Chapter 11: Invasion

Debris fell all around me as Shao Kahn's army stormed Earthrealm.

I was fully decked out in blue armor with gold accents.

Soldiers desperately tried to fight back against the Tarkatan and Centaur horde, but they were losing ground. I had to find a way to sneak away.

Luckily for me, Mileena slipped away for a little fun. Now I just needed to slip away from the soldiers.

"Die!" A Tarkatan yelled as he jumped onto a car and plunging his blades into a soldier.

"Fall back!" A soldier called out as they were pushed back. "We're being overrun!"

As the Tarkatan's press their attack, I slid into a nearby alley.

I moved as quickly as I could, making sure not to be seen. As I emerged from the alley I spotted Johnny Cage getting his ass whooped by Motaro and few other Centaur.

Moving fasting, I picked a rifle from a dead soldier and fired, hitting one of them. This confused Motaro and the others allowing Cage to incapacitate one. A few seconds later Raiden appeared, tackling Motaro and the other Centaur off the bridge.

I moved away to avoid being spotted.

I came to a stop when I recognized several figures.

Kintaro stood at the end of a bridge, Kabal and Stryker kept their guns trained on him.

I knew what was going to happen.

"Look out!" I cried running over to them, but I was too late.

Kintaro let loose his fire breath, burning Kabal alive.

"Humans. Less ugly when they burn," he taunted.

I was about to help Stryker when I noticed Mileena lying unconscious on the ground not far from them. I rushed over to her, picking her up and carrying her away as Stryker and Kintaro fought.

"J-James?" She mumbled as she swam in and out of consciousness.

"I'm here," I mumbled, resting my hand on her head. "Just rest."

She nodded before losing conscious.

I turned back to see Kintaro slam Stryker down onto the ground.

"You shall make a fine meal," he picked Stryker up and I knew he was gonna eat him.

Without thinking, I raised the rifle and fired a shot into Kintaro's back.

Kintaro cried out in pain as he dropped Stryker.

"Traitor!" He roared at me, "I will crush you!"

I gulped as he steamrolled toward me.

I quickly moved and slid in between his legs, barely avoiding his grasp. Before I could get up I wa shit from behind, sending me flying towards the other end of the bridge.

The rifle fell out of my grasp as I hit the ground. My armor protect my chest and crotch, but I could feel both my right arm and my left leg break.

I laid there on the ground, writhing in pain. Even with the ringing in my ears I could hear Kintaro stomping towards me.

I struggled to turn over, using the railing for support.

"I will enjoy munching on your bones," Kintaro laughed.

As I finally got on my feet, I turned to face him. He grinned down at me.

"Any last words?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Stryker getting up.

"Just a few," I smiled, "How do you feel about an x-ray?"

His grin was replaced with confusion. Before he could react, I jumped back as Stryker shined his light in Kintaro's face.

As Kintaro fell to his knees disoriented, Stryker slammed the flashlight down onto the latter's head. Stryker then pulled out his baton and struck the side of Kintaro's face, causing him to cry out in pain.

Finally, Stryker pulled out his taser and shocked from Kintaro from under his chin.

"Pass me a grenade!" I called out as the Tigrar Shokan stumbled back, screaming as he clutched his face in pain.

Stryker looked at me in confusion, "And who the hell are you?"

I pointed at Kintaro, who was still clutching his face. "Do you really wanna ask that right now?"

Stryker looked back at Kintaro before passing me a grenade. I moved quick despite my injuries. Kintaro looked up just in time to see me shove a grenade in his mouth.

He choked and tried to swing at me, only managing to shove me. I pulled the pin as he did so.

Stryker quickly rushed forward, knocking Kintaro off the bridge into the water below. A few seconds later, the grenade went off.

Stryker went over to check on Kabal.

"Is he breathing?" I asked, leaning against the railing. I was trying not to lose consciousness.

"Barely. I need to call for an evac. You're coming too," he turned to me. "I'm amazed you're still breathing."

"It's a long story," I responded, "One you wouldn't believe."

"After all the shit I've seen today, I'd believe-"

He was enveloped in a green glow, and throw down the entrance to a nearby subway. Ermac approached soon after.

"See to the prisoner. We shall deal with the human was all he said before going after Stryker.

Prisoner? Did he mean Kabal?

I tried to stand, but I couldn't find the strength.

"You don't look so good mate."

I looked up to see Kano with a smug grin.

"Wow. Brilliant observation there Sherlock."

Kano smirked before walking over to Kabal.

"Kabal... I haven't seen him since he left the black dragon. I wonder if he stills knows how to fight..."

I managed to get to my feet.

"If you help him, I can get Mileena, then when can get back to Outworld."

Kano shrugged, "Fine by me."

As he helped Kabal, limped off towards where I left Mileena. I knew Sindel would attack soon. I had to warn Raiden and others. I just hope I won't screw it up.

I'm really sorry for the long wait guys.

I'm gonna do a few more chapters that take place after chapter 3. From what I wrote, I made it seem as if Chapters 2, 3 and 4 from MK9 were less than an hour long. Plus, I want to expand James' interactions with Raiden, Liu Kang and the other heroes.

On a side note, Kintaro is dead and Motaro lives. Will anything else change? Can James prevent Sindel from massacring the defenders and how will these choices affect his relationship with Mileena?

Finally, I want to wish you all a happy 2018. I'm really grateful for those who have stayed with the story and with the support.

Until next time...

This is the EZ-GMR,

logging out.