Chapter Thirty-Six

England

In a more quiet area of the MI-6 Headquarters, Cammy White found herself sitting down amongst her fellow comrades, including Lita and Juni, as their General was going over future plans in case another invasion occurred. She had heard of the possible plans before, but it was the first time she was truly hearing this in full detail.

"As a country mostly surrounded by water, many of us realize that it would make perfect sense for us to evacuate into Europe's mainland," the General said. "France has already granted permission for a limited amount of us to enter their land and we are currently looking into doing the same in other nearby countries. However, an evacuation is only necessary when the fight against our enemies in Outworld starts to become overwhelming not just for our unit, but for all the units in England. Naturally, our first priority would be the safety of the civilians. At the moment, it's just a deciding factor of how we will be choosing which ones would be taken to the mainland first."

"You mentioned France willing to help us out," a Colonel spoke up nearby. "Would the Channel Tunnel be one of the few ways for us to evacuate?"

The General sighed a little. "It's an idea. However, there's a rumor going around that it may have been partially destroyed during the invasion. Since you mentioned it, however, I will look into that."

The meeting continued on for another hour, mainly discussing different ways of evacuating including using any ships, helicopters, and airplanes that can still operate. Soon, the meeting ended, with another one to come up in two days. As Cammy began to make her way out, she noted the Colonel approaching her.

Stopping a couple of feet away from each other, Cammy saluted to him before easing herself. "You need me for something, sir?"

"Just a small favor," the Colonel replied. "If you run into Nina Williams, could you ask her to see me or the General? We want to discuss with her about the progress of her gun lessons to the civilians."

Cammy resisted the urge to make a face that showed her distaste. As cooperative as Nina had been lately, especially since getting the cast on her wrist removed, she still found the woman to be cold and preferred to not be around her.

"I'll do that, sir," Cammy said.

The Colonel nodded. "You may take your leave."

Cammy saluted him one last time before turning on her heel and began taking her leave. Getting outside the meeting room, she saw Lita and Juni talking to each other as they waited for her.

"I'm not sure about the whole civilian arrangement, however," Lita said to Juni. "It's kind of like the whole women and children first deal on the Titanic… but then again, no matter how we go about it, it'll turn into a disaster."

"How so?" Juni asked curiously, having no experience in crowd control before.

"Usually, one person pushes everyone else so that he can go first, then that makes everyone else want to do the same," Cammy mentioned as she approached the two. "Then people trample each other, starting beating each other up, and sadly, at least one person loses their life."

"I see," Juni replied as the three of them began walking through the hall. "That suddenly makes me wonder which side is worse… us soldiers, or the crowd."

"Either way, it's not so great," Lita said.

When they turned a corner, Cammy managed to spot Steve waiting for her just a few feet away. A smile was on his face as he saw her.

"Well Cammy, I get the feeling you'll be parting with us," Lita said with a grin.

"That you're right," Cammy answered. "I'll see you two later."

They said their goodbyes before Cammy approached Steve. "How long were you waiting here?" she asked before kissing him.

Steve briefly returned the kiss before pulling back. "Not long. One of the Lieutenants mentioned that these kinds of meetings usually last about an hour."

"Not always," Cammy mentioned. Then, an idea came to her as she looked at him. "I don't usually break tasks ordered by my superiors, but it's so small that I don't think it'll effect anyone. Want to do me a favor?"

"That all depends."

"Well… you know how I've been feeling about Nina lately. The Colonel asked me to tell her to see either him or the General because they wanted to know her progress on her gun lessons."

"And let me guess… they want you to deliver the message."

Cammy nodded.

Steve sighed a little. "Well, okay. But only because I owe you for all the times you've been my bodyguard."

"Oh, thank you," the young woman said with relief.

Steve laughed at her reaction. "It can't be any worse than getting in trouble by your mother after staying out too late on a school night."

"Something tells me it's worse than that," Cammy said. "But look on the bright side… at least she's not your mother… or my mother for that matter."

"I don't think I could see her ever being a mum," Steve mentioned. He began to pull back a bit then. "I'll see what I can do and I'll report back when I'm done."

"Just make sure she doesn't throw daggers at you."

Steve laughed a little as he began to walk away. "I doubt that'll be a problem."

Rocky Mountains, USA

Climbing up the ladder to the watch tower, Cody swore that he was going to fall off with the amount of wind that was blowing at the moment. He felt his dirty blonde hair being pushed around in different directions, and his eyes were beginning to water a little as the wind stung them a bit. He was at least grateful to have a jacket on, but he could still feel the chill despite that.

"Tonight's watch is not going to be fun," he mumbled. "I can tell already."

Soon he reached the top, getting into an area of the tower where he could at least get some relief from the wind. He looked up and noticed Alex watching him as he arrived. He noted that her hair was tied into a bun, through some strands managed to get out because of the winds, and her eyes were covered with sunglasses despite the fact that the sun had already set a little over two hours ago.

"It's just about 8pm," Cody announced as he straightened himself up. He found himself shivering a bit. "Damn, it's fucking cold out tonight."

"Being in the mountains around this time of year can do that," Alex replied.

"Why couldn't the invasion happen in the summer or something?" Cody said with a small chuckle. "Course, if that was the case, we'd probably be hiding in the Arizona desert or something."

Alex took off her sunglasses before outstretching her hand. "Do you want to wear these? It'll help to protect your eyes against the wind, though you'll, of course, have to take them off every once in a while to see your surroundings better."

"You know, that's a good idea, thanks," Cody replied as he took the sunglasses in his hands. "Hopefully it doesn't snow like crazy during my shift."

"It probably will now that you said that," Alex laughed as she walked over to the ladder. She then found herself yawning just as she finished that sentence.

"You look pretty tired," Cody mentioned.

"Just a little. I'm more hungry than anything else."

"I think Jane was cooking something when I walked by the kitchen on my way over here. I'm sure whatever she's cooking, it's almost done."

"Thanks." Alex began to climb down, but stopped after two steps. "Do you want me to bring you up something?"

"Nah, it's cool," Cody replied, waving a hand. "I can wait until my shift's over. Thanks anyway."

"No problem." From there, Alex began climbing down the ladder, not stopping until she felt the bottom of her black boots hitting the snow-covered ground.

Feeling her stomach rumble a bit, Alex began heading over to the kitchen, smelling whatever Jane was cooking the closer she got to the small building. Over the building, there was smoke emerging from the small chimney, through it was barely seen as it spewed up into the darkened sky.

Soon, she reached the door, opening it before quickly getting inside and closing it behind her. It was a small room with just a few wooden tables and chairs with a couple of stoves off to the left. There, she noticed Jane and Julia cooking something while Amy was sitting at one of the tables reading a book. The only source of light in the room were a few lit lanterns.

Hearing the door close, Jane and Julia both turned to see who came in and soon noticed Alex walking over them. "Hello," all three said almost at once.

Alex walked over to the table where Amy was sitting. "What are you cooking?"

"Just some of that deer we found yesterday and some beans," Julia replied. She smiled a little. "Nothing special."

"Better than no food," Alex said. She then looked over at Amy, who gazed up at her and smiled. "What are you reading?" Alex asked.

Amy held up the book to show her the cover. "Tales of the Fourth Grade Nothing. Have you read it?"

Alex shook her head. "No I haven't. Is it good?"

"I guess. I really wanted to bring my Harry Potter collection with me, but Mommy said they were too heavy to bring here. I did bring The Sorcerer's Stone with me." Amy stared down at the current book she was reading. "I like reading, especially now because I can imagine myself as one of the people in the book and be at other places."

Alex found herself frowning a bit. "I see."

She then happened to look over to where Jane and Julia were and noticed Jane sighing a bit. Julia noted this as well and frowned a little. "Are you all right?" she asked.

Jane forced a smile. "I'm fine. It's just, well… I can't help but thinking about what happened to my sister and my nephew. Every day, I keep wondering where they are and whether or not they survived. Despite what Ken had seen, I still hold on to that hope… but then I worry about Ken as well because something tells me he's thinking of the worst."

Jane then looked over at Amy, who's attention was still on the book she was reading, before going into a whisper. "I've been trying so hard to be strong for Amy and Ken. Heck, I've been trying to be strong for everyone here because I find myself wanting to take good care of all of you. But, dear God, I wish Will was here with us more than anything. I was so confident that the three of us would get here safely… I never imagined Amy and I would be separated from him."

Jane found herself getting misty-eyed, and she turned away from Julia, who placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know it's been three weeks, and there must be a reason why Guile is being held up. I can only imagine that he'll try to get here as soon as he can. I don't think he would just leave you and your daughter here. And when he gets here, he'll be proud of all of us… not only have you taken care of all of us, but he'll also know that we took good care of you and Amy."

The older woman smiled a bit after hearing this. "I hope you're right, Julia."

Hearing this whole conversation, Alex found herself feeling more depressed. Ever since the invasion began, she tried to stay as positive as possible, even though she was fully aware that not everyone was going to feel the same.

But then again, Alex knew that her situation could have been much, much worse. Both her parents had died years ago, and she was only expecting her aunt to arrive. However, before the invasion, her aunt had mentioned a possible Florida state lock-down if the invasion happened, and a part of her realized that might have occurred, hence why she hadn't shown up yet.

Depression wasn't the only thing, knowing that many lives were destroyed in a single day… there was also the stress of wondering whether or not Outworld would invade once more to finish off the rest of them, and even then, how long will the wait be? There were the constant thoughts of how to prepare and how to fight back if they were to return. Then there was the wondering of how long they would be here and whether or not they really did have enough supplies to last here for a while. Being in the Rocky Mountains in the dead of winter didn't help either as everyone had the fear of someone contacting an illness that might kill them.

And then, there was the somewhat feeling of abandonment. Everyone knew of Rose's death, but what about Raiden? Where was he and why had he not summon the chosen ones to help fight against Outworld? Was it because of their failure to obtain the Chishio No Me medallion in the tournament that the Thunder God had chosen not gather them any longer?

With all this in mind, Alex realized that she no longer had an appetite.

Standing herself up, she decided to take her leave. The scrapping of the chair legs against the concrete floor caught Jane and Julia's attention, seeing Alex starting to exit the kitchen.

"I thought you were hungry," Julia said.

Alex stopped in her tracks and looked over at her, giving her a weary smile. "I, um, just realized I'm not as hungry as I thought I was, but thanks anyway. If Amy is still hungry after the first plate, go ahead and give her my plate."

"Thank you," Jane replied with a smile.

Seeing them turning their attention back to the food, Alex quickly grabbed a MRE bag, just in case. Leaving the kitchen, she found herself once again out in the cold, windy fort and began heading over to her tent.

Shao Kahn's Fortress, Outworld

Throughout much of her life, Jade had seen many things that would shock her. After many years of it, however, she mostly became immune to it, almost to the point where anything shocking no longer garnered a reaction from her.

Standing in the dark hallway of the dungeon, she found herself feeling that shock for the first time in ages. On her left, Sindel and Kitana stood in their places. Sindel always had pale eyes ever since her resurrection, so the green-clad woman didn't realize until she gazed at Kitana that they were now brainwashed soldiers. Jade had hoped it didn't happen, but in a way, she had expected it a little.

But despite that, it was the person on her right who gave her the shock she hardly ever felt anymore. With the same pale eyes as the two Edenians, Sonya Blade stood in her spot as well. Like everyone else at the end of the Blood Tournament in the cave, Jade thought that she had died at the hands of Kira. Jade had even watched her being carried to her room, no longer breathing, in the cave.

Now, however, Sonya was resurrected and was being used as a brainwashed soldier just like Kitana and Sindel.

"Do you like your surprise?" a woman's voice suddenly said. Hearing it from the direction near where Sonya stood, Jade turned her head just in time to see the Outworld Empress herself emerging from the shadows. A side smirk played on her lips and it was almost as though she was mocking the former assassin.

Anger took her Jade, but she did her best to remain calm even through she was clutching tightly to her bo staff. "Shao Kahn would brainwash them and use them for his own gain!"

"But at least they're alive," Ivy mentioned. "You should be at least grateful for that."

Jade shifted her green eyes to Sonya. "Speaking of being alive, I see that you resurrected a friend of mine from Earth."

"Hmm," Ivy said. "Shao Kahn mentioned you knew each other, but I wasn't really sure. I guess your words confirm it. Of course, as you can see, she was indeed resurrected. One of a handful of Raiden's warriors who managed to stop Shao Kahn from merging Earth with Outworld the first time he tried to invade. When our guards found her body in a cave, which we didn't know was ever inhabited during the tournament, Shao Kahn couldn't waste an opportunity to bring such a strong warrior to his side."

Ivy then turned her head to Kitana and Sindel. "The same with your fellow Edenians as well." She smirked even more. "And if you cooperate, my dear, we'll let you live… and you'll get the chance to reunite with them once more."

Jade narrowed her eyes. "You know my answer. And hear this… no matter how long it takes, my friends will be free from your dark magic!"

"I expected you to say something like that," Ivy said. "But just so you know… trying to 'talk' them out of it will not work. It may have worked for Sindel when Kitana freed her, but it won't work this time. The hold on them is much stronger now than it was then."

"I see Shao Kahn is trying to learn from his past mistakes."

"Of course, my dear. He swore to never let his mistakes happen again, and so far, he's kept his word. You couldfree them… but I have a feeling the only method available to you will not be to your liking."

Jade knew immediately what she meant. "We'll see about that."

Having enough of talking, Jade attempted to launch herself towards Ivy, but she barely took three steps before she found herself blocking an incoming kick from Sonya.

"Damn it," Jade muttered as she also noted both Kitana and Sindel surrounding her now.

As much as Ivy wanted to fight Jade herself, she knew that this was what Shao Kahn requested. Turning her back and walking away from the scene, she said aloud, "We'll see how long it'll take for you to survive."

For a couple of minutes, Jade found that she was defending herself from Sonya's attacking, noting right away how fast the blond woman was. Whether it was from the brainwash or was something she had prior, Jade wasn't sure.

Eventually, however, Sonya managed to land a kick on Jade's stomach, causing her to stagger back a little. This gave Sindel the opportunity to grab Jade and get her in a headlock behind her. As Jade struggled to get out of the hold, Kitana stepped in, landing a few punches to Jade's face before grabbing her arm and pulling her forward. Finding herself flying forward, Jade was then suddenly kicked by Sonya's boot, the force of it knocking her to the ground on her back.

Jade shook her head, trying to get rid of the suddenly dizzy sensation that was trying to overtake her. However, she saw Kitana standing over her, raising her leg up to kick down at her. Jade managed to roll out of the way in him just as the foot slammed down.

"Ugh," she uttered as she tried to get herself back up on her feet, feeling a bit dizzy from the recent attacks.

Finding herself surrounded by all three again, Jade realized that this was going to be a losing battle. Even if she did attempt to try to free them from the brainwash, who knows how long it would take, especially with three of them beating her nearly at once.

The last thing she wanted to do in the meantime was kill any of her allies. That was the method Ivy hinted at after all…

"Sorry to leave you," Jade said as she grabbed a small handful of sand from a pouch she carried. "But I can't let it happen this way. I'll come back to free you."

Quickly, she threw down the sand and an explosion occurred, creating a heavy green smoke. Kitana, Sindel, and Sonya found themselves coughing and backing away a bit. However, by the time they stared back up and the smoke dispersed, Jade was gone.

Himalayan Mountains

Scanning current location of superior, a voice in a control system said.

Hiding amongst the trees and using her night vision, Matrik scanned her surrounding area and beyond. For countless days, she trekked along the area, seeing nothing more than trees, snow, and mountains.

Her system knew what she was looking for… the Lin Kuei clan, specifically Frost, her 'superior.' When she awoke back at the Lin Kuei temple, she received a message to find Frost's location. From there, she would follow further instructions.

Using her technology, she was able to closely track areas where Frost walked through earlier. During her journey, she noted members of the Brotherhood of Shadow and overheard that they, too, were looking for the Lin Kuei. Since she was under other orders, she went ahead of them while they were scouting for corpses left in the snow.

Then, in her scans, she spotted a village in a very far distance. Locking in on it, it gave her brief detail on the village, a isolated area.

Current superior location confirmed. Time of travel: about three days.

Hearing this and knowing that she was close to Frost, Matrik began moving forward, not wanting to waste another minute…

England

Sitting at a desk in a computer lab, Nina found herself checking out files she had been putting off for quite some time. Originally, she was there to check on Steve's file, considering how it was MI-6 who's job was to protect him from those out to kill him from winning a match they wanted him to lose, costing them money.

And during her last search, she found the file. What really caught her interest, however, was the fact that there was a folder with the Mishima Zaibatsu's name written on it. Having… dealt with the corporation in the past, Nina was curious to know what Steve's connections were with them.

She didn't have enough time then, knowing that she had to get into the file with a password. She managed, just yesterday, to figure out a Colonel's password while she was standing over him as he checked on a civilian status. She had been simply waiting for him to finish that before they discussed her gun knowledge.

Typing the Colonel's name and password, Nina was able to easily gain access to the folder. She then found herself sighing a bit with annoyance, noting even more files, some she realized, not related to Steve.

This will be fun, she thought as she read through them.

Then, she noted one in particular; Cryogenetic Research.

Naturally, having been in cryo-sleep for nineteen years in the Mishima Zaibatsu facility, Nina was curious as to what the file held. Clicking on it, she was somewhat relieved to know that she didn't need a password for it.

There were only two folders. One said, 'Subject 1: Nina,' the other; 'Subject 2: Anna.'

Reading that second name always left a bad taste in her mouth.

After clicking on the one with her name on it, Nina read through all the research done while she was in cryo-sleep. Many of them she knew was done, but there were a few she never even thought could possibly occur, leaving her somewhat annoyed.

The least they could've done was inform me of their projects upon my awakening, she thought.

Then, Nina found one, at the very bottom, that made her blue eyes widen in surprise, a rarity for her. Shock came over her, for a moment.

She found herself reading the research name out loud. "Invitro-Fertilization…"

Until reading that word, Nina had no idea that anything like this was done to her. After the brief shock went over her, she soon felt anger. During her sleep, she had been violated. It was bad enough that the sleep itself was done against her will, being captured after failing an assassination assignment.

"Just wait until I get my hands on whoever had decided to do this," Nina growled.

Forcing herself to calm down for a moment, Nina then noted that there was a link below, realizing that a drop-down menu would give her more information…

That's when she heard footsteps starting to come into the lab. Realizing that this would have to wait, Nina quickly pressed the escape button a couple of times, getting herself out of the files before anyone saw.

"Nina?" a male voice said. The young woman turned to see Steve stepping a couple of feet into the room.

"What do you want?" she asked, a bit annoyed.

"Um… sorry to interrupt, but I was told to inform you that the General wanted to see you as soon as possible."

Nina stood up from her seat, her face still retaining her cold expression as always. "What does he want?"

"Just about your progress on your gun lessons, but that's all I know."

Without another word Nina began to take her leave, pacing herself as she did. Steve felt a chill run up his left arm as she walked by, not liking the feeling.

Cammy was right, Steve thought to himself. Sheiscold.

Rocky Mountains, USA

The tents that were used at the fort were thick and strong enough to withstand harsh winds and heavy snow, only moving slightly like waves in an ocean on a cool, breezy summer day at the beach. It also helped to raise the room temperature inside, through it still felt a bit nippy. The heavy blankets that were provided for each tent truly helped with keeping the occupants warm.

To Alex, it was better than being outside. Sitting on her cot, she had taken off her leather jacket, but had a heavy blanket wrapped around her arms. A single lantern was lit, the only source of light in the tent. She had since let her hair down and had just eaten some of her ready-to-eat meal. However, still heavy with thoughts of hers and everyone's futures an hour after leaving the kitchen, she wasn't able to eat everything.

Wrapping the remaining contents back in the bag, she placed it underneath the cot, more than likely to finish the rest either in the middle of the night or in the morning. At times like this, she was glad for her military training. All the times of rationing food and dealing with hunger during basic training was paying off.

Thinking of the military made her frown even more, as she thought about her demotion from first to second lieutenant after leaving for Outworld without permission… all because she followed a potential intruder who got on a ship without anyone knowing. She never even caught the guy, who was not human anyway.

She knew she deserved the demotion, but at the same time, it made her feel somewhat degraded and shameful as Special Forces had her focused more on local work rather than international work like in the old days. It was most likely coincidence that this kind of work came up, but she still couldn't help but think it all came with her demotion.

"Have I gone delusional?" she whispered out loud.

Alex's thoughts were soon cut off as the flap of the tent was pushed back, and she noticed Kenshi walking in. As he walked in, he removed the scabbard containing his katana from his torso before placing it at a corner of the tent. She briefly looked at the time on her watch and noted that he had another six hours before his watch shift.

For a couple of minutes, there was silence between them, a normal occurrence since Kenshi became a vigilante. Usually, when he came in the tent after a day of training, something that kept him busy, Alex was asleep by then. If not, she would be getting ready for bed. It was practically the same back at her apartment as well, more or so while he was getting ready to leave for the night.

After taking his boots and gloves off, Kenshi spoke. "You're bothered by something."

Alex sighed a little. "I hate it when you figure something out."

"Would you rather I was quiet about it?"

She stared at him. "Depends on what it is."

"That doesn't help."

Another sigh escaped her lips. "I've just been mentally exhausted over a lot today."

"About the invasion?"

"That especially. Then there's the wait for the next one, the health and well being of our allies, not just here, but also those we knew during the tournament."

Alex got herself off the cot and paced around the room a bit. "Then I worry for my aunt too. I know there's the possible lock-down in Florida, but I still find myself wondering if she lived through the initial attack. And at times, I wonder if our failure at the tournament made Raiden turn his back on us-"

"We didn't fail," Kenshi mentioned. "We were planning to retrieve it even if Jin Kazama lost the tournament. Unfortunately, circumstances beyond our control occurred and we were forced to return to Earth before we all lost our lives."

As he spoke, Alex noted his calm demeanor, which reminded her that the swordsman had been mostly like this since the invasion. She knew there wasn't much for him worry about since his own parents also died years ago. Also, there was the fact that the sorcerer Shang Tsung had been 'taken care of' by his own sword, so there was no worry over that.

"Despite everything that's happening around us, you don't seem a bit worried, at least you're not showing it," Alex mentioned. "After Sagat, you're the calmest one around here, and I almost wish I was able to feel that."

"You have to be," Kenshi said as he stood himself up, standing a foot in front of her. "However, even with that in mind, I'm still getting that dark feeling… it's that feeling I can't explain."

"… The feeling you mentioned back in Utah."

Kenshi nodded. "I'm thinking it's just the changing environment from the invasion."

"Probably," Alex agreed.

"Still, I want you to be careful. I don't think there's much to worry about yet since the invasion wasn't all that long ago. Still, I imagine there are a few leftovers from Outworld hanging around, if anything."

Alex stayed silent, knowing why Kenshi was making this request. During their time in Outworld, she found herself captured a couple of times, one by Shang Tsung, and one which nearly killed her. She looked down at her wrists, noting the light scars around them from one of her ordeals, and can only think of the ones on her back.

She then looked up at Kenshi before closing the space between them. Without saying another word, she leaned up towards him before pressing her lips against his. Alex had only expected to do this for a couple of seconds, but as she started to pull away, she felt him wrap one arm around her waist and another around her shoulder, resting his hand behind her head before adding more fervor into the kiss.

For a while, they were like this, and both found that they hadn't been this close, not even remotely, since before the invasion. As she placed her arms around his shoulders, Alex realized how much she needed this right now… to be able to clear her mind from any thoughts, to just pretend that everything that was now happening around them wasn't occurring… just for a few minutes.

It was almost like reading a book, drowning yourself into something just to escape for a little while. Obviously, what was happening now was much, much different, but at least it would have the same results.

Alex pulled back a little, briefly breaking the kiss. She found herself catching her breath as his lips traveled down some of the more sensitive areas of her neck. She arched herself closer to him in reply.

After a minute, Kenshi decided to move himself so that they were closer to the cot nearby, lifting Alex a bit before laying her down on her back. He then moved himself so that he was top of her before leaning back down to lock lips with her once more.

For once, Alex was grateful for the harsh wind outside, which concealed the sounds of her heavy breathing as the two consummated.

Lei Chen, Outworld

"Hey!" a member of the Lei Chen Army called out to a fellow comrade. He had noted his friend leaving the city walls and out into Outworld's open land.

The younger man stopped in his tracks after hearing the soldier calling out for him. The latter stopped a couple of feet away. "Where are you going?"

He didn't turn around, but spoke anyway. "The General asked me to do some scouting to the North. He wanted to see if there are any tarkatans up in that area."

"I see… but usually they send two of us on a mission like that."

"He wanted someone to go alone so that it's easier to not be detected. Don't tell anyone I told you, however. The mission was supposed to be classified."

"I see. Well, carry on, and don't get yourself killed."

"I won't."

With that, the young man began leave. He got himself towards a mountain area mostly surrounded by rocks and boulders.

After emerging, Shang Tsung approaching the tarkatan campsite. He immediately noticed Baraka waiting for him with Mileena standing a couple of feet behind him.

"Well?" Baraka said.

A smirk came over the sorcerer's "I can officially confirm that neither Ermac nor Siegfried are currently present at the city."

"Just in time," Mileena replied. "Because while you were gone, we received a message from Shao Kahn."

Baraka continued for her. "We are to attack at dawn. Now that we're sure that those two inferior pests are not there, it'll be much easier for us to wipe out the city once and for all."

"All those bodies for us to feast upon!" Mileena cried out with excitement.

And all the souls I could obtain, Shang Tsung thought to himself. And when all is done, I will be taking a… brief leave from Outworld to take care of my own agenda! That wretched swordsman better be prepared for my arrival!

The sorcerer managed to smirk. "Yes… all the bodies for you to feast upon. That's for your army to enjoy, of course."

Baraka and Mileena resisted the urge to stare at each other. They still planned to 'take care' of the sorcerer, feeling that he's more of a nuisance to the Emperor than anything else. They just have to keep themselves on their toes, just in case he had his own plan up his sleeve.

"Until then," Shang Tsung continued. "We'll prepare for dawn."