Chapter Twenty-Seven: Free at Last

Back at the Coliseum, Kung Lao was fighting against the Shokan warrior Kintaro. Unlike the two other Shokan that were seen to work with Shao Kahn, the markings on Kintaro's body resemble that of a tiger and he has feline feet and claws. Liu Kang was trying to rescue Kitana, who had been chained to two posts near her father's throne. The Shaolin monk had ignored Raiden's order to fight in the tournament, so Kung Lao was fighting in his stead. Johnny Cage had been eliminated and Sub-zero was up next once Kung Lao was done.

Entering the arena, Smoke, still carrying an unconscious Jade, watched Kung Lao's match for a moment before being spotted by Raiden. The thunder god motioned for Tomas to come to him and the ninja jogged to Raiden's side.

"Jade is injured."

"Yes. Can you heal her, Lord Raiden? She is badly wounded and needs help immediately."

Raiden nodded and told Smoke to lay Jade down on the ground. While the god was healing Jade, Tomas walked over to where Sub-zero and Johnny Cage were sitting. Kuai instantly stood up once he saw his friend coming.

"Thank the Elder Gods. You had me worried, Smoke."

"Sorry, my friend. Jade and I had a few…inconveniences."

"I see that. How is she?"

Tomas looked over his shoulder. Lightning had engulfed Jade's body as Raiden was healing her. She squirmed a little from the foreign energy entering her body, but the Edenian soon relaxed. Smoke sighed.

"She will be fine."

"Yeah, don't worry, man. Jade'll be okay."

Johnny had finally gotten up from his spot on the ground and joined the two ninjas. He was shocked when he got a closer look at Smoke.

"Woah. Anime is real!"

"What?"

"Come on, you have hair like that and you're telling me you don't know what anime is?"

Tomas grabbed a strand of his silver hair and looked at it curiously. He knew what anime was, but the ninja did not think he looked like an anime character. Leave it to Johnny to point out something like that. Booing from the audience drew the warriors' attention to the battle that had just finished. Kung Lao was victorious and he began to bowed to the angry crowd while waving his hat.

The monk was too busy boasting over his victory that he did not notice the hulking figure coming behind him. Smoke's eyes widen when he realized what Shao Kahn planned. He was going to kill Kung Lao! The monk looked at Raiden with a huge grin on his face.

"See, Raiden? Earthrealm is fre…"

Kung Lao yelped as someone appeared beside him and shoved him out of the way of Shao Kahn's hammer. The weapon crashed into the ground and created a small crater. The emperor roared in anger and then turned to where Kung Lao and his savior were on the other side of the battlefield.

"You!"

Smoke had just gotten up with Kung Lao at his side and he did not have much time to react before Shao Kahn charged at the two. He was about to grab the monk and run, but someone came running from behind the two. Liu Kang flew into the air and used his bicycle kick to drive the emperor back. His attack did the job and once Shao Kahn was back to his side of the arena, Liu Kang got into his fighting stance.

"I shall battle the emperor. You two need to get away from here."

"But, my friend, we can…"

A hand squeezed Kung Lao's shoulder. The monk looked back and saw that it was Kitana who had stopped him. The princess shook her head.

"This is Liu Kang's fight. We should not interfere."

Kitana then turned to Smoke.

"Come. We should return to the others."

Tomas nodded, but he could see the hesitation in Kung Lao's eyes. Kitana starting pulling the monk away and reluctantly, Kung Lao allow to lead him back to their allies. Smoke was about to follow them, but Liu Kang stopped him.

"Thank you, Smoke."

The ninja looked over his shoulder. Liu Kang was still watching Shao Kahn, whose eyes were filled with rage towards Tomas. Liu Kang was not going to let the emperor attack anyone else.

"Thank you for saving Kung Lao. We are in your debt."

Smoke only nodded and then left so Liu Kang could fight. Shao Kahn propped his hammer on his shoulder and muttered something under his breath.

"You will pay, ninja…"

"Shao Kahn!"

The emperor scowled at Liu Kang as the monk addressed him.

"It is time to end this! You will face me now, tyrant!"

"Witless boy. Do you know who I am?"

"I know exactly who you are and that is why you must be stopped!"

Shao Kahn threw his head back and laughed at Liu Kang's response.

"I am Shao Kahn! Konqueror of worlds! You will taste no victory."

"You will taste your own blood!"

Liu Kang hurled a fireball at the emperor, which was quickly destroyed by Shao Kahn's hammer. The tyrant countered with a projectile of his own, a green spear created by Shao Kahn's energy. He threw the spear at Liu Kang and the monk created another fireball to stop the incoming weapon. The two projectiles clashed and made a small explosion in the air. The impact produced a smoke screen, which Shao Kahn used to his advantage. A green aura surrounded the emperor and it propelled him through the smoke. His shoulder struck Liu Kang dead in his face and Shao Kahn followed the attack with a kick to the monk's stomach.

A safe distance away from the death match, Kitana ran to Jade's side as soon as she saw her wound and was watching Raiden while he was healing her friend.

"Will she be alright?"

"She will be fine, Kitana. You have Smoke to thank for that."

The princess looked up at Tomas, who was watching Liu Kang's fight with Sub-zero and Kung Lao. She had a small smile on her face as she stared at the ninja and after some time, Kitana decided to watch the battle as well. The princess prayed to the Elder Gods that Liu Kang would be victorious and live to see another day. She was not sure if her life would be worth living without the monk in it.

Liu Kang dodged another punch from his opponent and countered with a fist to Shao Kahn's face, which broke off a piece of the emperor's skull mask. Shao Kahn touched his bottom lip and pulled back his hand back to look at his fingers. Then… he started laughing.

"It has been a long time…since someone was able to make me bleed."

With the most sinister smile on his face, the emperor clenched his blood-stained hand into a fist and it glowed with green energy. He rushed forward with his arm pulled back, ready to pound Liu Kang into oblivion. The monk flipped backwards and Shao Kahn's fist collided with the ground instead, which created a shockwave that shook the entire coliseum. A few spectators were thrown from their seats while others held on to each other to keep their balance.

Shao Kahn continued to laugh while he chased Liu Kang around the arena. He threw punch after punch at the monk with no success, but Liu Kang managed to actually land a hit on the crazed emperor. That only made Shao Kahn throw another frenzy of attacks at Liu Kang. The Shaolin monk could barely avoid the tyrant's strikes and after some time, Shao Kahn finally hit Liu Kang in his chest. The monk did not have time to recover as Shao Kahn followed his successful strike with a kick that sent Liu Kang rolling into the wall.

Liu Kang spat some blood from his mouth and wiped the rest off his lips with the back of his hand. He needed to think. If the monk continued attacking Shao Kahn directly, he was going to get himself killed. He needed to be smart about how he should proceed with his attacks, seeing that the emperor had lost the last bit of sanity he once possessed.

Standing up from the rubble, Liu Kang immersed himself in flames. Shao Kahn watched in confusion, wondering what exactly was the Shaolin monk planning to do. In the blink of an eye, Liu Kang vanished from his spot by the wall and the emperor looked around trying to locate his opponent. Heat emanated from behind the tyrant and as he was turning around, a fist connected with his jaw. Shao Kahn stumbled back by his throne and grabbed onto it to steady himself. His sadistic smile was quickly replaced with a scowl once the emperor saw that his attacker had disappeared.

Shao Kahn was struck again, this time in his stomach. And then again in his shoulder. The attacks kept coming, faster and harder with each hit. The emperor let out a roar as he summoned his hammer again. He was really going to make Liu Kang pay for humiliating him. Just one good hit and the monk would be finished, Shao Kahn thought to himself.

The tyrant swung his hammer in a full circle hoping that he would hit his target. Little did he know, his assailant had anticipated Shao Kahn's attack. As he reappeared on the emperor's right side, Liu Kang ducked under Shao Kahn's weapon just as it came upon him and with a mighty cry, the monk delivered a powerful uppercut that launched his opponent into the air. The emperor landed hard on his back and he could have sworn he had lost some teeth

"On your feet!"

The emperor was struggling to get on his knees as Liu Kang walked from behind him. Shao Kahn was not going to stay in a kneeled position though. He was no peasant. So with the last bit of willpower he had, Shao Kahn stood up before the Shaolin monk. Raiden and his warriors watched their champion as his fist ignited and he held it up to his face. Even Shao Kahn's followers had went silent.

"For the Shaolin and Earthrealm."

Liu Kang glances at Kitana. He waits for the princess' permission to proceed and when she nods her head, the monk looks back at Shao Kahn.

"And Edenia!"

Liu Kang charges at the emperor and drives his flaming fist through Shao Kahn's chest. He withdraws his hand and watches as the tyrant drops to his knees and throws up blood. With a final gurgle, Shao Kahn falls face-first to the ground. Dead. Shang Tsung is the first to speak up.

"I cannot believe…Earthrealm has won."

A light from the heavens shines down upon Liu Kang. The Elder Gods knew of Earthrealm's victory. Raiden looks up at the sky.

"The Elder Gods have spoken. Earthrealm is free of Shao Kahn forever."

Shang Tsung motions for two Tarkatan guards to lift Shao Kahn's body and take it away. As the emperor's followers walk away, Smoke could not help but smile. He had his doubts when he agreed to join Raiden, but they had done it. Earthrealm had won Mortal Kombat. There was no need to worry about Shao Kahn anymore. That was a weight lifted off Tomas' shoulders.

"Jade!"

Smoke and his comrades turned to Kitana, who was hugging the now conscious Jade. The assassin hugged her friend back with tears beginning to form in her eyes. She looked over Kitana's shoulder at Tomas. Jade smiled under her mask, feeling truly happy for the first time in her life. Happy to finally be free of Shao Kahn's tyranny. Happy to be with her best friend. Happy to be alive. And she had these brave Earthrealmers to thank for that.

Liu Kang jogged over to Kitana and Jade and the princess smiled at him as he put his hand on her back. Raiden and the other fighters crowded around Liu Kang to congratulate him on his victory. Johnny especially.

"Man, I can't believe. You beat the crap out of that giant asshole. High five!"

The actor held up his hand to Liu Kang, but all the monk did was stare at the appendage with a blank look on his face. Kung Lao was snickering behind Cage and Sub-zero was shaking his head. After a couple of seconds, Johnny slowly let his hand drop.

"Jeez, you didn't have to leave me hanging."

Ignoring Cage, Raiden stepped in front of the actor to face Liu Kang.

"Your victory has saved Earthrealm, Liu Kang. Without the efforts of everyone here, however, we would not have gotten this far. I see now."

The thunder god pointed at Liu Kang.

""He must win" refers to…"

Raiden stopped midsentence. He thought back to what that woman said in the vision he had in the throne room.

"If you truly desire to stop Armageddon, Liu Kang is not the answer."

Liu Kang had defeated Shao Kahn and saved Earthrealm from being merged with Outworld. He had stopped Armageddon, right? Raiden took his amulet off his chest and more cracks immediately adorn it.

"It cannot be. Shao Kahn is dead! Yet the future remains unchanged."

Everyone looks at Raiden in confusion. Especially Smoke and Sub-zero. They did not know that Raiden's amulet, which was forged by the Elder Gods, was an item that kept track of his progress in preventing Armageddon. The more cracks that appeared on it, the closer they were to the end of the realms as they know it. Kung Lao stands beside Raiden and looks at the amulet as well. He shakes his head.

"Then…what should we do now, Lord Raiden?"

Raiden sighs and places the talisman back on his chest.

"We should return to Earthrealm to recover. We will think of a plan while we do so."

The thunder god looks around at Tomas and Kuai, as well as the two Edenian women.

"You are all welcome at the Wu Shi Academy. The Shaolin monks will gladly provide shelter for you."

Kitana turned to Liu Kang, who smiled and nodded. The princess then turned to Jade to see if she approved of Raiden's offer. Jade quickly nodded in approval and Kitana finally looked back at Raiden.

"We accept your offer, Lord Raiden. It is very much appreciated."

Johnny Cage ran up to the girls and wrapped his arms around their shoulders.

"You know, I got plenty of space at my place if you want to get a look at the city. Giant buildings, awesome food, me…"

The women punched Cage in his face simultaneously to get him to shut up. The actor held his nose as he laid on the ground.

"Dammit, I was being serious! Ow!"

While Johnny was dealing with his hurt feelings, as well as his hurting face, Sub-zero had agreed to stay at the Wu Shi Academy, too. Neither he nor Smoke had anywhere else to go to. But for whatever reason, Tomas was not sure if he wanted to go. The ninja was grateful that Raiden offered them a place to live, but he the academy reminded him too much of the Lin Kuei. He wanted to see more than the typical temple landscape. And now it seemed Tomas was has been given the opportunity to do just that.

"Johnny Cage?"

Johnny was back on his feet and he had a serious nosebleed. He held his nose up in the air to keep it from pouring everywhere, but the actor had heard Smoke call him.

"Yeah, I'm not doing anything important. What's up?"

"…This may seem like a strange request, but if it is alright with you…would you mind if I took up your offer and stayed at your home?"

Cage stopped messing with his nose. He did not think anyone would really want to live wig him, so this came as a surprise. But who was he to say no to a ninja?

"Uh…sure. No problem, pal. But first…you're gonna have to ditch the getup."