With both hands, he slammed into Sub-Zero's chest then rotated mid-air to land a kick to the side of Ranma's neck, where it met the shoulder. It sent the young man spinning onto the kitchen table, which buckled when he landed on it. Akane made her attack as Sub-Zero flipped onto his feet. The yellow-clad demon latched onto her arm when she punched forward. He twisted it hard, then planted a booted foot between her breasts. The blow sent her through the wall with a crash.
Ranma rolled over and got to his feet. The two assassins were going back and forth, trading blows across the room. Sub-Zero performed a cartwheel to dodge a downward stomp. Ranma rolled to a crouching position and kicked Scorpion in the ribs. Ukyo whipped out several spatulas and flung them at their enemy. She neatly pinned him to the wall.
"No, wait!" Sub-Zero yelled as Ranma charged forward. In the blink of an eye, Scorpion vanished then reappeared behind Ranma. He hammered Ranma through the wall with a double-fisted blow. Scorpion quickly turned to glare at Ukyo. He raised his open palm in her direction.
"Get over here!" The specter thundered. A black, segmented cord with a grotesque snake head shot out of his palm, aiming toward the middle of her chest. Sub-Zero grabbed a nearby dish and flung it toward Ukyo. The serpent hit the plate and bounced upward. It let out a high-pitched squeal when it became imbedded in the ceiling with a burst of black blood. Scorpion growled and pulled back on the remainder of the cord.
Akane came back into the kitchen through the hole she had created in the wall. The phantom flicked his wrist. The cord whipped Akane from left shoulder to right hip. It ripped through her shirt and left a red wound on the now exposed flesh. Scorpion side-kicked Sub-Zero below the chin then backhanded Ukyo. They both tumbled to the floor. Ranma got the jump on the ninja and held his arms behind him. Scorpion pushed off the ground, flipped a complete 360° and drop kicked him in the chest. Ranma still held him by the wrists and Scorpion rolled forward, landing his feet in Ranma's abdomen. Ranma flipped several times and landed in a heap next to Akane.
Scorpion maintained a battle position and scanned his four opponents. At that very moment, Ryoga Hibiki entered the front door. Scorpion laughed ghoulishly as the young man made his way down the hall toward the kitchen. When the door opened, he propelled his cable at him. It wrapped around his throat and the specter reeled him in. He abruptly grabbed Ryoga by the throat with his left hand and held him off the ground.
"Surrender or the boy dies!" Scorpion announced. Ryoga grasped the ninja's wrist with both hands, but was unable to loosen the vice grip the slightest bit. His feet dangled a foot off the ground.
"You won't get away with this, Scorpion. You are more a coward than ever to hide behind a hostage in the midst of combat!" Sub-Zero answered in a resolute tone.
"Put Ryoga down," Ukyo hissed. Ryoga gasped several times and let go of the ninja's arm, he had a determined look on his face.
"Do you agree to the bargain, or shall I kill this pathetic mortal?" He shook Ryoga for emphasis. Ryoga closed his eyes and furrowed his brow. "Well?"
"HOKODEN!" Ryoga shot the energy burst point-blank into the ninja's torso. Scorpion lost his grip and smashed into the wall behind him. Quickly, Ryoga joined the others, who were grouped several feet away from the startled ninja. Scorpion regained his footing and cocked his head to one side, then the other. His eyes glowed a bright orange.
"Oh no…" Sub-Zero remarked softly. "Everyone, out of the kitchen. NOW!" Scorpion pulled off his mask, revealing a skull. The entire group let out a collective gasp with the exception of the ice ninja. The orange glow in the eyeless sockets grew brighter, then flickered blood red. Sub-Zero grabbed Kasumi around the waist and leapt through the hole in the wall that had been created by Akane. Ryoga and Ukyo went next, then Ranma and Akane. Scorpion opened his mouth and belched a long stream of flames through the kitchen. The blast continued through the hole in the wall, toward Sub-Zero and the others.
As it was about to reach them, the flames stopped short and vanished in a small puff of smoke. A figure moved toward the opening in the wall. The smoke that filled the kitchen hid its identity. The ninja stepped out of the smoke screen and into the open air of the courtyard.
"No way…" Sub-Zero began.