Chapter 10
The Challenge
Some Time Later.
WOOSH—
CLANK!
The bladed edge of Kung Lao's hat embedded into the side of a metal sheet propped up against a tree. It cut through for the most part and stuck into the sheet at an awkward angle.
"See? That's not even hard!" Frost shouted out. "First try, even!"
"Cute." Kung Lao scoffed as he walked past her. "Your balance is off. You have poor follow-through," he said as he made a motion with his hand for proper throwing technique. "You would never hit a live target with that. Needs more style. Grace, even."
"You tryin' to piss me off Kung Lao? That was a great shot! You wanna move on to throwing daggers? You wanna beat me at my game?"
Lao held out his hand and the hat returned to him and was back on his head in one slick motion. He graced the bladed edge with a slick of his fingertip. "I can. I will."
"You wanna make a bet?!" Frost stomped as she spoke.
Kung Lao replied with a calmness equal to a soft breeze. "Monks don't gamble."
"Coward."
"Name your price."
Frost had quite a laugh after that. She held her stomach and threw her head back. "Oh man, did I hit a nerve already?! Sharp hat, flimsy ego."
"Loud mouth," Kung Lao tossed his hat at the sheet of metal and hit it to cleave clean through while the hat remained straight. "Poor follow-through."
"Enough," Sub-Zero said as he paced past the bickering duo. "This is unbecoming behavior of a potential Grandmaster and a leader among the monks. Stop bickering like children. There is a time and place." Sub-Zero paused and looked ahead. Kitana, Jade, and the others were returning without Mileena, Liu Kang, Ferra, and Torr. Worry overtook his heart as he marched forward firmly to meet them halfway.
Frost gave Kung Lao one last glare before following her mentor. "I'm taking that hat." She said as she quickly caught up to Kuai Liang's stride.
"Kuai Liang," Kitana spoke up once in earshot. "Mileena has embarked on a special task for Sheeva. Liu Kang is in her company, we've little to worry about."
"Johnny Cage has departed back to Earthrealm," Kuai explained. "We will need the Special Forces and as much help as we can muster. My intentions have not changed to rescue my daughter, I hope this is understood."
Nido approached the group slowly. His eyebrows were lowered and his eyes searched the area for the source of an other-wordly chill. "Jade." Nido spoke up to draw her attention. She hurried to his side while Kitana and Sub-Zero continued speaking. Nido drove his spear into the dirt and slowly scanned the area around them.
"What is the issue?" Jade asked. The posture of Nido made her get on her guard as well.
"Sorcery." Nido said in a whisper. "It's cold. I feel its chill in the air. I suppose chillier than the Outworld presence of magic. Someone is conjuring something to get here…or someone here is conjuring."
The fine hairs on the back of Jade's neck stood. She felt the chill just a few seconds before green and black swirls of energy opened up just a few meters away from where Sub-Zero and Kitana stood.
Everyone got on guard immediately. The Tarkatan warriors guarded their families as a battle was expected to break out.
The first step onto Tarkatan soil snapped the clean-picked skull of a discarded beast into dozens of shards. The mighty stomp of the new Kahn, Reiko pushed him through the void first. Following close behind him was Rain, Shang Tsung, Denise, Noob Saibot and lastly, Tessen.
"Make a move to attack me or my people and I'll wear your intestines to your funeral." Reiko spoke directly as his hammer dropped beside his foot with a loud thud.
"Princess." Rain gave a half-bow.
"Raviv." Kitana narrowed her eyes in disgust. "You've seen better days."
"That is a truth I cannot deny." Rain retorted with both hands partially raised in submission.
"We are going to keep this short." Reiko stated. "We have something you want. You have a realm we want. We've decided to join forces to snuff out the annoyance of Earthrealm once and for all. However, in the extreme interest of fairness, I challenge the War Realm to Mortal Kombat."
"What does the War Realm have to do with us Discount Kahn?" Kung Lao said with a snicker.
"We've defeated the War Realm in nine straight bouts. One more, and we will hold power over their world. We will be able to influence war in your realm until it destroys itself. Simple. But this plan is no fun if we do not get to kill you along the way, so." Reiko paced a bit to gather his words. "Noob Saibot Kahn and I have spoken, and we agree it is only fair you join the War Realm to aid them in Mortal Kombat. Of course, this means you by default inherit their record. If they lose, then…you lose as well. But at least you have a fighting chance—their warriors have grown short in number."
"You expose your hand to give us a 'chance'," Kuai Liang's skepticism drowned his tone. "What do you have that we want?"
"Your child." Noob Saibot's chilling voice rumbled. "Had you taken my prior invitation perhaps things could have been different."
"You cannot poison me with fault not of my own, Bi Han. This is trickery." Kuai snapped back.
Shang Tsung observed his fingernails as he stepped forward. "Of course you do not have to answer now. We will give you one day to consider your options. Once Kombat has been accepted, understand there is no going back. We will have our assassin, Tessen murder the child if you don't comply. Unless she goes the way of Shen-."
Kitana's war fan zipped to Shang's throat.
CLANG!
Tessen's katana smacked the weapon out of the air.
Bolts of lightning struck the katana next and surged through the young woman's body in a violent fury. The Outworld forces turned tail and backed through the portal to avoid further conflict as Tessen stayed behind. The electricity surged through her until she cast the lightning to the dirt.
Though all the fighters were prepared to jump in, Kitana clashed with Tessen head on, and took to the skies. Rapidly, Kitana's powers were fading in her fury
"You will take me to her!" Kitana screamed as the entire sky filled with violent stormy bolts of lightning.
"You're – not – really—her!" Tessen shouted in agony until Kitana's powers flickered. The two were several miles away already and tumbled down through rock structures in the wastelands of Outworld. As the rocks crumbled, Tessen and Kitana spilled out onto a stone slab overlooking the river.
Tessen drew her katana.
Kitana drew her tessens.
The clash between them was like a storm raging at a furious speed. Clashes were not unlike thunderstrikes, gone as quickly as they arrived. Shouts of power and anger left each woman as every other attack lacked strategy and seemed to aim for the kill – only to be met with precision on defense.
Strike for strike they figured one another out.
The position of their feet, the grace of their evasions, all of it felt like Kitana was fighting Mileena all over again.
Kitana's war fans were smacked free of each hand and left her wide-open for attack.
Tessen drove her foot into Kitana's stomach and she staggered back. Tessen went in for another strike but lost her breath. She immediately went into a bloody coughing fit against her mask and tried to cover her mouth to prevent the blood flow. Though this gave Kitana an opening.
"You're finished." She growled and thrust her palm forward to electrocute the girl – but nothing came out. Her power had been exhausted.
"Stop," Tessen pleased and wheezed for breath.
"Never, you monster!" Kitana marched forward. "Take me to Mo Chou immediately, or die!" She recalled a tessen to her hand and held it overhead. "You will obey me creature! I will slaughter you ALL!"
Tessen's pained eyes looked up to Kitana and held one hand out to her, pleading through her coughing. "Mother—please!" She wheezed and fell to a knee. Her sword hit the ground.
Kitana's wide eyes softened. Confusion took hold. "What?"
Tessen hung her head and pulled her mask away from her lips. She was a near image of her father with Kitana's eyes. She spat out blood onto the dirt and continued to breathe in pain.
"What are you? Who are you?" Kitana kept her weapon held high. "This is a trick. Sorcery!"
"It's not a trick. It's not sorcery…" She said while looking up at her mother with a bloodied mouth. "You can feel it. I know you can. I'm dying from the inside out because of your blood. That can't be faked."
"Shen?"Kitana's voice softened. She crouched down and dropped her weapon. She dropped her defenses. "If you're my daughter, why are you working with those madmen? Why have you taken Mo Chou?!"
"I have no choice." Shen sobbed. "I have to save you!" She punched the ground in frustration. "Take their offer. Please, mother. It's the only way to keep dad from dying! That's all I want. I want at least one universe where the both of you are okay! Even if that means I don't exist anymore. Take the damn tournament offer. Dad must win. He can't fail."
Kitana knit her brow. She placed her hand on Shen's shoulder. It felt strange, but her soul was telling her it felt right. "Breathe slowly. Relax. Tell me…everything."
Side Event: #02
Time-Jumper
Somewhere, a long time ago…
In the future.
"Everyday I wake up…
…It feels like I should go back to dreaming."
Earthrealm. A vast and beautiful plane of existence. It had known only prosperity and safety since coming under the command of the United Realm Federation after the fall of Lord Raiden. No more Mortal Kombat tournaments. No more meaningless death. Just the merciful love of the Titans. The cities had become futuristic versions of themselves practically overnight. Flying vehicles and towering high-rises that pierced the clouds weren't uncommon even in smaller cities.
Moonlight barely pierced the curtains of the room. Cool air made the occupant yearn for the warmth of their comforter immediately after they threw it off to sit on the side of their bed. She was alone, this dark-haired woman. Her hair was unkempt and her gaze just as tired as it was before she slept. Though not tired in the sense of lacking rest; but tired of existing with the weight pressing on her heart.
The neon glow was faint from the city outside, but it painted glowing slash-marks across her face dimly in the dark of her room until she stood. She lived alone, save for a rather large dog that sat on her bedroom floor.
"Gan, shouldn't you be sleeping?" The woman spoke as her bare feet moved across the carpeted floor. Her flowing red shirt served as an impromptu nightgown for comfort, but it rounded out her unkempt appearance inside of her high-floored apartment. She passed by a framed portrait of a warrior monk on her wall, and gave it a touch as she passed by it, as if she could siphon good fortune from the man.
After fetching herself a drink, she got herself cleaned up and ready for the night. Black gloves, black mask, and a matching sleeveless top and trousers followed. She sat on her knees in her living room and gently set down a katana before herself. Her fingertips brushed over the sheathe of the weapon and revealed several gold glowing Chinese characters on the black polished surface.
"I'm ready." She whispered and shut her eyes.
Thunder clapped outside and disturbed the peace and silence she'd held up until this time. The area around her felt electric like a pending thunderstrike loomed above her fingertips, and the pressure of dread weighed her down to the floor like a torrential downfall of cold rain. The emotional storm that brewed before her took form of a circular blue light that gave way to the entrance of a being beyond her realm of possibility. She was a Titan, not in statue but in power and presence. One look in her black eyes and their glowing blue centers were the things nightmares were made of, but her softer maternal facial features offset it quite a bit.
The woman was bald but wore a crown. As regal as anyone she'd ever seen, but as empty as her recently purchased wastebasket inside. The woman was the Titan of Time, Kronika, the supreme being with the ability to freeze and rewrite time as she willed it, given she held enough strength.
"You may rise. Your task is prepared," Kronika whispered. "We are getting closer. How is your health?"
"Medication every ten hours." The woman explained. "But I don't feel like I'm dying anymore. I do need to refill."
"You will get more once your next task is completed." Kronika said. "This is your last objective before you are proven worthy. Are you certain you are ready?"
"The quicker the better," The woman said while tipping her chin toward her chest. "Will Sub-Zero be joining me on this mission?"
"I am afraid you are alone here. You will be retrieving a special egg that has been discovered and stolen from time itself. The criminal foolishly jumped here via Nexus from another universe. He has an egg that belongs to me. Find him, retrieve the egg, and bring it to me where it rightfully belongs."
She bowed her head close to the floor with both of her hands flat on the ground. "Of course."
"Your target should be near the White Lotus Gardens in the city," Kronika instructed. "His name is Kano. He may be guarded. He is attempting to escape via another Nexus rift. Make sure he does not leave with the Egg. I will send you all of the digital information you require. Do not fail me."
With her instructions given, the woman in black left her apartment via the rooftop. Many buildings were close together, so she easily ran and jumped from roof to roof, and worked her way down toward the streets with the help of sleek fire escapes and using floating traffic lights as stepping stones on the deader sides of town.
When she reached the White Lotus Gardens, she stayed hidden on a nearby building's roof. Her slanted eyes were alert for anyone resembling Kano in the park. She drew a pair of long-distance scanners to confirm their presence before she approached. However, her privacy was ruined by a cold chill up her spine.
"Sub-Zero," The woman in black spoke under her breath, "to what do I owe the pleasure?" A frozen dagger zipped past her ear. The railing it struck flash-froze before her eyes. "So, it's not just a visit of concern, then?"
A female chuckled behind her. "Cousin!" She giggled playfully. The Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei, Sub-Zero – or rather Mo Chou was the near spitting image of her parents. One side of her head was shaved with the rest braided and draped over the other side. "I've been looking all over for you. Don't think you're getting off the hook."
"Don't have time for this, MoMo."
"C'mon! Fight me!"
"What do I gain, exactly?"
"You gain another loss and I gain bragging rights." Mo Chou giggled. "Don't tell me you're working again? Don't you do anything outside of that?"
"When we spoke this morning you told me you had several Cyber Lin Kuei to destroy."
"Done."
"Ship repairs?"
"Completed."
"Double checked the power cores?"
"Triple." Mo Chou said while examining her clawed glove out of boredom.
"What about that bounty the Cyber Lin Kuei put on your head?"
"Handled."
"How did you do all of that in one day?"
Mo Chou clicked her tongue and lowered her hand. "Efficiency. I think ahead before I act. You'd be easy to beat right now. You let your guard down too much, and when you're under pressure, your left hip and leg often put themselves in harm's way. You're a little off balance. Seems you had leg day fairly recently. Probably have some sore, sore muscles. You're stressed out and probably considering calling your ex and admitting something was your fault – because you're never certain you're doing the right thing even if you feel it in the moment."
There was a moment of silence.
The entire time the woman in black remained crouched and watched her cousin from over her shoulder. "Shut up." She faced forward and gazed into her scanner again.
"What's the job?" Mo Chou stepped closer to her and crouched as well.
"A man I've never heard of. A Time Jumper, Kano."
Mo Chou gave her a firm pat on the back. "Good luck, then. If you do need me, you know where to find me. Don't forget that you owe me a fight, too. I'll be watching your back if I get bored."
The woman in black's attention left Mo Chou as her scanner beeped. Kano was nearby. The reunion between the two was cut short and the woman in black waved a goodbye to her cousin before she was on her way. She dipped through a black portal beneath her feet and reappeared on the ground level in the shadows. The park section she entered was vacant as far as civilians went. However, a group of twenty-two that she'd counted were slowly marching through in attempts to avoid patrol. All of them were dressed in black.
The woman clutched the handle of her sword. She waited until her device confirmed each of them as from another dimension, and finally the presence of an egg in the possession of the man with half a toaster for a face, Kano. He was young, possibly in his early 30s, but he looked like a man who lived life drowning in the filth of it all – but he had a small child trailing close to him. He was closely followed by individuals wearing all black and dragon symbols. That was enough for her to confirm the time for execution was nigh.
For every four steps the men took through the heavily tree shaded park, she took one. They appeared to be getting ready to rest unbothered, but the woman in black didn't wait around to hear conversations and learn the brotherly bond between soon-to-be-slaughtered targets. She dropped in from a black portal overhead and before her feet touched ground four men were dead. Severed heads rolled as guns were drawn in her direction.
She welcomed the attackers with speedy motions that saw her slashing through limbs and weapons alike. There was no wasted energy as she cleaved and slaughtered through over a dozen men while keeping her eyes laser focused on the fleeing Kano, the child, and Kano's ally.
Seventeen dead, eighteen dead, and under a second per casualty. When the 20th body dropped and just the two remained, Kano's close ally stopped and stood in her way. Her blade swung to kill but ultimately failed as it met flamelicked fingertips.
The clash exploded with burning light that blinded her, and a strike to her center that knocked the wind from her lungs. She flew back into the pile of bodies she left with some just now falling in a pathetic lifeless manner.
The man who attacked her kept his burning palm stretched out and beckoned her back to him. His black mask was pulled off in a tight, bloody knuckled grip before it was cast aside.
"You're not real." The woman muttered as she sheathed her katana. It was going to do her no good here, and Kano was getting away.
"I assure you. I am very real." The man shook out his feet and took on a stance. "Liu Kang of the Black Dragon. I suggest you surrender before we begin."
"I've fought you before. Different, but looks like I've got to teach you a lesson too."
"Please, test me." The Black Dragon's Champion clenched his fists and put out the burning might within.
The space between them closed instantaneously. Liu Kang had an answer for her questioning fists. A counter, a rebuttal, and perhaps a pair of bruised ribs was her payment for challenging him. His kicks felt like high-speed car crashes when they connected with her face, but she kept her cool. One mistake was all it took to give Liu Kang everything he needed to win, and she'd learned this the hard way in time's past.
It was half well-practiced dance when it came to her sudden aggressive counters, and the other half was pure patience and training when the tides turned in her favor. Yet never once did she reach for her blade to fatally injure the man. She knew a weakness. As good as he was, Liu Kang could not handle brute force when he left himself open. However, getting that opening required sacrifice.
The woman in black's head turned partially when she was struck on her jaw. Her stubborn willpower kept it from turning entirely with a fist buried knuckle deep in her jaw. She turned back to face him with angry blazing eyes before she returned the favor with fiery intensity. The burning strike matched Liu Kang's fire and dazed him enough for her to draw her leg back and drill it against his chest. He broke partially into a tree trunk and tried to cover himself up.
She finished it quick with a spinning kick to his previously stricken jaw and left the champion grounded.
"Stay down." She panted out. She dropped to a knee and put her hand on his back. "Please. Please stay down. You're safe. Okay?" She spoke before turning her head to cough against her forearm violently for a short time. With Liu Kang unresponsive, she charged in the direction she thought she saw Kano go. The clouds were gathering overhead. A teal-colored storm was brewing in the dark clouds. Electric pulsations made her narrow her eyes. A storm was brewing with time.
Kano was getting away.
She moved through the dark like wisps of wind. Silent in every step until she picked up speed. The storm opened up a rift just outside the park. Kano was in her sights. He shoved the child through the portal and with the egg in his arms and the gateway sealed shut immediately after. Kano stayed behind.
As the woman in black took to the air with her sword drawn, a heated ray of red energy blasted the weapon from her grasp. She lanced with grace, but was immediately met with knives swiping for her throat. Her agility gave her hair's width of a chance at surviving, and she backtracked until she was able to grab Kano's left arm and break his limb at the elbow. His cry of pain was loud enough to echo through the park. The knife clattered to the ground. Her falling katana was caught and she spun about only to clash blade to knife when Kano used his right hand.
"Kronika's killer, huh?" Kano growled. "What's she got on you, I wonder? Ain't many places in the Multiverse left to run. You stranded, girl? You lose your realm?"
"Where did you send the egg?" The woman growled.
"Somewhere it can do some good. You're never gonna find it, girly!"
Despite Kano's frustrating words, she maintained her composure. The two shoved off from one another, but she sliced across his thigh and left behind a crimson line.
"Jesus!" Kano shouted.
The two clashed twice blade for blade, and she carved through the flesh of his other thigh and formed a larger gash.
"Christ!" Kano yelled. He fell to a knee and held his knife defensively. He blocked her overhead strike, and fired a concentrated laser at the center of her forehead. Fortunately for her it didn't burn a hole through it, but it did back her off and stagger her enough for Kano to go for the kill.
His knife's grip switched for an overhead stabbing grip. He swung toward her collar. Bone crunched as her fist blocked his wrist. The knife clattered to the ground at the same time that she kicked at his bleeding thigh hard enough to take his balance. Kano fell and cracked his forehead against a small stone on the park grass.
"God DAMN!" Kano cursed as he rolled onto his back and clutched his wrist. Though the first thing he saw was a blade pointing down at his face. He breathed out hard. His human eye was full of anger and covered in spilling blood from his forehead's gash. "Go on, then, ya bloody bitch. Do it. Finish it. Just know you're gonna get yours all the same. Trust me. I know."
"I'm taking you in." The woman said with a calm fury on her tongue. "You will talk."
Later On.
The location was unknown to the two surviving time jumpers. They were in a barely lit shack with shackles on their ankles and wrists to make escape highly unlikely. Liu Kang sat in a meditative state, while Kano, regardless of literally being in the same room as his captor, continued to struggle against his chains. The metal side of his face had been covered by what appeared to be a makeshift metal eyepatch out of a belt and metal plating.
Their captor, the woman in black sat about three meters away from them on the floor. She had her legs crossed similar to Liu Kang, but very intensely ate a wrap sandwich. Whenever she chewed the sandwich she looked between the two men, but she seemed fixed on Liu Kang's calmness.
Noticing this, Kano stopped struggling and fell onto his side on the floor. "Like what you see, love? He's real good at acupuncture if ya catch me drift. He'll be pokin' ya all night if ya just let me bloody go!"
"Where's the egg?" The woman said after eating more of her sandwich.
"Some-fucking-where, okay?!" Kano barked. "We are just trying to get somewhere safe. Some fuckin' cunt of an Elder God destroyed out world years ago and we've been hoppin' ever since, tryin to find somewhere fuckin' safe to be, alright? Those folks ya killed out there were just tryin' to find a goddamn home! We move together, if one of us can't go, none of us do!"
"What do you mean if some of you can't go?" She paused. "You're a time jumper. You go everywhere. Evading your fate and messing up the destiny of the rest of us."
"Oh bullshit." Kano scoffed and worked his way back to a seated position. "I've lied my way into a lotta folks pants, but whoever told ya that load'a frog shit's been so deep in ya guts they're pokin' that damn lettuce ya chewin' on."
"It's not bullshit." The woman retorted. "A time jumper tried to kill my mother once."
"They should'a came sooner and told'er to swallow." Kano said as he spat at the floor toward her.
"Kano." Liu Kang interrupted. "This is only going to be made worse. Relax. We should cooperate. Maybe we can come to an accord?"
"Finally," The woman sighed. "The voice of reason. What does he mean about if one of you can't go, none of you can?"
Liu opened his eyes and gazed upon the foreign familiarity of the woman's eyes. It gave him pause to actually gaze upon her, but eventually the man spoke. "The storms help create rifts in the Nexus. Often times it is like rolling the dice; you never know what realm or universe you will enter. When a void is being formed, you can feel it. Like standing near static electricity. However, once you are close, you can feel when it is rejecting you. You cannot venture to an alternate universe where you already exist. Only if you are dead at that time, in that world, or have yet to be born."
The woman paused her eating and let the words sink in.
"Exception to the rule if you're a fuckin' God." Kano added. "Elder God and up, can't do it. Gods though? They're regular brain-jumpers between dimensions. At least that was what we were always taught. Not all of the memory survives in most cases. Shit we learn in grade seven, love, and I dropped out at five."
"Does the name Kitana mean anything to you, Liu Kang?" The woman asked.
Liu paused. His eyes cast down on his palms. "It does." He said with a quaking breath. "I have been searching for her every step of the way. How do you know her? Is she in this universe?"
Kano interrupted with a groan. "Can we ask a better fuckin' question, like what are we doin' sitting here? Who are you waiting for?"
"Kitana is my mother." The woman spoke up. "She gave everything to protect the realms, even her longevity. Before we all merged, she helped protect our Titan, Kronika."
Liu Kang hadn't known many defeats, but the look on his face was what anyone could imagine 'defeated' appeared to be. He'd grown pale in seconds, and his shoulders dropped as if all the steam in his body left holes in his form rapidly.
"And your father?" Liu asked quietly, dreading the answer to be another man – a better man.
"You're my father." She said while standing. "A version of you. You died in the last known official tournament. It must be why I've seen versions of you before through my work. I let them go, unless I was in their world. In which case I escaped."
Kano looked between the two and had a hearty laugh. "You're fuckin pullin' my balls right? He's your daddy? Liu Kang you dog, you been shaggin' royalty?! When were you gonna tell me?! We could'a did it together—no offense, miss baby Kang, I'm sure your mum's a nice, respectable lady – but, she also may have been a little curious to—.."
WHAP!
Liu Kang's chains rattled as he drove both hands to Kano's mouth to silence him.
Kano fell onto his back and held his nose. "Awah!...Alright…alright, I deserved that one. Fair enough."
"Listen," Liu Kang spoke quietly. "No one has to get hurt. No one has to meet with Kronika. You said it yourself, you let the others go. You can do the same for us. For me. What is your name?"
"Shen." She answered. "I really need that egg. There's only one person who can figure out where it went – and that is Kronika."
"She'll kill my fuckin' boy." Kano growled and sat up. "Listen, I'll give ya whatever the hell ya want, just don't harm my goddamn boy, okay?"
A new voice echoed in the room. The silky smooth almost siren-like tone of Kronika floated in similar to her ethereal body. Her translucent feet hovered over the ground as she entered through a rift in time and space in all of her glory. Bald with her golden plated crown and eyes deep as the abyss with irises as bright as s supernova. "You will indeed give us what we want." She said as she descended upon the two Black Dragon.
"Oh, fuck-all." Kano sighed.
Kronika placed her palm to the top of Kano's forehead as well as Liu Kang's. The two men were instantly petrified in place under her oppressive might.
"You're not going to hurt them, are you?" Shen asked just a moment before blinding cyan light radiated from both men as Kronika read through their entire lifespan up until the very moment of their arrival.
When Kronika's hands pulled away, she sucked at her teeth in annoyance and left both men frozen in time. "Outworld. Universe 1,992. I saw it in Kano's eye as his son slipped through. I know exactly where that time rift leads. The version of me in that universe is ignorant of the arrival." She clenched her fist tightly and spun about to face Shen. "A change of plans. I know enough about that universe to understand what is at play. It is not only a different universe, but a different time as well. Maybe…, just maybe my plan can still work."
"What plan?" Shen asked sternly.
"I need you to venture to that universe. I want you to get that egg, but I want you to give it to someone else. Have it delivered to the War Realm. You will have more work after that." Kronika said with her finger stroking her chin.
"The War Realm?" Shen questioned. "Kronika, how far in the past is this? Is it before the last tournament? After?"
"Before. But we can make a difference on the outcome if you use my impeccable powers of hindsight. I have a plan to change the multiverse into its finest version after such formerly irreparable damage."
"I exist in that world, Kronika." Shen sighed. "You will have to send another. If the War Realm tournament is happening all events leading to my birth certainly have as well."
"No, no. You are dead in that time." She said while looking down upon Shen. "The illness took you in your youth, same as it took your brother in this world. I am afraid it has been the case on each mission I've sent you on for the most part. You are a very special anomaly, you are not supposed to be a constant, much like one other supremely powerful being that has eluded my grasp."
"How do you know all of this?" Shen narrowed her eyes.
"I am a Titan, girl. My wisdom goes beyond your level of understanding. However, you cannot help it. You will do this job for me, and I will reward you for your efforts. Handsomely. I'll set Kitana free. Her debt to me and your debt shall be paid once we correct the flow of time in Universe 1,992. If we can do it there, the true perfect universe will finally exist."
Kronika gave a crooked smile and levitated away from Shen. "Leave them. Liu Kang cannot follow either way. I will give you means of traveling to this new universe, but my instructions must be followed to the letter. I will instruct you further once I return with your means of travel."
A rift in time and space provided Kronika's exit. As soon as she was gone, Kano and Liu Kang returned to normal, though they were desperately gasping.
"That's—cold!" Kano shivered and brought his panicked gaze up to Shen, same as Liu Kang.