Welcome Home?
The next day Samantha is walking on a road made of Cobblestone out to a hill to meet Bo Rai Cho who is leaning up against a wagon drinking out of a flask. Samantha continues to walk closer to Bo Rai Cho and he doesn't notice her until she is right in front of him and his flask is empty.
Bo Rai Cho: Ah! Hello Child, I would share with you but I just drank my last drop of the flask.
Samantha: I am not here to get drunk old man, I am here to train.
Bo Rai Cho: It's not impossible to do both but if you insist.
Samantha: What will you be teaching me?
Bo Rai Cho: Excellent question... Lord Raiden and his brother are teaching you how to master your abilities, Shujinko is teaching you a variety of fighting styles, and I will teach you discipline.
Samantha: You will be the one to teach me discipline?
Bo Rai Cho: Of course! The best warriors have a great sense of discipline. Now join me at the top of the hill!
Bo Rai Cho and Samantha both quickly walk up the top of the hill and Bo Rai Cho sits on the ground with both legs crossed and Samantha does the same.
Bo Rai Cho: Close your eyes and take deep breathes, I want you to envision your happy place. Once you envision your happy place I want you to take me there.
Samantha closes her eyes and starts breathing. The two of them are now in Agartha by the cottage that she stayed out with her father and younger version of Edward Richtofen. Bo Rai Cho looks around to see a big blue sky with the sun shinning and green grass that never ends
Bo Rai Cho: Where are we Samantha?
Samantha: We are in Agartha. This is the cottage I stayed at with my father, Eddie, and Fluffy. This my favorite day. The weather was perfect and we flew kites for hours. I got to play with Fluffy for the first time in years.
Bo Rai Cho: Excellent, now take me to a time when you were truly afraid.
Samantha then waves her hand and darkness covers the land. The only thing illuminated is a little floating inside a pyramid holding on tightly to a teddy bear.
Bo Rai Cho: This little girl is you?
Bo Rai Cho get's closer to examine it but Samantha is looking away almost trying to actively repress the memory while she's viewing it.
Samantha: I was trapped in a pyramid, it's the device that gave me powers initially. It was dark and my body was frozen in time all I have I had was my teddy bear.
Bo Rai Cho: I know your body is in this pyramid, but what did your mind see?
Samantha waves her hands again and reveals the Dark Aether where monsters are flying around freely, Apathoconian sorcerers are practicing dark magics around the entrapped version of Samantha. The Shadow Man floats over the young version of Samantha and stares directly into her eyes.
Samantha: This was the day my consciousness was trapped by the monsters. They forced me to do many things and corrupted my very being. I was an innocent girl once...
Bo Rai Cho: Why do is this the day you feared the most?
Samantha: I lost control but could still see and hear everything, the power was intoxicating.
Bo Rai Cho: Good, fear and happiness are powerful tools in a warriors arsenal. These two emotions are much more powerful than any spell, use them when necessary and you will overcome every obstacle in your path. Raiden tells me you have telepathic abilities, I would like you to use them on me.
Samantha uses her abilities to enter the mind of Bo Rai Cho, the two of them are standing in a dark room with only a door illuminated. Bo Rai Cho opens the door and the two walk through it and appear in a strangle village.
Samantha: Where are we?
Bo Rai Cho: We are inside my head!
Samantha: I mean what is this place?
Bo Rai Cho: Hahaha I'm sorry I could not resist, my mind has taken us to Sun Do a village in Outworld.
Samantha: Is this your happy place?
Bo Rai Cho: One of many happy places I draw from. Sun Do is probably my favorite city in all the realms, I actually own a brewery here. When I am not training young warriors into defenders of the realm I am trying my very best to recreate Earthrealm Saki!
Samantha: Is there a specific moment?
Bo Rai Cho: They all blur together, you understand?
Samantha looks around to see multiple Bo Rai Cho's around the village drinking, with different women of various species, winning fights, and sleeping drunkenly outside of various buildings.
Samantha: So what is the moment you fear the most?
Bo Rai Cho: Over the course of my long life I have had many moments that haunt me but there is one in particular that disturbs me to this day. Look over there Samantha.
Bo Rai Cho points to just outside of the village into the desert with a sandstorm raging, the two of them walk out of Sun Do into an arid desert. Sun Do has disappeared completely, Samantha looks around confused as they are now standing in the middle of the desert. They see a strange looking buzzard with two eyes on each side of it's head and four wings eating a dead humanoid body.
Samantha: Where are we now?
Bo Rai Cho: Edenia, you have to understand. I have fought in many battles and waged wars since this battle but this battle was without a doubt the closest we have come to Armageddon.
The ground beneath them shakes, Samantha looks behind and in front of her to the sight of two large armies charging. As the armies get closer on the side behind her she is able to see that Bo Rai Cho, Fujin, Shujinko, and Raiden who's wearing dark armor and eyes glowing red which confuses Sam. This army also has scores of Special Forces soldiers, Shaolin Monks, Lin Quei Kuei ninjas, and other allies. She turns and sees the other army although she doesn't recognize anyone in particular she sees a warrior that matches the description of Onaga, the monster that deceived Shujinko. This army has many notable less than righteous clans and monsters in it's ranks. The two opposing forces collide and all out war happens around Samantha and Bo Rai Cho. Suddenly a pyramid rises from the ground with a large flame blazing at the top of it. The warriors of both sides are captivated at the site of this and begin an all out brawl to the top of the Pyramid. Warriors driven mad by the energy the temple was emanating it didn't matter what side you were on, if you were in their way you fought to the death.
Samantha: Master Bo Rai Cho, what's going on?
Bo Rai Cho: Our forces were gathered to fight a new alliance from Onaga, Shao Kahn, Shang Tsung, and Quan Chi. Even with a corrupted Raiden we couldn't risk the forces of darkness making a move. So we challenged them and the temple of Argus appeared and drove all the warriors on the battlefied myself included mad.
Bo Rai Cho then points to a past version of himself running up the stairs with a determined look but his eyes glowing yellow as are the rest of the combatants. He pushes off through multiple Shaolin mons and goes as far as to snap one of their necks. He runs as fast as he can only to have a knife thrown into his back by Kano, this memory of Bo Rai Cho pukes his guts out causing Kano and Kobra to slip and fall on the stairs but this doesn't stop Sheeva queen of the Shokan from knocking him off the stairs. A loud crack is heard on impact and everything is now dark only the pyramid and the flame at the top is visible now. Samantha walks to the corpse of the past Bo Rai Cho.
Samantha: You died?
Bo Rai Cho nods and the two of them walk up to the lifeless body of the past version of Bo Rai Cho.
Samantha: How are here today then?
Bo Rai Cho: Not important to your lesson but since you asked.
Bo Rai Cho then waves his hand and light comes back and the battlefield is filled with bodies everywhere until a large shock wave from the top of the temple moves across the battlefield breathing life back into every combatant. The past version of Bo Rai Cho wakes up panting and looks around to see others doing the same and some are magically being healed even if piece by piece. Quan Chi then tries to capitalize and create as many revenants as possible but is partly thwarted by Bo Rai Cho but it's too late Sub Zero, Smoke, Jax, Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Nightwolf, Stryker, Kabal, Jade, and Kitana have all been turned into revenants for Quan Chi. The necromancer is then struck with a bolt of lightning from the top of the pyramid, Raiden teleports down to the battlefield alongside Taven but it's too late Quan Chi portals away with his new revenant lieutenants.
Samantha: Some of those warriors have pictures in the temple.
Bo Rai Cho: Yes they would eventually be saved but it took sometime to recover them, but that is not the lesson I am trying to show teach. Do you know why I fear this moment?
Samantha: Because you lost control?
Bo Rai Cho: Yes, I lost control and killed many of allies. Much like what you said, the power was more intoxicating than any liquor I have drank.
Samantha: What did you learn from this experience?
Bo Rai Cho: There are many things you could learn from this... You should be afraid of your darker half or you must understand your fears so that they do not take control. You and I both share the same fear, the power of corruption except we differ on the fact that you control corruption itself.
Samantha: Yes, this power is too much-
Bo Rai Cho: The power you possess, it's a lot but not unmanageable. You must remember that you AND ONLY YOU, control YOU.
Samantha takes a deep breath in and nods her head, the both then open their eyes in the real world and are back on that hill.
Bo Rai Cho: You did good today Samantha Maxis! I will look forward to our next training session!
Samantha: Thank you, Master Bo Rai Cho.
Samantha gets up and bows to Bo Rai Cho and begins to walk back to the temple. The drunken warrior waves goodbye but hears a rustling in the bushes of the woods nearby, he turns quickly but after examining it for a few seconds he assumes it's nothing and walks down to his wagon and walks it back to the temple. In the woods however is the Black Lantern Richtofen who's leaning against a tree having visions from Nekron trying to call him back to Ryut.
Nekron: WHO DO YOU THINK ARE TO DEFY ME?! I AM NEKRON THE UNDYING, THE AVATAR OF THE BLACK, HERALD OF THE ROT! I COMMAND YOU TO RETURN TO RYUT!
Richtofen: I am sorry Mein Freund but I answer to no god or mortal!
The zombified lantern let's out a loud shrill shriek which causes Bo Rai Cho to drop his wagon and immediately run into the woods to see what made that noise thinking it was a monster of some kind. As he looks into the woods he once again sees and hears nothing so he walks out of the woods. Richtofen is levitating in the leaves hiding but smirking as he wants to continue to examine Samantha's training before striking at his old foe.