Han?"

Sektor looked over at her, hearing the name, "Bi-Han is in the Netherrealm with two others, fighting Scorpion."

"What!? Fighting Scorpion in the Netherrealm!? That shouldn't be happening! We need to help him!" She shouted out towards him.

Cyrax looked at where they once were, backing up.

"I'll go... and I'll scope the whole thing out..." Quan Chi said.

Kung Lao looked at him with skepticism in his eyes, the demon sorcerer glowing with green energy as he suddenly vanished, going right to the Netherrealm.


When he appeared, Quan Chi was watching from a little boulder, grinning as Scorpion and Sub-Zero were still dueling. The golden warrior shot his leg up, knocking his foe through the air, sending his chain at him, grabbing his leg and slamming him down.

Sub-Zero generated two axes of ice, cutting the chain, Scorpion tossing the end with the spear on it at him in retaliation, however, the former quickly deflected the spear, flipping up and throwing both axes right at him.

Scorpion dodged one, but the other pierced his shoulder. Sub-Zero darted forward, jumping up and kicking it so hard that it cleaved right through his shoulder, blood pouring from his arm as he grunted in pain. Flames emerged from Scorpion's eyes as he roared, a burst of fire rising around his body.

He ran forward, the very ground igniting as he moved, using a twister of flames to propel himself through the air, slamming his heel into Sub-Zero's chin before spinning around and unleashing a blast of fire strong enough to send him through a stone wall.

As the rubble fell around Sub-Zero, he got up, firing off a ball of ice strong enough to freeze Scorpion in place. Using this, he jumped upwards, stomping so hard on the ground when he came down that a pillar of frost shot through the air after forming, hitting Scorpion head-on in the torso, knocking him onto his back.

He got up with a fast spin and roll, unleashing his biggest blast of flames, shouting with fury in his voice as it tore through the breeze. Sub-Zero had no choice but to counter, focusing his pure cold energy to create a massive blast of ice, the two elements clashing as Liu Kang watched, having never seen their actual fight for himself till now. The two warriors let out a scream at the same time, forcing their blasts forward towards each other.

Scorpion gained the advantage though, flames emerging from his entire body as he broke right through the ice, a wave of heat overwhelming his target, sending him onto the ground with burns on his body, but still kicking.

He slowly rose, holding his chest when Quan Chi came over.

"What are you waiting for Scorpion..? Have you forgotten already what he has done?"

"No... I made a promise... I'm not going to kill him..." Scorpion said.

Sub-Zero was confused as to what Quan Chi was speaking about, however, he soon showed it, "Allow me to remind you."

Using his magic, he generated a screen in the air that they could all see, images of the past, showing Sub-Zero murdering Scorpion's wife and infant daughter.

Fueled by rage and pure animosity, Scorpion looked over to Sub-Zero as the memory vanished, huffing and puffing.

"Wait! Scoprion! Please, believe me even if just once! That's not me! I swear it! I had nothing to do with the murder of your clan!" Sadly, Sub-Zero was telling the truth, however, Scorpion wasn't going to listen.

He grabbed his mask, about to rip it clean off when Liu Kang ran forward, jumping into the air and delivering a bicycle kick.

Quan Chi was caught off guard, Liu Kang dropping down as Scorpion fell to his back, grunting.

"Scorpion! Don't believe what this sorcerer says! It's a fabrication!"

He slowly got up, Liu Kang pointing to Quan Chi, "He's your true enemy! Sub-Zero didn't kill anyone in your clan, this demon made an illusion to fool you!"

"Is this true..?" Scorpion questioned, grunting.

Quan Chi wanted to say something, but instead, Sub-Zero began to speak, "What would I gain from lying to a Shirai Ryu? Listen... my clan has already eliminated yours... but... I'm sorry for it, because I had nothing to do with and no way to stop it, the grandmaster had delivered the order. But I do know what we can stop together... this sorcerer has been manipulating you in order to get you to kill me..."

Quan Chi backed up a bit, shaking his head, "That's preposterous! Don't believe a word they say!"

Scorpion just glared at the mage though, taking a few steps towards him. "I've been on a goose chase all because of you? I killed that Earthrealm fighter because of you, and I almost killed Sub-Zero for no reason... because of you!?"

Before Quan Chi could do anything, he got the fate he deserved. While he tried to use his magic to escape, Scorpion yanked his mask right off, unleashing his hellfire. But in order to return Scorpion to his humanity, Liu Kang had assisted him, taking out Quan Chi as he wishes he could have done in his timeline, using his flames combined with Scorpion's to scorch the Netherrealm warlock alive.

As Quan Chi's body collapsed, fried completely, Scorpion began to feel dizzy. When Quan Chi attempted to use his magic on Scorpion combined with the godly flames of Liu Kang and his own hellfire, a miracle was taking place. He was outcold, but his eyes returned to that of a regular person's. He had become a human once more.

"Scorpion wasn't a threat all? He was just being manipulated..?" Sub-Zero questioned.

"He was never a threat, and now, he'll be an ally. Sub-Zero, I'd like for you to join me and my allies for Earthrealm, and I'd like you to help me speak with Cyrax about the Cyber Initiative. Scorpion will also be joining us."

Liu Kang picked Scorpion up, Sub-Zero nodded. "Gladly."

The three of them returned to Earthrealm, but not before Sub-Zero grabbed the charred carcass of Quan Chi.

They appeared back in the palace and everyone in the room was surprised at what they saw. Liu Kang holding Scorpion, and Sub-Zero carrying Quan Chi's corpse.

The ice warrior threw it into the air, freezing it mid toss, letting it hit the ground and shatter. "Quan Chi is dead." He simply said.

"Oh you're alive!" Sareena exclaimed, ecstatic that he had come back unharmed from his duel. She came over and gave a sort of hug to him before backing up.

"What of Scorpion?" Cyrax asked.

"He is no longer the specter that beat you. He is a human, Hanzo Hasashi, freed from Quan Chi's magic." The God of Fire said, putting Scorpion to rest. Shang Tsung just watched them all with anger. But then he watched Cyrax specifically, as he began to associate with Liu Kang.

"Cyrax... the god here would like to speak with you..."

"The god?" Cyrax asked, confused.

The Fire God walked over, bowing to Cyrax. "Hello Cyrax. My name is Liu Kang, Earthrealm's protector. I'd like for you to tell me all you can about the Cyber Initiative... because I want to prevent your cyberization..."


Meanwhile, Kotal looked through the lair, seeing a woman with a very skimpy outfit walking towards him, holding two dual blades. She had red hair and a curvy figure, her mouth being covered with a mask.

"Who are you? One of Shang Tsung's people?"

"In a way... my name is Skarlet. I'm an orphan trained in the arts of blood magik by Shang Tsung... since then, he's given me a home and power, so I serve him loyally... I will not allow you to leave here unscathed, or even, alive..." She said, sliding her fingers along one of her blades.

"Then come at me, Skarlet..."

She ran right at him, moving with great speed, rapidly slicing at him. He was cut once, avoiding the rest of her attacks, but he grabbed her by the wrist, flipping her over and slamming her back onto the ground. Suddenly though, she began to use her blood-based powers, along with manipulating his blood to rope him in, pulling him down and slamming him down beside her.


Tremor was wandering the pits, moving through a cavern after having been knocked off of the upper bridge.

"How the hell do I get out of here..?" He questioned.

Then, he could hear a voice, "Tremor. I've finally caught up to you."

Tremor turned, seeing the Black Dragon leader, Jarek, holding his axe by his side.

"You're here! Jarek... do you know the way out?"

"Of course, how do you believe I found you down here? Also, I asked Shang Tsung if Tasia could come to the tournament, he allowed it, so she's on her way now."

"Tasia huh..? Then we'll probably see her soon enough, but let's just get going."

Tremor and Jarek began to walk through the catacombs, wandering. However, something seemed to have changed. The catacombs had shifted while they weren't looking.

"Where to now?" Tremor questioned.

"Just follow along with me." Jarek said, walking down a hall of stones, hearing a strange sound as he walked. The two of them entered room full of green lights of different shades. It was a massive chamber, channeling the energy of souls through a large well.

"What the..?" He said, gripping his axe.

"Jarek. Look." Tremor said, pointing over to a figure within a small ball of soul energy. The figure had a black and red robe, his face completely covered by a black mask with a black and red hood, the only things visible were his eyes. They were closed however, his body absorbing the souls.

"Something like... a creation of sorts..." Jarek said before turning, seeing another door that had lead out, "Tremor, with me, let's go. We're going to find Kira and then wait on the docks for Tasia to arrive." The two of them ran through the door, Jarek in front as they made their escape from these catacombs.


Reptile and Baraka had been going on with their fight, the latter flying forward and spinning his arm-blades rapidly, cutting the former, who then decided to counterattack with a capoeira kick and a blast of acid from his mouth, burning Baraka's chest.

He stabbed both blades into the ground, tearing a large boulder out of the dirt, tossing it straight at Reptile, striking his torso and knocking him backwards before shouting and kicking up another rock to add onto it, Reptile coughing up green blood.

But then, Khameleon jumped in, grabbing Reptile with her own legs and tossing him onto the dirt. She channeled a ball of golden energy, firing it off at Baraka and sending him rolling along the flowers.

"Khameleon..." Reptile said, grunting as Rain helped him stand.

"You clearly need assistance. Reptile, I'm helping you, because you've chosen to be one of us."

As Baraka got up, Khameleon jumped high into the air, her eyes flashing as blue energy appeared on her feet, allowing for her to fly through the air and deliver a strong double kick to her opponent's forehead, locking her legs around his head before he could touch the ground, performing such a fast flip that she was able to toss him onto a bed of flowers.

"Thank you, but I could have fought him off." Reptile said.

Khameleon nodded, "I know you could have, but I just wanted to fight for once in a while. Now then... we need to go regroup with the other warriors of Earthrealm, so if you will, follow me." She began to run through the garden, Reptile standing upright on his own as he and Rain followed after her, the three of them looking for the others.

Now then, as the sun shone over the island, Cyrax had explained the Cyber Initiative to Liu Kang with help from Sub-Zero. Afterwards, he had separated from everyone else to think things over. He was planning to leave the Lin Kuei thanks to Sub-Zero and Liu Kang, so he was figuring his own mind out on the bridge above the large pit. Someone, however, was approaching fast.