Chapter Twenty-Seven

Somewhere in Asia

"I'm sorry… but the only reason I had to stopped you and send you away was because it's considered forbidden to fight on that sort of ground."

It was the only thing the God of Wind, Fujin, was able to say as he watched the ninja spectre, Scorpion, pace around impatiently, his pale eyes staring at him in anger. They were now here in a small, grassy field surrounded by countless trees, away from prying eyes.

When Scorpion had showed up yesterday to fight Dark Raiden at the Shaolin Temple, right inside the mausoleum, Fujin was forced to send him off. He made sure to send him far away from both the Shaolin Temple and Raiden's Sky Temple.

Scorpion pointed at himself after Fujin's brief explanation. "Should I remind you of what my nemesis, Quan Chi, did to me for his own gain?"

"I'm fully aware of his responsibility of resurrecting you," Fujin replied. "But I'm not Quan Chi. I'm just a God trying to make things right."

"Including finding a way to stop me from assassinating Raiden?"

Fujin's eyes widened. "What makes you think-"

"It was only a guess, but it's obvious from last night that you intend to stop me from what the Elder Gods sent me to do. You told me yourself that you gave up your Elder God status. It's obvious why you did."

"That's not the only reason," Fujin began to explain. "I'm also here to find a way to stop the latest threat against the realms."

"You did mention wanting to recruit me," Scorpion replied. "I haven't forgotten your offer."

Fujin nodded. "As for Raiden… I admit, I want to find a way to keep him alive and, at the same time, unite you with your family and clan."

Scorpion pointed at him. "You do what you please. But until I'm needed for your fight against Shao Kahn, stay out of my way!"

Before Fujin had the chance to say anything else, a flash of fire surrounded Scorpion's body, the brightness briefly blinding him. When the fire dissipated, Scorpion vanished.

Fujin sighed to himself. He imagined that the spectre only transferred far enough just to get away from him. If that was the case, at least Fujin knew that he was too far from Raiden this time. Most likely, it would be a while before Scorpion crossed paths with the Thunder God once more…


Shao Kahn's Fortress, Outworld

Over three months ago, the Outworld Forces had invaded the realm of Edenia. Not only was the invasion a success, but they had managed to capture the realm's Queen, Sindel, and her daughter, Princess Kitana. To them, it was one of their biggest victories.

Not long after, Shao Kahn sent three of his generals to secure the realm; Tanya, Rain, and Reptile. Not only were they to take care anyone remaining in the realm, but their main objective was to capture the traitor Jade and bring her back here alive to face a proper execution.

Hours ago, Shao Kahn had sent his orders to finish things up in Edenia. Now, as he and Ivy Valentine sat in their thrones, they watched as Tanya, Rain, and Reptile approached them, the three of them bowing down to them just at the foot of the steps.

It was Tanya who spoke first. "My Emperor and Empress, we return to you with news I highly believe will be to your satisfaction."

Shao Kahn tapped a single finger impatiently against the edge of the armrest. "Go on."

Tanya proceeded. "We defeated the Edenian Freedom Fighters. We've killed many, and we managed to capture those who survived our onslaught. They are being placed in their cells as we speak."

"And what of Jade?"

Tanya stared up at him, a grin appearing on her face. "She is indeed captured. I even placed her in the cell myself. She's isolated, away from the others."

"Good," Shao Kahn said. "It's about time that traitor was captured. We'll schedule her trail when the time comes. Reptile-" He turned his head to the Zaterran. "Alert the Shadow Priests of our success in Edenia. Tell them to begin the merging process immediately."

Reptile stood up. "It will be done," he said before taking his leave.

Shao Kahn looked at Tanya and Rain. "Now that you two have returned, you are to return to your original positions in the fortress. Rain, you will proceed in assisting the others in the dungeon. Tanya, you are to resume your position as one of Ivy's bodyguards."

"Yes, my Emperor," Tanya replied.

"We will be expecting to return to Earth in a few weeks to secure it. We'll also be planning to invade Keisei once your Empress gives the word."

"We'll be ready when the time comes," Rain said.

"You may take your leave."

Rain and Tanya straightened themselves up and were just starting to leave when Ivy spoke up. "Oh, Tanya dear, I almost forgot. I have a little assignment for you now that you've returned."

"What would that be, my Empress?" Tanya asked.

"I want you to go up to my private quarters and begin shining all my boots. They haven't been shined in many weeks and they're awfully dirty."

Tanya resisted the urge to give Ivy a sour look. "Yes, my Empress. Right away…"

Ivy smirked. "Good girl."

As she left the throne room, Tanya soon found herself fuming on the inside. After spending three months in Edenia, she nearly forgot what it was like to serve as one of Ivy's personal bodyguards…


Yakushima, Japan

The sun had already set for the evening. With the exception of the campfire outside, all was dark around the island.

Earlier in the day, it lightly rained, leaving everything on the island more wet than usual. The small group of fighters gathered at the isolated childhood home of Jin Kazama were forced to remain indoors through most of the day. Even with twelve of them in the small house, which consisted of a small kitchen, a small living room, a bathroom, and two bedrooms, they were all able to fit okay.

However, the seven-foot tall Marduk was forced to squat down a little just to walk through the cabin. That was about the only inconvenience aside from staying in the same place as the guy who wanted to rip him apart.

When night came, the rain was long gone, and everyone decided to eat their canned food outside in front of the warm fire. Each used either their own or shared a towel to protect themselves from the damp ground or log they sat on.

Karin looked down at the canned green beans in her hand, her nose twitching little. "I wonder when we'll eat real food again," she mumbled to no one in particular.

A few more minutes of silence followed before Hwoarang spoke. "I'm wondering again… how the hell are we all going to stop this threat against Earth while we're all sitting here hiding in an isolated island."

Mika sighed. "Do you have to bring that up again?"

"Yes I do, because in my opinion, this is stupid."

"It's been six days since the invasion," Cassandra reminded him. "And we've only been here on the island for three days… and at least twice a day, you bring that question up."

"Has it been only six days…?" asked Maki aloud.

"The only reason we're here on the island is because it serves as a safe haven until we figure out what to do, remember?" asked Jin as he stared down as his can of peas.

Hwoarang stared at Jin. "But it could be, like, YEARS before we're found. Anything could happen to that guy who dropped us off here."

"Even if he didn't pick us up," Jin began. "This island is also a tourist attraction. So we will eventually leave sooner than you think.

"Yeah… in twenty years time."

"In that case," said Mi-na. "You better be nice to me for now on." She grinned. "Eventually, I'll start looking good to you."

The girls giggled at that, and Hwoarang only replied with a grumbled, not feeling like digging a deeper hole than he already put himself into.

"I have an idea," Dan suddenly spoke up. "Why don't we play a game?"

"What kind of game?" asked Asuka.

Dan shrugged. "I don't know… any game!"

"Unless it involves beer, I'm not in the mood," said Marduk.

"Me neither actually," said Maki.

Dan sighed. "Well all right. But if you guys change your mind, let me know."

"Okay," Asuka said with a nod.

Silence fell between the group again, this time lasting a bit longer than the last. Meanwhile, Ryu had found himself quiet, barely listening to the previous banter between his allies. Ever since he woke up from his afternoon nap, something had been bothering him and it had been plaguing his mind for the past few hours.

Soon, the thoughts because unbearable and he turned to Jin. "Those visions came back again."

Ryu had said this loud enough for everyone to hear. "What visions?" asked Mika.

He gave everyone a serious look. "Do you remember the visions Nightwolf had when we were in Outworld?"

"What visions?" asked Hwoarang. "And who's Nightwolf?"

"Only the nicest and most wise Native American you could ever know," said Dan, his mind filling with fond memories of Nightwolf training his mind to become a better fighter during their stay in Outworld. "He had helped me a lot during the tournament and…" The Saikyo fighter began to frown. "I wish I had been able to repay him."

Mika continued for him. "Unfortunately, he didn't survive the chaos we experienced after the tournament ended."

"That's a shame," said Karin.

"About the visions…" asked Hwoarang, curious to know what this was all about.

Ryu placed his can of beans down on the ground before proceeded. "Those of you who went to the tournament know what I'm talking about. Those who don't… well… everything, the sky, the ground, all were a blood red color. Corpses laid everywhere, lying where they had fallen. And the stench of death is strong… it felt too real."

"I've had the same visions just before I decided to return to Japan," Jin said. "I haven't seen them since, but…" he turned to Ryu. "It sounds like this is about the second time since you've seen them."

Ryu nodded in reply.

Hwoarang couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Just great. Now I'm stuck on an island with a couple of loonies who think their psychic all of a sudden."

"Hwoarang, the sky actually did turn red just before the chaos in Outworld!" Mi-na mentioned, feeling annoyed by his attitude towards the revelation. She looked at Jin and Ryu. "I thought they would be from the chaos but… why are you two still seeing the visions?"

"That's what we've been trying to figure out for the past few days," said Ryu.

Asuka sighed. "I have a confession to make… I had the vision too… just two nights before the invasion."

Everyone stared at the young woman. She took a deep breath before proceeding. "I thought it was a regular dream because it was the middle of the night and… at first I thought it was just memories from the tournament, but… it all felt too real to me."

King suddenly spoke up. "It… sounds like the dream I had the night before the invasion as well…"

Now everyone was looking at the Mexican wrestler. "Now this is different," said Cassandra. "You weren't even at the tournament."

"I just thought it was just another nightmare I had. It was just as you two described… blood red sky, corpses lying all around, and the scent of something that wasn't right… I assume that was the smell of death as you mentioned.

"Great," said Karin. "I'm freaked out now…"

Even Hwoarang had to swallow back the uneasiness he was starting to feel. He gazed at everyone for a moment. "You think maybe these visions are just actually dreams… like just nightmares from your experience in Outworld?"

"Maybe," said Ryu. "But if that's the case, why did King have the vision as well?"

From there, everyone grew quiet, unsure of what to think of all of this…


Russia

For nearly a week, Raven and Dragunov trekked through the snowy terrain, surrounded by nothing more than mountains and trees depending on which spot they found themselves at. Their only shelter was usually a cave, protecting them from the cold for the most part.

They were forced to work together in order to survive after the invasion. The irony of it all was the fact that they both considered the other… well… the word enemy might actually be too much. However, the distrust they had towards each other was enough for them to watch their backs in case the other suddenly decided to stab them from behind, metaphorically speaking.

The main goal was to find Raven's jet. He knew that it was in the area somewhere, but he was already aware that it would be a while before they would find it. Usually, whenever he went on a mission, he made sure that the jet would be parked far enough so that no one would suspect his coming.

For the first time since he became an agent, it definitely wasn't helping.

On this particular day, Raven began to realize that both of their food supply was beginning to run a little low. A few more days, he guessed, before they completely ran out. They were already using snow as their main source of water, melting them during the night in the bottles they used to store them.

Briefly, in his mind, Raven thought about the allies he knew during the Blood Tournament. He never really socialized with them, only speaking to them when either spoken to or whenever it was necessary. Yet, despite that, he found himself wondering how they were all holding up during the invasion.

His thoughts were quickly cut off as he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned his head to Dragunov, who pointed forward. He followed where he was pointing. To his surprised, a one-story building stood nearby, about a twenty minute walk, he guessed.

"Well," Raven said. "This is about the best luck we had all week."

Dragunov briefly nodded in reply, agreeing with Raven, before walking forward. The intelligence agent soon followed just a few feet behind the militant.

The walk to the building took longer than they expected, blaming it mostly on the heavy snow that surrounded it. Within a half hour (or more, both of them losing track), they soon reached the door of the building.

A single, black door was closed and there were only a few window around it. Dragunov reached for the door knob, twisting it before pushing it back, opening it. Without hesitation, both of them walked inside, closing the door behind them.

Raven scanned his surroundings. He immediately noticed what looked like a gym, noting the training equipment. The particular room was large, and he also noticed a hallway nearby, leading to other rooms. Also, judging about the amount of dust and cobwebs all around, this place definitely hasn't been used in quite some time.

Dragunov stepped further into the room. Raven noticed that his head seemed to move quite a bit as though he was trying to find something.

"What are you looking for?" Raven asked him.

Dragunov turned to him. Raising a closed hand to the side of his head, he extended his pinky near his lips, and his thumb near his ear. Raven quickly realized what he was looking for.

"A phone. Okay… if there is one, let's just hope it works."

The two began to look around the area for a phone, or some other kind of device so that they are able to contact somebody in a nearby town or city. They mostly pulled away the thick cobwebs, hoping something would be behind them, but that didn't turn out to be the case.

Then, much to their sudden surprise, they heard a low growl coming from the hallway area. They briefly froze in place, unsure of how else to react to that.

Raven raised an eyebrow. "What was that?" he asked.

Dragunov narrowed his blue eyes, keeping himself still as he tried to figure out what was going on. Raven soon did the same thing.

Then, they both felt the ground underneath their feet shake. The more it happened, the louder they heard the footsteps coming. At the same time, they happened to look down the hallway.

An eight-foot red monster with yellow eyes suddenly appeared from the hallway, revealing himself to the others! The monster growled as he spotted the two of them, showing off a row of sharp, yellow teeth. He looked like the devil himself, minus the horns and tail. Dragunov and Raven kept themselves in place, knowing that they were both about to battle another common enemy for the first time in nearly a week.

The monster stopped a few feet into the room. Stretching his arms out, he let out a loud roar. Behind him, a handful of tarkatans appeared. Their blades were out and ready to fight.

The tarkatans began their approach. Seeing this, Raven quickly took out two kunais from behind him and threw them forward. Both kunais spun rapidly forward before each of them decapitated a tarkatan's head. As their heads rolled away, each body stumbled a few more feet before falling to the ground. It served as enough of a distraction for both Raven and Dragunov to run forward and began their attack.

Approaching a tarkatan, Dragunov immediately delivered an uppercut, sending it flying straight into the air. Not giving it a chance to hit the ground, He lifted a foot up high, kicking it back. As it fell back down again, he gave it one last kick forward, sending it flying.

Another tarkatan came from the right, and he wasted no time as he slammed his fist into it's face. It was enough force to knock a few of the nomad's teeth right out, and he stumbled back a few feet. Quickly recovering, the mutant launched itself forward, swinging it's blades back and forth. This forced Dragunov to jump back and dodge away from the attacks to avoid injury. He waited until he found an opening before reaching forward to grab it by the back of the neck, throwing a couple of punches at it's face with his free fist before kneeing it in the stomach, forcing it to keel over.

Meanwhile, Raven jumped up and doubled kicked two tarkatans in the face, knocking them back. He then noting another running towards him and, when it was close enough, he performed a backwards flip kick. However, the tarkatan managed to pull back before being hit. Raven quickly straightened himself up before throwing three punches at him before kneeing him in the chest. The last hit caused the mutant to stumble back, giving Raven the opportunity to throw another punch to it's face before performing a spin kick, sending it flying back.

Another tarkatan followed immediately after, and Raven was prepared for it. He lifted his leg high up before kicking down, smashing the back of his foot into the mutant's shoulder, sending it crashing to the ground. He tried to stomp on it afterwards, but the mutant managed to get itself up. It tried to attack Raven again, but he quickly teleported himself behind it before sending another kick to the back of it's head, knocking out cold.

When he finished the nomad off, Raven happened to turn around… only to notice Dragunov running towards the hallway. Before he had the chance to comprehend what he was doing, Dragunov vanished within the darkness of the hallway.

"Hey! Dragunov! Where are you-" Raven began to call out. But he never finished his sentence before another tarkatan attacked him, slashing his blades at him. When he got the chance, Raven quickly maneuvered himself so that he was behind the tarkatan before grabbing on to his neck and twisting it certain angle. A loud snap! was heard before the nomad fell to the ground dead.

Raven scanned his surroundings, realizing that he was alone, surrounded by the Tarkatans, and the monster who was watching and waiting for it's chance to kill him. He was now fighting the mutants off on his own…

He clenched his fists. It was only a matter of time before Dragunov abandoned him.

"Damn him…"


Shao Kahn's Fortress, Outworld

"Well, it turns out that the takeover of Edenia was a success," said Ivy Valentine as she raised a cup of hot tea to her lips. "Shao Kahn was very pleased with the results."

"I could only imagine," replied Anna Williams. She briefly took a sip of her own tea before proceeding. "I understand that was one of the places he truly wanted to conquer aside from Earth and Keisei."

"That, my dear, is true," Ivy confirmed. "Let's just say that he has a long standing history with that particular world."

"Any word on when things will move forward for Earth?" asked a curious Kira.

Ivy placed her cup of tea down on the table. "Very soon, at least that's what I was told."

In her private quarters, Ivy had invited both Anna and Kira to have tea with her, a little tradition the Empress started with her personal bodyguards since she joined Shao Kahn's side. From everything that was going on, this was one of the more relaxing moments for her, and she didn't mind inviting her bodyguards to join her.

Ivy was about to say something else when they heard footsteps nearby. All three of them turned around and saw Tanya coming in.

"Are all the boots shined?" Ivy asked her.

Tanya took a deep breath. "Yes, my Empress."

Ivy smiled a little. "Good. Come have a set and drink some tea. You've earned it."

Without another word, Tanya joined the other three women at the table. Carefully, she took a hold of the teapot, pouring herself a small about into her cup. Placing the pot down, she picked up the cup before sipping it. It was lukewarm at that point, but at least it was better than being ice cold.

"As I was saying," Ivy continued. "We'll soon be sending Sheeva, Motaro, and Kintaro to begin securing Earth. Most likely, it'll happen within a week or two."

"The sooner, the better," said Tanya. "After what happened a decade ago during the last invasion, it's best not to take any chances."

"You're right about that," Ivy agreed. "We will make sure everything goes according to plan."

With the talk about Earth, a question came up in the Empress' mind and she turned her attention to both Kira and Anna. "What was it like invading Earth for you two? Considering how it's your home world and all."

"I got a thrill out of it," said Kira. "I think it's because I always resented the way our society there lives." She looked down at her tea. "Maybe it's because all I've seen my whole life is the bad side of everything."

"I admit, I got a thrill out of it as well," said Anna, smiling. "Especially when I ran into that wretched sister of mine." Her smile faded. "Too bad I didn't kill her when I had the chance."

"You'll get a second chance when we go back in a few weeks," mentioned Ivy.

"I hope so. Tell me, my Empress… do you think you'll feel the same way once we invade Keisei?"

Ivy immediately took a long sip of her tea before placing it back down on the table. "Maybe," she replied with a small smirk, not wanting to give the girls a single hint of her indecisiveness on the subject.

She knew that she would eventually have to make the call to invade Keisei. She just hoped to put it off for as long as possible…

Meanwhile, having some time on his hands, Vega decided to head to the training room within the confines of the fortress. He hadn't had a good training session in a while and had decided that now was the time to do so.

Earlier, he heard the news of Edenia finally being taken over and the merging process would begin today. It was a piece of news that didn't phase Vega. He never even heard of Edenia until he began working for Shao Kahn during the tournament. If something didn't have any impact on him, he wasn't going to care about it.

As he headed into the room, he found himself thinking about on the day he joined Shao Kahn. He, along with his former ally Sagat, were asked to join by the sorcerer Shang Tsung. They felt that their skills would prove useful to his growing army, and they had accepted the offer.

It was the same day that he met his beautiful Anna. He still remembered their first meeting clearly…

Suddenly, she felt something sharp and cold pressing at her neck. Anna kept still in her place. She had been in worse situations like this so she was able to show no fear. She did, however, manage to shift her eyes to see who was behind the weapon that threatened her life. Her eyes were met with another set of blue eyes. She could see that the person was a tall male with long blonde hair and a white porcelain mask over the rest of his face.

"Why do you follow my dear Viper?" the man demanded calmly.

Anna looked over then and noticed the true person she was following who she now knows as Viper. She had the long blonde hair and green shirt like Nina, but the woman's hair was down while Nina always had her hair up and she had green pants instead of black. Anna admitted to herself that she felt a bit foolish that she thought she was following her sister.

Being in a presence of a man then, Anna decided to use her charm. A warm smile came upon her face. "Forgive me," she purred. "I had thought she was my sister, who I want to kill so badly." She then made herself pout a bit. "She and your little friend look so much a like. I mean your friend no harm."

The man let out an amused chuckle and he released Anna from under his three claws. He then slowly took off his mask revealing his flawless complexion. "Forgive me then my dear. My name is Vega and from this point on, I will let no one harm you." Then from his large, loose pocket, Vega took out a fully bloomed red rose and handed it to Anna. "This is for you, just for being beautiful."

Anna smiled more then as she took the rose in her hands. "It's been a long time since someone has given me a gift out of kindness. My name is Anna."

A smirk came on Vega's face. "Anna means gracious, characterized by charm and beauty… indeed a lovely name for a lovely woman."

Anna let out a chuckle feeling quite flattered by Vega's description of her. "And you are very handsome yourself. Why the mask? Why hide your beauty?"

"It's to keep my face in perfection," Vega replied. "With this mask, no harm will ever come upon my face."

Their fun suddenly ended then when they heard someone clearing their throat. Vega and Anna turned their heads to the noise and noticed Sagat approaching them. Once he was close enough, he briefly looked over at Anna, then at Vega before speaking.

"This is the anonymous note we were told about this morning," Sagat said. As he spoke, Viper brought herself closer to the small group silently.

"What does it say?" Vega asked as he placed the mask back over his face.

Sagat opened the letter and read it. "You are to head North into the forest where you will meet a person two miles in next to a broken statue. Be there, or else." Sagat looked up then. "The letter seems suspicious to me. It could be a trap."

"Relax," Vega said. "Trap or not, we'll be prepared to cut them up like ribbons."

"Fine," Sagat replied with a sigh. "But if is a trap, I'll have your head." He then began heading into the forest with Viper following him.

Vega looked over at Anna. "Why don't you come along with us my dear? I'm sure you'll have fun."

Anna smiled. "I'm sure I will."

With that, the two began following Sagat and Viper into the forest.

The memory faded from Vega's mind as he went further inside the training room. At first, he wasn't sure where to begin, whether it was lifting weights or taking out any pent up frustration on a punching bag.

Speaking of punching bags, he was able to hear someone training with it, their punches and kicks being heard hitting against the bag. Curious to know who else was in the room, Vega decided to do a little inspection. It didn't take long before he saw the person after turning a corner.

He immediately recognized the one named Guy Hinato.

Vega knew his story well. He was brainwashed by Shao Kahn, captured merely for his skills and his way of fighting, witnessed during the second round of the tournament when he fought the monster Berserk. Now that he was under the control of the Emperor, Guy served him, taking orders without question, even going on a mission to kill a friend of his from his… previous life.

The brainwash was too perfect in Vega's opinion. He even wondered whether or not his former master, Bison, could do better…

It was then that Guy stopped his training, and Vega realized that the Bushin fighter knew of his presence. He slipped his porcelain mask over his face just as Guy turned around to face him, his colorless eyes staring at him.

This gave Vega an idea. He raised his fists up, his claws gleaming in the small light in the room. "I hope you don't mind. I'd like to amuse myself for a little while. It's been a while since I fought a… puppet."

Without hesitation, Guy got himself into a fighting stance. Vega chuckled in reply. "Not a bad start if I say so myself."

With that, Guy quickly launched himself forward. He couched low, his right leg leading him as he glided forward with the intention of tripping his opponent. Vega managed to jump over him, somersault forward before landing back on his feet. He turned around in time to see Guy running towards him. When Guy was close enough, Vega performed a flip kick, hitting him underneath his chin. Despite the pain, Guy shook it off, and he managed to catch himself mid-air, somersaulting back before landing back on the ground.

Vega jumped, extending his claws out to strike, but Guy pulled himself back before he was hit. As Vega pulled away, Guy attempted a couple of spin kicks, but Vega blocked them with the palm of his hand. The brainwashed fighter tried to deliver a couple of more punches, but Vega managed to sidestep out of the way, flipping back to create a distance between them.

Guy suddenly darted forward, and before Vega could react, he was grabbed by the shoulders and pulled forward. He was met with a knee to his stomach, feeling the wind knocked out of them. He felt another knee again before Guy threw him over his own shoulder and flip him over.

Vega landed hard on the ground, his back taking the most impact. As he tried to catch his breath, he saw Guy's foot attempting to stomp him, but the Spanish matador managed to see this in time, rolling himself out of the way before getting back to his feet.

Once again, Guy dashed forward, but Vega was ready for him this time. As Guy approached him, Vega immediately got himself on a handstand, grabbing a hold of his opponent's next with his feet. When he got a good grip, he flipped him back, sending him flying in the air before landing back on the ground on his side. As Vega straightened himself up, Guy also got back on his feet.

Deciding on his next move, Vega rolled forward and, once he was near, he extended his claw out, but Guy jumped back in rapid speed. Close to a wall at that moment, Guy jumped off of it, launching himself higher in the air before extending on leg out and spun himself rapidly. Seeing this, Vega managed to dodge out of the way, rolling forward and keeping himself away from him. Landing on the ground once more, Guy turned his attention to Vega, who was now standing, glaring at him.

Both stood in their fighting stances, waiting for the other to make their next move. They narrowed their eyes at each other while figuring out their next maneuver in their minds.

"That'll be enough for now," a voice was suddenly heard nearby. Both fighters turned to see who had just come in and they both recognized the sorcerer Shang Tsung.

Shang Tsung looked at Vega. "Do you now understand the power Shao Kahn possesses?" He turned to Guy. "If he could make a perfect soldier out of this man, imagine what else he could do."

Vega nodded. "I believe that."

"Good. Guy, you may take your leave."

Without another word, Guy gave the sorcerer a solemn bow before leaving the room. Soon, only Shang Tsung and Vega remained.

Vega turned to Shang Tsung. "Don't you have a harem to attend to?"

Shang Tsung narrowed his eyes at him. "I would if I still had one. They escaped my grasps upon my 'demise' back at the tournament."

"I see," Vega replied. "That also explains why you hang around this fortress more than usual."

"I'll build a new harem soon enough," Shang Tsung mentioned. "They're easy to replace, just like any broken doll. Speaking of dolls, it's too bad you failed to provide me with those two you promised me."

"If you mean Xianghua and Viper, that's not entirely my fault," Vega said. "Viper escaped my own grasps, but I think it's for the better anyway. I'm sure her new life is filled with agony as we speak. As for Xianghua, had I known her friends would show up that evening-"

"It's over now anyway, so there's no longer a reason to dwell over it." A sadistic smirk came over Shang Tsung's face. "Of course, to make up for it, if you ever get bored of your precious Anna-"

He barely had time to get another word in before he found Vega's three claws barely an inch away from his own neck. Even with his mask on, Shang Tsung noted the crazed look in Vega's blue eyes. He didn't even react to it, knowing that the Earthrealm native wasn't intending to actually kill him. Even if he did, he would steal his soul before he had the chance to blink himself.

"She's off limits!" Vega called out, giving the sorcerer an icy glare. "Be sure to keep that in mind!"

Shang Tsung resisted the urge to chuckle, realizing Vega's inner feelings. Deciding that he had enough for now, he steppd away a bit before turning his back on Vega and departed, leaving Vega fuming.


Russia

For a few minutes after finding himself alone, Raven fought off the tarkatans who came after him. He found himself mostly dodging the blades that slashed at him, but when his chance came, he would take them down with ease. At one point, he managed to retrieve his kunais and used them against his enemies, mainly slashing their arms off and cutting their necks open.

Soon, Raven didn't leave a single tarkatan alive. By then, his kunais were covered in blood, and he had a sheen of sweat covering his body, and he found himself slightly out of breath.

However, the fight wasn't over yet. There was still the large beast to deal with…

"Now it's just you and me," he said out loud at he stared at it.

Just then, Raven noticed the demon running towards him. He quickly jumped high into the air just as the monster brought down both of it's fists and driving it down to the ground, leaving a dent behind.

Jumping over the monster, Raven happened to see one of his kunais embedded into a nearby wall. Once he landed on the ground, he pushed himself forward, flying towards the wall. When he was in reached, he grabbed for the hilt of the kunai and pulled it out of the wall. Then, he turned around to face the monster, who was running after him once more.

Without hesitation, Raven threw his kunai at the demon, hoping to chop his head off as he did with the two tarkatans earlier. To his dismay, however, the monster quickly lifted up a wrist, covered by a metal brace, blocking the kunai. The weapon flew sideways before landing on the floor.

"Damn…" Raven uttered under his breath.

The demon threw another punch at him, but the agent jumped up again, avoiding the attack. Darting forward, he grabbed a hold of the monster's head and, using all of his strength, flipped him over his head. With a loud raw, the monster flew a few yards away, crashing into some weight equipment, breaking them into pieces. It caused some years worth of collected dust to fly up in the air, disturbed for the first time in years.

It didn't take long for the monster to get back up. By then, Raven retrieved both of his kunais. He stood in a fighting stance, ready for more.

Suddenly, to Raven's surprised, a loud blast was heard, the sound nearly deafening him. Nearly a second later, he felt a wet splatter, almost like rain, splashing on to him. When the splatter stopped, Raven took off his now-drenched sunglasses to get a better look at what just happened.

The monster stood there in shock by what just happened. Raven wasn't sure what was going on… until he saw the large, gaping hole right in the middle of it's torso.

Raven looked on with a bit of confusion… and a bit of disgust, as the monster's blood spewed from the hole. Eventually, as it's life left it, the body fell to it's side, creating a rumble as it's heavy weight crashed down to the floor.

About twenty feet away from the monster, Raven spotted Dragunov. His uniform had some blood splattered on it, and he was now holding an old-fashioned M1 Bazooka, it's hole slightly smoking from it's recent use.

So, he didn't run off after all, Raven thought, realizing that he had indeed doubted the Russian militant earlier.

Raven stood himself up, stretching himself a little before turning his attention to Dragunov. "How did you find that thing?" There was a pause before Raven realized something. "Oh… yeah… you don't talk."

Despite that, he still got his answer when Dragunov pointed at the side of the bazooka. There, a faded SPETSNAZ insignia was printed on there.

Raven raised an eyebrow. "I see. By the way things look around here, this place hasn't been used in years, am I correct?"

Dragunov shook his head once.

"I assume then that there's no working phone then."

Dragunov pointed a finger towards the hall. He then lifted a single finger before shaking his head once.

It took a moment, but Raven realized that he was indicating that there was one phone, but it wasn't working. "That figures," he said. "Since we're here, we might as well call it a night. It'll be better than staying in the cave, that's for sure… aside from that gaping hole the bazooka left on the wall of course."

Dragunov's only reply was a single nod.