Epilogue

Raiden saw red and orange pennants rippled softly in the hot breeze from the window-arches above the brass-in laid double doors. The lava in a large gaping fire pit at the centre bathed the room in arterial red. Deep, insidious shadows lay all around, cast by a steady glow. All the walls had been stripped down to black stone, semi-reflective latch chiselled away from the floor to reveal the gullied, rough bricks beneath, it's upper reaches lost in darkness. Chains and hooks hung from there.

Shao Kahn and Shinnok confronted him.

"I hope you're happy banishing your brother."

"The moment he became evil emperor of Outworld, he is no longer my brother and you are not my father anymore."

"Raiden, look! This family is broken. You should mend ties you severed with us." said Shinnok.

"No matter how tight the knot is, but the ropes will still be loose."

"Then you are disowned from this family."

This initiated a fight between Raiden and Shao Kahn alongside Shinnok. The battle proved to be one of the toughest the Thunder God had ever endured. Weakened from his recent ordeals, Raiden struggled greatly against Shao Kahn and Shinnok. Even though he took several serious blows in the melee, Raiden hurled every last bit of his strength against his older brother and his father... and just barely managed to defeat him.

"I regret being born within this family."

The weather cleared in the evening, and the sun went down in a glory of gold. All the allies appeared gathered within Edenia's Grand Palace's

The throne room was a vast chamber. High tiered balconies admitted dim light. Gigantic statues of King Jerrod and Sindel towered against the walls and at the middle of the room where column spires had burning incense. A long red carpet led up to a large throne canopied beneath huge velvet drapes.

All the allies appeared on the high tiered balconies. Vapor tried to recall the voluptuous red-haired young woman in black robe she saw in the Prison of Souls.

"Woah, hold up! You're telling you're Omegis who once walked with Shang Tsung."

"Yes."

"Now, you're skilled in potions and various magic?"

"I am, yes." said Omegis.

"How?" asked blue.

"You seemed to be back in that deteriorated mental state. Allow me to give you an example! Drink this potion!"

"I don't know."

"I said drink it!"

As Blue drank the potion, she felt something strange yet pleasant.

"I'm cured. I'm cured. It feels like my body and my mind are good as new. Now, I'm no longer going back to Valleyview mental institution. This reeks torture there. Thank you, Omegis."

"I don't think it's only that you should thank me for. You might want to test your powers." said Omegis.

"What?"

"Come with me!"

They all looked at where Omegis was leading the emo girl. There, she was made to stand in front of a glass cube which contained a red soul.

"Test it on this corrupt soul!"

"I don't know about that."

"One way to find out. If you just gently lift up this lid, that's good. Now, place your hands on it!"

She noticed her hands glowed magnesium white light.

"My hands…"

"Concentrate!"

The powers were cut off.

"You didn't focus enough. Try again!"

"I don't know if I can make it."

"Try again!"

"Ok, Ok, I get it."

She tried set the sequence again. Omegis silently gestured her to keep up the progress. Once again, she failed.

"Don't despair! You'll get there eventually. Cilene! Show her how it's done!"

Cilene, who was now in a white kimono Abaya with gold embroidery similar to Ashrah, approached the corrupt soul and effortlessly made the soul transparent. Blue was flabbergasted by this sight.

"That's amazing."

"I was taught by Ashrah."

Terrafaux, Mabasen and Lieutenant Lance sat at the table. Mabasen reflected.

"That was the most terrifying moments for me. First, I had a fight with a Shaolin monk in a tournament set by a vile sorcerer to drained my soul and tormented me in the Netherrealm. If it weren't for that man who shoots lightning, we'd be who knows how long we'd get stuck in this dreadful realm."

"Look on the plus side, we can enjoy the fresh breeze of Edenia."

"You're right."

Fortran couldn't get over his nightmares in the Netherrealm.

"I don't believe this. First my ma. Then my Malaysian neighbours. After that Nitara tried to kill me for my blood? Everyone died in Earthrealm? That screaming woman turned nasty? Raiden being duped by the Elder Gods and beaten by his own brother? The Shang Tsung guy? Now, a tournament in the Netherrealm proved to be a trick? Shao Kahn's father took over the tournament?"

"Calm down!" said Mabasen.

"Calm down? How can I calm down especially with the loss of those close to me while a madman rules the Netherrealm and Outworld?"

"I understand your impatience." said Mabasen.

"You understand nothing. You've lost your own. What do you know about my loss?" asked Fortran.

"I'll let you in a little secret, boy. Do you think you're the only one who suffers from the loss of someone close? Well, you're wrong. Sometimes, I just sit down and think about how I fought a Shaolin monk in the tournament and the sorcerer snatched my soul and placed me into the Netherrealm. I think of those close to me. So, go ahead! Be a loud mouth! Go try your cheap tricks! Try showing off! But do not say I have no one close to me! Those close to me were the half-Outworlders half-tigers who took me in Léi Chén when I had no one."

"Goodness, I had no idea."

"Well now you do." said Mabasen.

"You are not Shinnok. Don't be him!" said Ashrah.

Cilene trained Blue to be specialised in the powers of light. She still wasn't able to master it. The Indigenous Guatemalan-looking Edenian servant girl, who was freed from Prison of Souls, carried a metal tray with old bronze chalices. Steam came out of them. Each receiver took a chalice. They had full of hot drinks. Everyone began to sip the hot drink.

"It is something we had before." said Blue.

"It's very sweet and foamy and creamy." said Mokap.

"Edenia has the best drinks." said Mabasen.

"Now, that's a drink I could appreciate. Thank you, girl." said Fortran.

"My name is Maaya." said the Edenian servant girl.

"Maaya? That's a nice name."

"Thank you, Fortran. I remember the horrible moments when the evil emperor had his servants torture me and killed me. You saved me." she cracked with emotions.

"Don't worry, Maaya. You're safe with us." Fortran assured.

Maaya looked at Fortran with a smile to which Fortran expressed his admiration.

Fortran approached Raiden who appeared before the others. They were all relieved at their saviour.

"Master Raiden, that…"

"I know. Shinnok used this tournament to see you weaken Lucifer and he absorbed his soul. But on the plus side, you're free from these terms."

"Terms that he imposed without my agreement." Fortran recalled.

"He referred to you as son. Is this true?" asked Ashrah.

This caught everyone's attention, except Fortran who knew. Raiden hesitated and decided to explain.

"What you must understand is that…"

Fortran noticed the arrival of Cage and Mokap. They were in shock to see him.

"It cannot be." Mokap was in disbelief.

"Are you really alive or is it just me?" asked Cage.

"That's right. I thought it was just me." said Mokap.

"No, how can it be just you when we both are seeing you alive?" Cage confirmed his suspicion.

"Alright you, two, wha… Fortran? Is that really you?"

"Perhaps, I'll pinch you and that will snap you out." Cage grinned.

"Don't even think about it!" warned Sonya.

"Ok, sure, fine." snapped Cage.

"Yes, I died. I went through a lot in the dark and cruel realm where I was made to fight wave after wave. It feels like moments when I'm seeing you all here. But thanks to Raiden, here we all are."

"Years have passed since you died."

"Yes, years have passed. But, it's not over."

"What do you mean?" asked Mokap.

"Well, to put it this way, the way I see it is that you not only crippled Shinnok's forces in Earthrealm. Fortran and of course his allies won the illegitimate tournament. Lucifer is defeated by Shinnok. Shinnok schemed this tournament which made you believe Lucifer was the one who held it."

A male voice interrupted.

"Raiden, sorry to interrupt."

They turned to look at a man who had very little hair with red markings on the top of his head running down the middle; the backside of his head had hair growing with a very long ponytail. A portion of his clothes were metal, while the other half was cloth; it was brown in colour however. He wore a thick belt with a circular belt buckle. He wore all black trousers with brown and gold boots.

"I hear a realm is said to be one of the last lines of defence against Netherrealm and Outworld. It is under attack."

"What realm, Dairou?"

"The realm of Hinpar." said Dairou.

"The realm of Hinpar? I heard stories. It is the largest realm and it is the realm of endless night. The architectures are similar to Hokkien architecture and those of Burma." said Fortran.

"You know of this realm?" asked Vapor.

"Sounds like he's familiar with it. We must hurry." said Raiden.

"What's the situation there?" asked Mabasen.

"No time to explain, we must leave now." said Dairou.

As they left the Great Palace of Edenia, they noticed a thirty feet tall black horned red skinned demon in armour which was heavier and more elaborate, bearing spiked epaulettes, appearing before the defenders of the realms. At the centre of the armour was a piece what appeared to be similar to the Netherrealm Kamidogu.

"Ok, I thought Lucifer was thrown out of the Netherrealm." said Fortran.

"I am Belokk, demon and demi-god of the Netherrealm. Lord Shinnok promised that once I finish you, I will be given a reward."

"Oooh, reward. What would reward be?"

"Well, the reward by Lord Shinnok would be… well… that's, that's none of your concern, mortal."

"That man who got his shin knocked out by his own son, Raiden. How is this even possible?"

"FOOLISH MORTAL, I was the one who helped Lord Shinnok get the throne." roared Belokk.

"Oh great, another child betrays his or her parents to prove their selfish gains. I've heard too many stories about this. Lucifer started that tournament to see how long I was going to last." sighed Fortran.

"I told Lord Shinnok to scheme this tournament to get rid of Lucifer."

"You what?"

"You heard. Don't be so surprised! The tournament was something I called to organise. This way, I was wanting to see who would be superior to be Lord Shinnok's enforcer. While Quan Chi set Lord Shinnok's plans which were to kill the pathetic humans who made Shang Tsung look weak and… oh yes, for Shao Kahn to be killed by his little brother."

"You called the shots?!"

"I planned to get the tournament to see how strong you are to be his minions. Because, you killed my wife, Lilith, Lord Shinnok wanted to finish you. Hideyoshi, Shao Kahn, Moloch, N26 were going to finish you. No one could last against them. But you killed them. I'm going make sure your reduced to ashes."

"You did this out of your selfish gains?!"

"HELPING LORD SHINNOK IS NOT SELFISH."

"Are you sure? Lilith? She went whoosh towards me, vroom, choish, all down the lava." Fortran explained about her death.

"Are you calling me a liar? Lilith was about to get you, but you had tricks up your sleeves and finished her."

"Oh I get it, you get him to rest on the throne after his shin got knocked by me."

"I'm going to eat your roasted flesh for that."

"Why you…"

Raiden held Fortran back.

"You've done enough in the Netherrealm."

Raiden and Belokk fought in hand to hand combat. This fight could be more arduous if Raiden didn't know the secret. Fortran's spider vision showed Belokk was highlighted red which symbolised he was an enemy plus he noticed fires within the demon half-god. The demon half-god jumped across the area and caused shockwaves to emanate out from underneath him when he came down crashing. Raiden disappeared from the shockwaves.

Raiden was a determined combatant, and not easily liable to run away from a challenge. Even the monster's gigantic size might prove no limit, he had faced such disparity before; size was often in inverse proportion to agility. Fortified for combat, Raiden's miracles was found within his lightning powers. Yet the beast swooped down a mighty arm, and snatched him off his feet. He felt time was running out. The demon who betrayed his father, Lucifer, proceeded to pummel Raiden and mercilessly flung him across the arena with utter disdain.

The determined thunder deity staggered to his feet due to the heat from his massive hands and ran aside, as the massive fist smashed to the ground behind him. He had few enough reserves to withstand that sort of punishment for long, it was surely more prudent to stay out of reach.

Belokk spewed a massive wall of fire at Raiden who used his lightning powers to launch himself upwards and unloaded combo after combo on his foe until he was dead. Also, he avoided getting close to Belokk as he had a habit of igniting himself on fire. Getting close to him would mean he would be charred to death. Fortran encased him inside a cocoon and defeated him.

The ground was illuminated by thin rays of sunlight from above. For a moment Belokk faltered, and covered his eyes. Fortran turned to see it was no sunlight, but lights from Ashrah, Blue, Kotal Kahn and Cilene. Cast into the depths to eke out miserable existence, these creatures, known in legendary tales of terror as the demon half-god, inhabited perpetual gloom of the Netherrealm. Now Shinnok's dark magic had turned him into mutant creature of the dark.

Fortran again wrapped him in a cocoon, allowing Sub-Zero and Freezer to encase him in ice.

"I think I'm going to need some ice cubes in my beverages. It's getting hot in here." said Fortran.

"When we go to the Lin Kuei temple, we'll cool down there." said Freezer.

"Who was that?" asked Lori.

"Belokk, the son of Lucifer." said Raiden.

"What of him?" asked Lori.

"Belokk was the one that orchestrated the tournament and sought to expel Lucifer and placed Shinnok on the throne. His real intention was to look for anyone suited for Shinnok's endeavour." Raiden explained.

"No way. What shall we do with Belokk?" said Blue.

"Let's just say he's preparing for his journey back to the Netherrealm!" said Raiden.

"Raiden, it's good to see you." said Blue.

"You too, Blue. I hope you're recovered." said Raiden.

"Thanks to the sorceress, Omegis, she helped me too."

Fortran reflected.

"Despite all the losses around me, I managed to salvage some. My mother and my Malaysian neighbours died due to Connor who happened to be Kano's son. Nitara who was my beloved was killed by a girl in blue and became a vampire because of Lucifer. Of all the families – Kronika, Cetrion, Shinnok, Shao Kahn; Lord Raiden is the only one is that left since he can't bear such a dysfunctional family. As for me, who am I? I'm an orphan born in the slums of Cambodia, a student of Master Cho, a human half-deity who has the powers of Anansi, a tortured soul of the Netherrealm, a chosen combatant by Master Raiden dedicated to fight for not only Earthrealm, but other realms too. My fighting skills are scorpion mixed with that of a spider. I'm a spider. I'm Fortran."

In his mind's eye, Fortran swung away from one web from his hand to web fired from his mouth across Dubai. High over the buildings, he noticed how wide Al Badaa' Street was. It was to be admitted that a wide gap such as this would have proved too much of an obstacle for average human. The special abilities granted from Anansi served each the same purpose.

High over the buildings, Fortran cast out his string of web to swing onwards from a banner pole, then released and launched upwards towards a residential skyscraper. He sprang out acrobatically to cling to a filament of web fired from his mouth. He saw his path, and ran out on a wall where he cast his spider webs to a lantern guttering high over his scampering feet. He launched himself towards the pinnacle of Burj Khalifa, the iconic tower in UAE.

From the top of Burj Khalifa, he looked out on the impressive sight of the city – city of where the Red Dragon soldier called Houjoum was originally from. He spotted an A380 Emirates jumbo jet ploughing through the clouds.

He jumped towards it and landed on its left wing. He straightened up and checked himself over. The whirrs from Rolls Royce Trent 900 don't seem to leave his ears. Inside the airplane, a little boy looked at Fortran on the wing. Average humans would be afraid of heights. Fortran would launch from one place to the other.

With daring and timing, and judicious use of his spider powers, he gathered his strength and ran out on the wing, high above the city stretched out below.

Next to the little boy, a woman in hijab noticed Fortran's daring leap. The woman with in shock and forbade her son to look at his reckless athleticism. He employed his jumping spider's hop and by a superhuman leap into air, he remained suspended in the air even higher than Burj Khalifa while the jumbo soared across the air.

- THE END -