Mortal Kombat: Requiem

by Cdr2002

A collab fanfic project written by me with help from some friends. Direct sequel to MKX ignoring MK11, followup on several ideas, characters, and storylines from the OG timeline, and general fix fic for MK. Synopsis: The warriors of the realms are fractured as Raiden descends down a dark path and Kotal Kahn continues to be a brutal tyrant. A common threat will unite them all.

52. Chapter 51: The Return of the King

The Dragon King's followers looked on in awe upon seeing Onaga regain physical form, his most devout worshippers bowing in his presence almost immediately.

Those who had joined him relatively recently were shocked, having never seen anything quite like Onaga's possession of Tetsurri's corpse, as well as being intimidated by the Dragon King's announcement of his own return. Goro, Tiamat, and Reptile made an effort not to show it. Komodai took a few cautious steps back, and Kiri and Ankha clung to each other for dear life.

The enslaved firespawn Blaze seemed to suddenly break from a trance, and begin taking in his surroundings, albeit subtly, looking around in genuine confusion.

Khameleon was terrified. This was the evil that Shujinko had warned her of, that she had known in legend and fable, that she tried to pull her love and her brother away from before they both succumbed to his influence, though as she saw Chameleon bow she questioned her ability to shake his zealous devotion.

She touched Reptile on the shoulder and held her grasp on his hand.

"We need to leave, Syzoth," she whispered. "Now."

"Do not be afraid," Reptile tried to assure her. "Has everything we just saw not proven to you that he can bring our people back?"

"I do not trust this tyrant." Khameleon said firmly.

"The moment of my glorious return, and already an objection to my rule?" Onaga questioned.

Reptile stepped in front of Khameleon. He knew Onaga could kill him in seconds. He still wanted to protect her.

Chameleon stood up.

"I beg of you, Great Dragon King Emperor Onaga," Chameleon pleaded. "Forgive my sister. She has been battered by the clumsy hand of your usurper, as have we all. Khameleon is a patriot of Zaterra foremost, and will see your wisdom and your generosity upon the restoration of our desecrated people. Do not take my words to mean that I wish to rush you, my liege! I would never make demands of you, Emperor. I merely wish to clarify the situation and to assure you that she is not a threat, My Lord."

"You have served me well over the millennia, High Priest Chameleon," Onaga complimented. "I will spare your sibling as a token of gratitude, so long as she does not interfere with my ascension. In any case, I have many enemies to slay in order to regain my throne. Crushing them shall assume priority."

"Actually, Onaga, if I may-" Goro spoke up.

"EMPEROR Onaga!" the Dragon King roared as he looked down at the relatively smaller Shokan Prince. "The true ruler of Outworld shall not suffer disrespect!"

"My apologies, Emperor," Goro corrected, sincerity in his voice. He would not allow his pride to get the better of him, even if Onaga was just as arrogant as Shao Kahn, given what he had to gain for himself and his people. "It is just that certain promises were made to us when we pledged our allegiance to you. I understand that your enemies will need to be dealt with, and I would gladly partake in ending Kotal's unjust reign over this realm. I also would presume that resurrecting the Zatteran people will take time. However, given your vast powers, I believe there is an agreement that you will find much easier to honor."

Goro held out the three stumps where his hands once were.

The Shokan was a bit long-winded, but Onaga knew nothing if not patience.

"Very well," Onaga allowed. "I know all too well what it is to be diminished by an unworthy ruler and a lesser foe. But never forget, Shokan Prince: We can never truly be defeated."

Onaga raised one arm towards Goro and opened his hand.

Tendrils made of bluish-green mystical energy extended forth from the Dragon King's hand and began to envelop Goro's three damaged arms, moving down until they reached where Goro's hands once were.

Goro started to feel his fractured bones grow out from the stumps Kotal had left him with. They formed down to the last finger, before flesh and tendons and arteries began to grow around them. Muscles expanded and solidified, claws grew from Goro's hands, which he had not expected. His skin grew back over the new arms, but it felt different. Like small plates. Scales? Though Shokan were descended evolutionarily from dragons, Goro had only previously had sparse patches of scales on his back.

Finally, the mystic energy faded and Onaga lowered his hand.

Goro raised his new arms and looked over his hands and forearms. Just feeling the sensation of having them again was a shock. Being able to curl his lost nine fingers, to feel anything below the elbows.

But these were not the arms he had known. Dark brown scales covered them now. Sharp claws extended from his fingers which were once blunt. Small spikes protruded across Goro's new lower arms, with two prominent ones sticking out the backs of his elbows. The feature reminded him of the Centaurs, but he didn't much care about that detail.

"This is…" Goro paused. "Incredible! I had heard tales of your power, and I admit, I was skeptical, but now," Goro clenched his new hands into fists. He then looked up at Onaga and kneeled before his new master.

"For your generosity, I wish to reaffirm my pledge of allegiance to you, Emperor Onaga." Goro said respectfully.

"Rise," Onaga commanded, and Goro obeyed. "Consider it the first gift of my new reign of Outworld. The true reign of Outworld."

"Kotal Kahn's end will be swift," Chameleon chimed in. "Shall I transport myself to the tomb of your army and inform Grand General Draxxon that they are to be prepared for battle?"

"There is no need," Onaga assured his underling. "The army was awakened at the moment I gained full strength. Draxxon knows his duty. They will already be mobilizing towards the capital city of Outworld, seizing any territories in their path."

"Your army is not going to rendezvous with us?" Komodai questioned.

"They shall," Onaga corrected. "In the capital of Outworld."

"This is an extremely small force to begin assaulting a city with." Tiamat pointed out.

"I will begin the siege myself." Onaga responded simply.

"You… You're gonna go over there alone?" Kiri questioned.

"We umm…" Ankha started to say.

"We saw troop movements and red lightning across the sky on our return here," Tiamat explained. "It seems that Raiden has begun some manner of assault against Outworld."

"It is no mere assault," Goro corrected. "I spoke to Sheeva and my brother before returning here. It is war."

"I am aware," Onaga said. "I have watched this latest struggle of the realms develop. Forces of Earthrealm, the Realms of Order and Chaos, and all factions vying for control of my kingdom are locked in battle as we speak. None are prepared for my power."

"Do not underestimate the one true Emperor." Chameleon advised to the others.

"The quest has been corrupted," Blaze suddenly spoke aloud, drawing all eyes to the firespawn. "I have strayed from my mother's purpose. The crisis that currently befalls the realms is not Armageddon, as she has foreseen it. I cannot become involved at this time."

"What is he talking about?" Kiri asked.

"It is babbling," Helios explained, preparing a spell. "Rest assured, Emperor Onaga, this creature shall return to your sway momentarily."

Blaze ignored the Lava Priest and looked straight at Onaga.

"You are evil, and must be defeated." He said outright.

"Do you wish to challenge me, firespawn?" Onaga questioned.

I would like to put an end to your malevolence," Blaze admitted. "However, I cannot risk causing the very Armageddon it is my purpose to prevent."

Helios was about to cast his spell, when Blaze teleported away in a burst of fire.

"Curses!" The Lava Priest said annoyedly.

"The firespawn is irrelevant," Onaga decided. "I will soon be equipped with a power far beyond it."

Right after the Dragon King finished his sentence, an orange portal opened.

Out from it emerged Vorpax, who was taken by surprise to see Onaga in corporeal form, and was clearly generally uneasy.

"The sorcerer's ally." Onaga recalled.

Vorpax nodded nervously and cleared her throat. "L-Lord Onaga, Shang Tsung sent me to inform you that… he will have the Kamidogu soon. His forces are currently overcoming an Earthrealm encampment where they are being held."

"Very good," Onaga responded. "Tell him to go to Outworld's capital with my weapons when he is finished. I will have control of the city by then."

"Y-Yes sir!" Vorpax responded, quickly ducking back into the portal before it closed.

"What are we to do, Emperor?" Komodai questioned.

"Rendezvous with the rest of our forces," Onaga commanded. "I will be waiting for you."

"Wait, my liege!" Reptile pleaded.

Onaga glared at the Zaterran who dared command him, as the other Saurians except for Chameleon grouped around him as a show of support.

"I-I… I do not wish to question you," Reptile started to clarify. "I-It's just t-that… that…"

Khameleon sighed. She hated seeing Reptile debase himself in front of a tyrant. She wanted so desperately for him to be free from masters of any kind, but especially masters such as these.

Onaga grew weary of Reptile's stuttering.

"You wish to know when your people will be reborn from extinction," Onaga predicted, discerning Reptile's intentions. "It will be done when I have seized my throne and sent my enemies cowering for their lives. However, clutching souls from the afterlife realms is not simple work. I would be greatly aided if you have acquired the Gem of Tetsurri as I requested."

Tiamat looked at Komodai and gave him a nod. Komodai stepped up and bowed before Onaga, presenting the gem to the Dragon King.

The gem was a dark green, so dark that it almost looked black aside from the reflections of light revealing its emerald hue.

Onaga reached out his massive hand and clenched the gem between his claws and lifted it up to his eye.

"Excellent," the Dragon King boomed. "Millions of Zaterran souls… a holocaust my usurper considered a victory. I will erase all of his victories. All of his so-called 'accomplishments'."

"And in doing so master, you will be the hero the survivors of Zaterra have sought or millennia." Chameleon praised.

Onaga simply nodded, before a stream of blue energy came out of the dark blue gem on the Dragon King's chest and pulled the Gem of Tetsurri into it, seemingly merging the two crystals.

"The souls of your people will not come to harm," Onaga assured his Zaterran followers. "The same cannot be said for Kotal Kahn, Raiden, and any who stand in my way."

Onaga spread on his wings.

"Outworld is mine. Now and forever."

In one swift flap of his massive wings, the Dragon King took flight, bursting right through the mountain and ascending until he exited into the open sky, flying towards the heart of his once and future Empire.

In the capital city itself, the utter chaos of war had consumed every street.

It was the kind of chaos that Havik and his Chaosrealm followers loved, the kind that in a more favorable situation, Darrius would use to his advantage.

But for all who were not of Chaosrealm, this war was a waking nightmare.

Corpses littered the streets, with combatants trampling them as they continued to move in the seemingly endless momentum of the battle.

The forces of Kotal Kahn made their best attempts to push back against the myriad of invaders. Mileena's freedom fighters, Earthrealm soldiers, White Lotus monks, Shirai Ryu and Lin Kuei ninjas, Seidan Guards, Seidan Rebels, Chaosrealmers, Red Dragons, and Black Dragons.

The best the Osh-Tekk army had to offer were in this fight, an army which had been building its forces since Kotal seized the throne, in addition to Outworlders who transferred from Shao Kahn's service to Mileena's to Kotal's during the unstable transition periods of power in Outworld.

In addition, they had the aid of the mighty Centaur armies, Kotal's last true allies. Though even their allegiance to him was wavering. The power and formidableness of the Centaur army was known throughout the realms, as they had long been a crucial element of Shao Kahn's military, even coming out on top as his favored race during the invasion of Earthrealm.

Siding with the Emperor of Outworld had served the Centaurs well for much of their history, and certainly for as long as King Myleus and Queen Irare could remember, leading their troops into battle at this very moment to repel the myriad invaders. Their policy had generally always been to take the side that benefitted Outworld overall, and maintaining Outworld's sovereignty in spite of the mounting forces of what they perceived as joint Earthrealm-Orderrealm aggression seemed to be the best option.

But even the powerful Centaurian army struggled against the forces which opposed them. As if the numerous factions involved in the titanic battle were not enough problems for the defenders of the Imperial Regime, the Seidan Guard reinforcements were numerous and coordinated enough to overwhelm virtually all of their opposition.

Kotal's army made the mistake of attempting to battle their enemies head on, hoping to achieve victory through brute force. Against powers such as these, it would not be enough.

By contrast, some of the smaller groups which took part in the battle adopted a different approach.

Darrius had been growing his resistance for years, but even if he called upon every single fighter at his disposal, a head-on confrontation with the Seidan Guard, not to mention the various new enemies he had made as a result of the reckless abandon of the Chasorealmers, was simply a suicidal operation.

Instead, while allowing Havik and his followers to run rampant across the battlefield, their chaos a disadvantage to all who came against them, Darrius refocused his own troops their initial battle plan: slinking into the shadows and springing out to attack high profile Seidan Guard targets, or to simply halt the advance of the Guard whenever possible.

Darrius worked to coordinate his forces from an inside an abandoned house, where Cassius had insisted he take shelter in as the battle moved to the capital of Outworld, in an attempt to protect his leader from the carnage around them.

Darrius gave commands and received battlefield reports via his sunglasses, which had been musically enchanted to function as long range communication devices for the forces of the Resistance.

He had just received confirmation from a Resistance field leader, a man named Seale, that the operatives responsible for the prison break that had disrupted the Seidan Guard's reinforcement preparations, had successfully retreated with no rebels captured by the Guard and a high volume of prisoners emancipated. Seale confirmed that his forces stood ready in case Darrius needed reinforcements of his own, but Darrius reaffirmed his desire to keep Resistance casualties in this operati0n low. He preferred to let the Seidan Gaurd's other enemies do the bulk of the fighting for them.

Seale respected this, and Darrius refocused on organizing his troops in Outworld.

Outside, a contingent of Seidan Guards began nearing the building after pushing back some Osh-Tekk troops who had attempted to halt their advance.

Cassius waited around the corner with an orange glowing mist coming off of his hand. Buried in the ground was a mystically enchanted explosive device, the kind the Resistance was fond of using in their attacks.

When the Seidan Guards marched close enough, Cassius snapped his fingers and the device exploded, launching the Guards into the air and sending them slamming against walls, killing any caught directly in the blast radius.

The survivors tried to regroup and further Seidan Guards attempted to reinforce their position. Cassius emerged from his cover and launched throwing knives stored in his trench coat and sleeves, which his mystic energy enhanced the speed off, resulting in the deaths of several Seidan Guards in mere seconds.

One Guard managed to charge at Cassius, who revealed a set of under-slung arm blades. He used one to block the Guard's naginata swing, and then used his magic energy to cut through the Guard's armor, killing him quickly with the mystically heated blade.

Further Seidan Guards charged toward Cassius, until they started to be shot down by arrows which were charged with a tealish-blue mystical energy.

On the roof above the building where Darrius was based, stood another Resistance fighter. A lighter-skinned woman with blonde hair that had blue-dyed ends in a black and orange trench coat and uniform, as well as gauntlets with metallic light blue highlights at the cuffs and fingers. She wore an orange mask over her mouth and wielded a gunmetal and metallic blue crossbow which she used to shoot down her targets with expert precision, arrows stored in the quiver on her back. In her other hand was a sword with a curved blade, a gunmetal and orange hilt, and a blue gem in the middle.

Her name was Dani, one of a set of twins who were relatively recent recruits into the Resistance.

Her brother, Knox, preferred close-quarters fighting in most instances.

A Seidan Guard lieutenant attempted to rally the troops that Cassius and Dani had been terrorizing, coordinate them to effectively counter the rebels, only for Knox to emerge from a shadowy corner and quickly slit the Guard's throat with a silver knife he wielded.

Knox, like his sister, was dressed in a black and orange Resistance uniform with a trench coat over it. His pants and the lower part of his coat bore blue highlights, matching the highlights on his black-dyed hair and the metal on the staff he had strapped to his back, as well as the Resistance-trademark sunglasses he wore, a contrast to the orange lenses preferred by Darrius and Cassius.

Other Seidan Guards attempted to avenge the dying lieutenant, with two running at Knox while a medic rushed to their superior officer.

Knox sheathed his knife and released the staff from his back, cracking two Seidan Guards over the head with quick strikes before using the reach of the weapon to bash the medic away from their commander, jumping onto the Lieutenant and bashing the medic repeatedly with a powerful aggression, unleashing his hatred of the Seidan Guard.

His onslaught only stopped when another Guard blocked his staff with their naginata. Knox and this new opponent began dueling one another.

Dani was about to shoot down the Seidan Guard, before she spotted other troops advancing and began taking shots at them instead.

Inside the building, Darrius finished giving orders to his followers to make encampments throughout the city and strike at any Seidan Guard targets that came near, with a focus on high-ranking officers.

Afterwards, he deactivated his link to the mystical communications network with a tap on the side of his sunglasses, and stood up from the table he had been sitting at.

He looked out the window to see Cassius, Dani, and Knox fighting. Darrius was no coward, and intended to aid them now that prior business was taken care of.

Before he could step out, Dairou materialized from yellow smoke.

Darrius stopped himself, turned, and moved up his sunglasses slightly.

"I assume you have something to report?" He asked, his tone noticeably colder than how he usually addressed Dairou.

Dairou nodded. "While I'm under contract with you…" Dairou stressed to remind Darrius that he was not one of his devout followers. "Yes. Raiden's forces are closing in on the palace. Maybe if we'd allied with one of the factions here in Outworld we would've had a fighting force large enough to stop him before he got this far, but with everyone against everyone–"

"I don't pay you to lecture me in tactics!" Darrius snapped, much to Dairou's surprise, though the mercenary tried to remain stone faced. "I'm paying you to kill Hotaru! And when you could've helped me out an end to him, you hesitated! And why?! Because of the high ideals of a defector who hasn't been fighting this fight long enough to know what a true revolutionary needs to do!"

"She was an honorable warrior," Dairou countered. "And I understood her disillusionment with the Guard. I wasn't going to fight her."

"We can't afford to let anyone get in our way!" Darrius shouted.

"I've told you time and again, I'm not one of your followers." Dairou reminded him.

"If it wasn't for me, you'd still be rotting in a Seidan Guard prison." Darrius said with a venom in his voice.

Dairou clenched his fists. "I'm almost impressed. It took you until now to hold that over my head."

"It took until now for you to become unreliable." Darrius countered.

"I'll kill Hotaru," Dairou finally confirmed. "He's trying to rendezvous with Raiden right now. You and Havik almost had him before his troops got in the way. If you can muster the forces to deal with his bodyguards, I can finish the job, and you're free to help if you want the glory. But I won't kill Aunor."

Darrius grew a sly smile. "Now you're speaking my language. Keep a close eye on Hotaru, follow his troop movements and find me an opportune strikepoint. And don't worry about the defector, if she wants to help the Outworld civilians, I can respect that. This war is all over the place. I doubt she's close enough to stop me from killing Hotaru this time."

"I assume you've got something else in the works?" Dairou questioned out of simple curiosity.

Darrius nodded. "I didn't admit it when I was worried about losing you as an ally, but you've got a point. My fellow revolutionary Mileena has more forces at her disposal than I initially thought. It may be worthwhile to make a diplomatic venture."

Cassius came into the building for cover and shut the door behind him.

"How are things going out there?" Darrius asked.

"I'll start tracking Hotaru." Dairou offered before vanishing in another burst of yellow smoke.

"We're certainly giving the Guard a hard time, but taking out individual squads doesn't mean much with the size of their army," Cassius reported. "I kept the comm channel on, more allies could definitely help us turn the tide. The Outworld revolutionaries seem to be doing a better job of combating the Guard than the tyrant's defenders." he said with a chuckle.

"Raiden can have Kotal Kahn's head for all I care," Darrius replied to his second-in-command. "We just have to ensure that he doesn't seize control of Outworld. He'll give it to the Seidan Guard and they'll have a stage of operations so vast–"

"Sir, I know why this is important," Cassius tried to assure him. "We won't let them win. We've been dismantling their army bit by bit, and I'm certain that we could send them retreating if we only had the time. I ducked inside because a Centaur came running through and took care of a few Seidans for us."

"Thank you, Cassius," Darrius acknowledged sincerely. "It's just… I've had a lot on my mind."

Cassius put a hand on his leader's shoulder. "You don't have to carry the weight of the revolution's future all by yourself. We're here, Darrius."

Darrius nodded. "Thank you again, my friend."

"Any time." Cassius assured him.

"Is it safe enough out there for me to make it to Mileena's position?" Darrius questioned.

"It should be soon," Cassius answered. "Dani has been laying down cover fire from the moment Seidan Guards got between her sights."

"Good," Darrius replied. "Let's move as soon as we have the chance."

"Hold on," Cassius cautioned. "I think there are some wrinkles we need to discuss first."

"If there's something I've overlooked, please illuminate me," Darrius requested honestly. "Unlike the Senate, I plan on actually listening to my people."

"An alliance with the Outworld revolutionaries is sound in concept," Cassius acknowledged. "But the Chaosrealmers are going to complicate that. They're a valuable asset against the Seidan Guard, I won't deny their ability to make trouble at our advantage. But sir, I'm concerned that setting them loose on the battlefield will hurt our ability to make allies here. They've been running wild and we've only managed to keep them off of our people, so long as none of us get within the blast radius of that mad god. And they look like they can barely restrain themselves from killing me every time I get close to one of them. Allies like them aren't good for diplomacy."

Darrius turned away and put his hand to his chin, pondering his options.

"Havik and his bunch have been helpful so far," Darrius conceded. "But they'll fight the Seidan Guard whether they're on our side or not. Allies in Outworld gives us much bigger reach, and right now, a bigger army to fight Hotaru's thugs with. Plus they're more predictable by the simple virtue of not being Chaosrealmers."

"Are you saying we leave Havik and the others out to dry just to get Mileena's people on our side?" Cassius questioned.

"A sudden betrayal, how's that for Chaos," Darrius chuckled to himself. "Havik will love it." He laughed some more. "Honestly Cassius, I think turning on that lunatic will only make him respect us more!"

It dawned on Cassius. "And if they like the way we create our Chaos, they'll be up for working with us the next time we need them."

"Exactly," Darrius confirmed. "Let's get moving. If we play our cards right, we might be liberating Seido and Outworld all in one day."

Darrius stopped himself right as he reached for the doorknob.

"What's Zagot's current position? " he asked.

"Airborne, fighting the Wind God from Earthrealm." Cassius answered.

"Good…" Darrius responded. "So long as he's away from our people."

"How are we going to deal with Raiden without him?" Cassius questioned, understanding the Chaos God's tactical purpose even if had never trusted the madman.

"Our best hope is that whoever comes out on top between him and the Wind God has enough fight to take care of Raiden for us," Darrius. "Zagot was my ace in the hole far as he was concerned."

"Gods," Cassius said disgustedly. "Always a problem."

"We'll find a way to deal with them," Darrius assured him. "And when we do, Abacus will die. But for now,"

Darrius opened the door.

"Let's help Outworld liberate itself."

While Darrius sought to protect the future of his revolution, the Red Dragon and Black Dragon clans were fighting simply to survive.

That goal would be somewhat more difficult to achieve without Tremor among them.

The Black Dragon geomancer had thrown the massive battle into complete chaos, killing dozens upon dozens of combatants with a powerful earthquake. He was the powerhouse of the Black Dragon clan, and virtually unstoppable on the battlefield.

Unstoppable in Earthrealm, anyway.

Newly restored to life after years a revenant, Queen Sindel of Edenia had taken upon herself to remove Tremor from the battle so he could not cause further devastation.

She had flown him miles away from the battle and the two had fought for a prolonged period.

However, as the battle moved into the Outworld capital, Sindel felt it important to aid her daughters in fighting both groups of oppressors.

To that end, she had grabbed Tremor and flown him to the nearest dock, going further still before dropping the Black Dragon into the ocean, hoping that would be sufficient to incapacitate him for the time being.

Tremor sank to the bottom of the water fairly quickly, due to his rock-made body. Unwilling to accept defeat, he created platforms from the seafloor beneath him to hoist himself to the surface of the water. It would take him time to return to the battle, leaving his Black Dragon allies and their Red Dragon collaborators to fight for themselves against the various factions which constituted their enemies.

The Red Dragons had decided that direct confrontation with the multiple opposing armies was a fool's errand, and instead decided upon hit-and-run tactics making use of their mass produced personal cloaking devices.

Their aim was simply to weaken all of their enemies, to ensure that no matter who won this war, all parties involved would come away damaged. Ensuring that Raiden did not gain a foothold in Outworld was of course the main priority. Not only were they likely to be wiped out after Raiden's larger enemies were annihilated, if the Thunder God was allowed to have his way. There was also the factor of the clan's operations in Outworld, specifically sensitive information and significant interests that Daegon had been working to piece together ever since he learned of Edenia's merging into Outworld.

The Red Dragon leader would not allow Raiden or anyone else to disrupt his quest and prevent him from claiming his birthright.

As Daegon cut through his enemies with no regard for who they served using his Drakeswords, weapons forged by his father and enchanted by the Elder Gods themselves for their intended task, blood splattering across the armor forged by his mother, he swore that he would kill Raiden if the chance to strike the Thunder God arose, and send a message to all that the Red Dragon was to be feared.

After all, he would not be the first god that Daegon had slain.

In addition to the Red Dragon's other objectives, their involvement in this war also served as the perfect opportunity for a wider field test of Doctor Alan Zane's hybrid Dragon warriors.

The two soldiers who had won Daegon's approval to undergo transformation and command the hybrids in field operations, Arvind and Omaira led their fellow hybrids into battle against all of the Red Dragon clan's enemies. They tore through all who stood in their way with sharp claws and melee weapons wielded by the more intelligent among the hybrids. When enemy soldiers began to swarm them, the hybrids would scorch all in their path with their fire breath, burning down buildings and leaving scorched bodies in their wake.

The rest of the Red Dragon's operatives continued their subtler approach and use of hit-and-run tactics, while leaving the hybrids to cause carnaged throughout the battlefield.

They generally tried to stay out of the way of the hybrids, fearing their ferocity almost as much as the clan's enemies did, with the singular exception of Doctor Alan Zane, who moved through the battlefield surrounded by a contingent of his hybrids as bodyguards, laughing with maniacal glee as he watched them kill everything in their path.

Occasionally an enemy combatant would get past Zane's guards, only to be cut down by the steel blades that the deranged doctor has surgically attached to his arms. He reveled in the chaos, and in the role his creations were playing in it.

By contrast, Hsu Hao and Asuka were much more restrained and focused on the mission at hand as they led a contingent of human Red Dragon troops into battle.

Their regimented squad of soldiers were formidable foes who took out any foes that came into their path. Were the Red Dragon equipped with a larger army, they might have been able to win this entire war.

But that was not the objective, Hsu Hao and Asuka understood this. They needed only weaken their enemies, and Asuka was wholly committed to that goal.

Hsu Hao was equally committed; he had dedicated his life to the Red Dragon clan. Never before had he had any personal affairs to attend to.

But for the first time in his decades of service to the Red Dragon, there was one.

"Asuka, I have spotted a Seidan commander nearby." He spoke out.

"You want us to redirect the troops?" Asuka asked while gunning down Centaurs and Osh-Tekk as they clashed with Edenians and Tarkatans, who would be felled as well when the Red Dragon came their way.

"Negative," Hsu Hao refused. "Some of our Black Dragon allies are already engaged with the enemy."

"You trust them to have your back?" Asuka questioned.

"No," Hsu Hao denied. "I will intercede to ensure their success."

"Ahh, babysitting duty." Asuka said understandingly.

Hsu Hao nodded, his version of acknowledging a joke, so far as Asuka could tell.

The Red Dragon commander began moving away from the group and towards the Black Dragons.

The swordsman Connor was leading this particular group of Black Dragons into battle against a contingent of Seidan Guard troops. The Orderrealmers were themselves faced with ambushes from Seidan Resistance operatives and the additional resistance of troops from Mileena's Union who fought in unison with White Lotus monks, as well as some of Kotal Kahn's Osh-Tekk forces.

Connor had been reluctant to involve himself in this whole mess from the beginning, preferring to remain underground with Rojack's Black Dragon sect until it was safe to resume operating as normal. The man had provided sanctuary for Black Dragons like Connor that kept them away from the heat the main organization had been getting. Now they'd been dragged out into the open for no other reason that Jarek had asked and Rojack said yes. Connor wasn't sure why Rojack had conceded to the demands of the Black Dragon leadership, he had a substantial amount of supporters, but then Connor remembered how this battle had begun for him and imagined what would happen if Tremor had been sent after them…

And then there was this alliance with the Red Dragon. It spelled bad news, especially for a Black Dragon like Connor.

A Special Forces operative, Blade's kid, seemed to have garnered the rep for being the one to do Mavado in. But these Red Dragons were thorough, and the swordsman was terrified that they would find out eventually.

His worries were not helped by the enemies who would stab him in the front rather than the back. Many of the enemy soldiers were skilled combatants, warriors who put Connor's skills with a blade to the test in a way he would usually enjoy if he wasn't in the middle of a warzone.

His biggest concern was having to bring his blade to bear against Shirai Ryu or Lin Kuei ninjas, having heard of their prowess and being concerned as to whether or not he could match up. He would have asked Tasia for some training on this front had she not stuck so close to the central Black Dragon leadership. To this day, he wasn't sure why she didn't just let Kano's regular associates burn or rot with him.

But then again, he had his own concerns to deal with, chief among them as of now being the Seidan Guard commander who had brought a sword against Connor's own, and in addition their armor, had a shield to defend themselves with.

This strongly defensible opponent left Connor on the backfoot, unable to make much headway with his sword strikes despite his swiftness and how well-placed they were. The shield in particular made it difficult to go for the Guard's neck.

The other Black Dragons in Connor's vicinity were caught up with their own fighting, until the swordsman heard what sounded like a loud foot stomping down and then a sudden tremor across the ground knocked down all the other combatants.

Connor and the Seidan commander barely managed to maintain their footing, but their battle was short lived when Connor heard someone clapping their hands before a shockwave flung the two combatants away from the rest of the battle, which was beginning to resume itself in spite of the sudden quake.

Connor struggled to get up, only for a strong hand to grab him by the arm. The hand seemed to be flickering in and out of existence, becoming visible and invisible again and again.

Hsu Hao grew weary of this effect and deactivated the malfunctioning cloaking device before grabbing Connor's other arm and preventing the Black Dragon from grabbing his sword.

"What the bloody hell are you–" Connor's sentence was cut off by the abrupt snap of bone as both his arms were pulled in very much the wrong direction.

"We… we had a…"

"The truce will not be violated," Hsu Hao informed him matter-of-factly. "Now die quietly."

Connor was about to scream when he felt a heat behind him and saw a red glow from the corner of his eye. Before he could utter a single sound, Hsu Hao's chest laser incinerated his entire head.

Hsu Hao threw the corpse to the ground before fixing his unwavering gaze upon the Seidan commander, who had reclaimed their sword and shield.

Hsu Hao walked towards the Seidan Guard without any sign of fear. The Orderrealm soldier would never admit it, but they respected that about their opponent. They raised their shield and held their sword at the ready.

Hsu Hao's chest laser fired again the moment they went for another strike, burning through the metal of the shield and singeing the commander's armor as they were thrown back by the force of the blast, the calculating Red Dragon abruptly cutting off the beam.

The Seidan commander struggled to get up, tossing their shield away as it was now useless. They kept a firm grip on their sword and swung up at Hsu Hao, who grabbed their blade with a red glow overtaking his hand. He snapped the blade like a twig and then grabbed the Orderrealmer's arm. Hsu Hao pulled out one of his Sun Moon Blades and slashed the Seidan Guard's throat as though he were performing surgery. The Orderrealmer had tried to throw a punch but their arm felt limp after they were slashed.

Hsu Hao dragged the body of the Seidan commander back to the nearby battle and threw it at a vampire who was flying low in an attempt to attack some of Kotal's forces.

He took out both of his Sun Moon Blades and began cutting through enemy combatants, firing his chest laser when needed.

Though they did not trust him, the Black Dragons rallied around him by default.

"What happened to Connor?" asked Tim Moriarity, one of the Black Dragons, as she shot an Osh-Tekk in the face with a pistol.

"The Seidan Guard I executed melted his head with their magma-manipulative sorcery," Hsu Hao lied coldly. "I have resolved the matter."

"Damn." Tim responded.

Fortunately for Hsu Hao, the Black Dragon's leadership and other prominent members had their own problems to attend to.

Kabal had escaped from Tasia and Jarek when the battle moved into the Outworld capitol, his supernatural speed granting him a quick getaway once he stopped actively fighting. It didn't much matter to them, since he was far from being their main priority at the moment.

Instead, their main focus was primarily mere survival. They had no idea what had happened to Tremor and knew he wouldn't be able to bail them out of this situation like he had in times past. They had to rely on their own wits and skills if they were going to get out of this one.

They were also fortunate enough to have No Face and his indiscriminate burning of everything in sight to create distance between them and most enemies.

For as much as Tasia and Jarek were able to protect themselves and hold their own in this battle so long as they were not overwhelmed by greater numbers of enemies, their own lives were not the only ones they were responsible for.

They also had to be concerned for the well-being of their troops, for too many losses could greatly weaken the Black Dragon clan. While their global network was wide, the Special Forces and Raiden had cracked down on them hard, and the clan's resources were far from unlimited, and far from matching the size of the armies they were now fighting against.

Both Tasia and Jarek fought their enemies with an anger that strongly reflected how they felt about their situation. When they had taken Daegon's deal, their assumption was that the alliance would serve mostly as mutual protection from the Special Forces, Raiden, and anyone else that both clans had made enemies of. Now Daegon had dragged them into a warzone mostly to protect his interests, goals he had not disclosed to them, his supposed "partners", and seemingly to bring the Black Dragon head-on into the various enemies they had made in Outworld.

Granted, the Red Dragon had made many of the same enemies in Outworld, but left to their own devices, the Black Dragon would've much preferred to keep their heads down… for however long they would've been able to do so if Raiden succeeded in conquering Outworld.

If they still had the nuclear missile they had stolen from the US military a few years back, the Black Dragon might've had some negotiating power to keep their enemies off of them. But Kano had wasted that bargaining chip on the Shokan armies in a bid for favor with Kotal Kahn that had failed spectacularly because the greedy moron couldn't resist double-dealing.

And now here they were, fighting a war they wanted no part in the hope that they could at least assist their enemies in killing each other, with only their most hated rivals for assistance.

Jarek figured there had to be some cosmic irony to it all. Tasia couldn't bring herself to be even that optimistic.

No Face was enjoying himself at least. War was a chance to burn people, a lesson he had learned in his prior life as a US soldier. And he could do it with the safety of knowing that the Black Dragon clan would never put him to a tribunal for war crimes.

While the madman had enough sense not to trust the Red Dragon, he was thoroughly enjoying their alliance so far and the chance to indulge his murderous impulses, aided even further by the tech upgrades the Red Dragon had provided to him, flying into the air and raining flaming death upon his enemies.

No Face's success even inspired Daegon to begin dispatching some of his own jetpack-equipped troops, the Red Dragon's best chance at challenging the air superiority of the vampires and Aviens that fought with Mileena's Union.

The natural fliers had superior maneuverability which allowed them to fly circles around the Red Dragons, but their high caliber weaponry still allowed them to leave their mark, and it wasn't long before bodies were falling from the sky on both sides.

The hail of the dead only added to the carnage and despair of the battle as lives were lost in the pursuit of Freedom, Dominance, Chaos, Order, Survival, and everything in between.

It was enough to drive a person insane, and No Face was the living proof.

The chaos of the situation was overwhelming even for Kobra and Kira. They were not exactly stable individuals, battle and hectic situations had practically become their natural environments over the years without any support to catch them before they could fall as much as they had.

They fought every enemy that came up against them and won every engagement, showing no mercy to their foes. But even with Kobra's great anger that fighting was for, even with Kira's resentment towards organized society for Its creation of a world she never felt she belonged in, this battle, it all began to feel… pointless.

It was like they were just going through the motions, fighting because the situation called on them to fight. They felt numb to it all… just hoping that it would end soon and they could go home, especially with the fate of Nimbus Terrafaux weighing on Kobra's mind. His mentor's status as a Red Dragon prisoner fueled Kobra's anger as well as his apathy towards this battle, and he wanted to get it over with as soon as possible.

Though her own mental health was far from optimal, Kira was more empathetic than some might assume, and worried about how Kobra was holding up. Fighting alongside him preserved his physical health at the very least, but she hoped they would have a chance to talk when this was all over. He was the only person she felt comfortable talking about such personal things with.

Her ex-girlfriend Libby had previously held that position, but their relationship had deteriorated, and Kira no longer felt comfortable being too open with her. Even still, she hoped that she was alright, but nevertheless her main focus in this battle remained on Kobra, who she skillfully slew scores of enemies alongside.

Libby herself was focused on survival just as much as any of the Black Dragon, held up in the remains of a few destroyed buildings which had been converted into makeshift cover, shooting at the clan's enemies along with Rojack, Tread, and Quinn.

The ambitious Black Dragon "entrepreneur" was mainly concerned with keeping his own people alive. Rojack had helped many Black Dragons stay underground ever since the Special Forces began cracking down harder on the clan with Raiden's assistance, winning a fair amount of loyalty to himself that he had his intentions of executing.

Libby had been one of Rojack's standard company for some time now, but her heart certainly wasn't in this fight, nor was it dedicated to the Black Dragon cause, whatever that even meant. Her continued service to the clan was only to acquire the money she needed for her family, and to pay off debts acquired with Rojack in an all too businessman like attempt to ensure her loyalty.

He would have to release her from their informal contract when the money was paid off, and Rojack knew that. He had already assessed Libby to be of no threat to his plans, but he also wanted to make use of her skills while he had her. Her marksmanship had been chief among them.

Libby's father had been a soldier, and he had died from injuries sustained in combat, but not before teaching her a few things. She was dangerous and respected, which helped her keep other members of the clan at a distance. After the end of her relationship with Kira, she had no desire to get close with people.

Her skill with firearms aided her in joining Rojack's Black Dragons in the firefight they had engaged in against some of Kotal Kahn's troops.

As it turned out, Erron Black had trained them hastily in his desire to escape from Kotal's service before he could get swept up in the war. The Osh-Tekk soldiers understood the basics of gunplay but were poor shots, especially against opponents of equal arms, allowing Libby and her allies to gun them down with relative ease as far as firefights went.

The rest of this war wouldn't be easy for the Black Dragon clan, or for anyone.

And with regards to Erron Black, his plans of escape had not gone well at all.

He suspected that trying to escort Malachite and Peridot out of the capitol city was actively slowing him down, but the two Edenian traitors might hold the key to his salvation from the encroaching shadow of death.

Even as the war raged on around him, Erron could feel himself getting slower, his steps getting shakier, his revolvers feeling heavier.

His newest clients could notice this and it only worried them. They offered no aid to Erron, as he expected, and only thought of him as their defense.

Their continued presence was frustrating Erron. It felt like hauling dead weight. It was no wonder to him why Jade wanted nothing to do with them. Hell, if Mileena ended up winning the war, if Outworld even survived any of this, it crossed Erron's mind that he might be able to hand these two over to receive punishment for their betrayal of Edenia in exchange for what he needed… and maybe some extra koins.

He didn't want them to know that, of course. They were no physical threat, even in his current state, but having to carry their unconscious bodies would reduce them to far more of a problem in terms of dead weight. Not an optimal situation.

It didn't help that every blast, every nearby swing of a melee weapon, every arrow or bullet or mystical projectile that flew by. Every last bit of this battle made these two cowards jump and recoil and holler at Erron for their safety. It was extremely frustrating, and he could see why even Kotal was put off by these two.

His greater worry was the two drawing attention to them. Erron had been a high profile agent of Kotal's regime until very recently, and the current Emperor's enemies, both foreign and domestic, were likely to see him as a potential target who's death or capture could weaken Kotal's military. The war had begun in too short order for news of his intended retirement to make its way across Outworld, and he wasn't sure if that would've taken the target off his back anyway.

Not to mention the personal vendettas Erron had put himself on the receiving end of in his life. He had killed many Tarkatans in the service of Kotal, and wielded Karbrac's broken blade as a weapon. The Tarkatans in joining Mileena's Union were no longer bound to their prior subservience to Kotal, and Karbrac was their leader. Erron also lacked the protection of Kotal's army.

To make matters worse, Erron was a traitor to Earthrealm. Those 150 years ago, Raiden had seemed merely disheartened by his change of allegiance. A flash of anger, but nothing which compared to the rage he had now seen the Thunder God exhibit. As far as Erron was concerned, finding himself in Raiden's line of sight would be certain death.

Matters were made even worse that his current clients were two Edenian traitors. They had money to placate anyone morally lacking enough to be bought out, and that was it. And considering Erron's enemies were warriors of convictions and passions… that wasn't going to work.

Malachite and Peridot had no fighting skills and no fighters serving them… other than Erron. Mileena's Union and especially the components of the older Edenian Resistance that they had absorbed were surely going to want these two, which caused Erron to circle back around to his plan to surrender them in exchange for mercy plus tax.

Any way Erron saw it, he was in a rotten situation and Malachite and Peridot were of no help other than what they could give him only after getting out of this warzone, which it seemed to become more unlikely that they would be able to escape from by the second.

At this point, Erron was just running and leading his two charges along, making no effort to engage with anyone else. Doing so would bring him into the battle, and he certainly didn't want that.

He spotted a few of the Osh-Tekk soldiers he had trained pointlessly giving their lives for an Emperor that was nowhere to be found on this battlefield. They weren't exactly ace shooters, Erron was no expert teacher and he had rushed their training in his desire to escape this war entirely. His reputation as a good shooter was built mostly on the lack of competition within Outworld. Still, it had earned him a place in Kotal's plan other than direct combat. Erron knew the second this whole thing had started that Kotal would send him to fight, hence his quickness to leave the current Emperor's ranks. And he would still send him into battle if Erron tried to re-pledge himself to the coward right now. No chance for protection there, but also a perfect chance for Kotal to brand him as a traitor and hunt him down. Not only for deserting his ranks, which Erron had a feeling Kotal thought of his departure as despite pretending to be amicable about the "retirement", but also the fact that Erron had "taken" Kotal's Edenian spokespeople.

Erron shook his head just thinking about it. The plan Kotal had been trying to execute in recruiting Malachite and Peridot was never going to work. The Edenian people were too committed to freeing their home and too opposed to tyrants to ever be talked into submitting to his rule, especially when that rule was far weaker than Shao Kahn's had been.

These were things Erron had learned simply fighting Edenians, the only exceptions so far being his two clients. Even non-combatant civilians took part in protests.

But, as Erron reminded himself, every group of people had their cowards. Erron knew full well that many in Outworld considered him to be an example of such regarding Earthrealmers.

Plenty of people in Earthrealm itself thought of him the same way too.

But Erron had learned many years ago to only care what other people think when they might kill you.

Erron's enemies were preoccupied with their war for the time being, but he had a strong feeling that he would catch someone's attention sooner or later.

All that mattered was making it out of the city alive. Erron knew the way rather well, he used to slip out of his own accord when he had business to attend to that he didn't want Kotal to know about.

But those routes relied on civilian bustle and knowing where Kotal's troop patrols would and wouldn't be at various times of day.

With the civilians bluntly forced out by Kotal's troops to fully militarize the city, and the city itself consumed entirely by war, none of Erron's usual routes would help in this situation.

His escape attempt involved weaving away from and between the various dueling combatants. Eyes were bound to fall on him as he passed soldiers of the armies who wanted him dead.

A number of Osh-Tekk hadn't even gotten the memo regarding Erron's departure, and tried to call out to him for assistance. The mercenary gave them none, and the deadly efficiency of the Seidan Guard saw them cut down soon after.

A few Centaurs saw him as well, but they merely huffed and kept fighting. Though Motaro had developed a small personal respect for Erron at the Festival of the Sun, the mercenary was still fairly unpopular among segments of Outworld. The Centaurs did not outright despise him, but his cowardice, as well as that of his Edenian clients, was nothing more than expected to them. Any among them who knew that Erron had left Kotal's ranks still didn't pursue him. To them, he was unworthy of an honorable death in battle.

And that was fine with Erron. He didn't plan on dying at all.

But things hardly ever went his way.

The day was not exactly going as planned for Hotaru either, and he had a far larger stake in its outcome.

Raiden's one-man assault on the Outworld capital combined with the arrival of the Seidan Guard reinforcements under Konamosu's command had succeeded in turning the battle to the Guard's favor for a time. But in the chaos of it all, that advantage was beginning to slip.

The Seidan Guard had the largest army of any faction present at the battle, a circumstance which may not have been the case if Kotal Kahn had not split his forces.

The thought of this had crossed Hotaru's mind as he had made his best effort to lead his troops through this battle and this war. He considered himself fortunate that he was combating a fool. Hotaru was vaguely aware of the political situation in Outworld, that the Shokan had opposed Kotal Kahn in the past, and that a prominent Naknadan had been executed by him.

Was the goal for the Seidan Guard to weaken these people for Kotal? Hotaru didn't know that he was spot on in that hypothesis, but he also didn't care. All he needed to know was that Kotal was a barbaric ruler with a disorganized empire that had fallen into Chaos over a period of years. A state of division unruliness rivaling only the early days of Shao Kahn's reign.

Hotaru had no great love for Shao Kahn, or any tyrant that would create Chaos through mad crusades of conquest, but even he had maintained more Order in this realm than Kotal Kahn had even gotten close to. The army of Outworld residents opposing his rule was visible proof of this to Hotaru, further evidence of the unstable Chaos of Outworld that the Seidan Guard would bring to an end when they were victorious.

It had been Hotaru's hope that victory would come swiftly as well. The Seidan Guard was an efficient, organized force. They tended to overcome their enemies through careful strategy, even in situations where their ability to prepare was limited.

And Hotaru had indeed prepared his troops. Prepared them to battle Kotal Kahn's army, and Mileena's rebels if they became an issue as Raiden had correctly predicted.

Everything else at play here mounted Hotaru's frustrations.

He had expected a move from the Resistance, it would have been foolish not to. Darrius was bound to take advantage of the Guard's divided forces to mount some kind of attack. Hotaru's greatest fear was the Senate of Order falling to the rebels while he was here in Outworld, a concern shared by High Chancellor Abacus, placing extra pressure upon Hotaru's shoulders.

But instead, Darrius had decided to interfere with this crucial operation. And allied with Havik and his followers of Chaos.

And then there was Dairou. An attempt to reach out on Hotaru's part had meant nothing. The mercenary had used his lingering fondness to feed information to the Resistance. And the Chaos of Outworld had taken another trusted Guard from him in the form of Aunor, worsening Hotaru's disposition further.

And on top of that, elements native to Earthrealm had decided to defy Raiden in spite of the fact that he was undertaking this venture on their behalf.

Centuries ago, Hotaru could not have imagined looking over such an ungrateful populus. The people of Seido, of Orderrealm, had historically been law-abiding, peaceful, obedient. The system that Hotaru had spent lifetimes enforcing and maintaining.

When the Resistance began, no one who had lived the status quo and accepted the system as necessary could possibly have imagined its rise.

Even after all this time, Hotaru remained ignorant of the injustices caused by the government he fought for, why Darrius and his followers fought. He hadn't seen, and refused to see, the way the Seidan Guard's "Order" kept the people of Seido under their heel. Fearful, repressed, always filled with anxiety over breaking even the smallest law.

It was the way things should be. That is how Hotaru had always thought.

But Chaos always stood in the way of Order. This had been the way of things since Chaosrealm was discovered by the Seidans, the first crossing between these polar opposite realms changing the fates of all their peoples irrevocably.

In particular, Hotaru believed that this was what had allowed Chaos to "infect" Orderrealm, and weaken the mental defenses of the Seidan people that kept them resistant to Chaos, another piece of Seidan dogma that Hotaru had been indoctrinated to believe for the majority of his life.

He considered Darrius and his followers to be of minds especially susceptible to the influence of Chaos. Without Chaos, there would be no Resistance. Hotaru and Darrius might have even been friends.

But even with the nuisance of the Resistance, Order had in large part retained its firm hold over Seido, a grip that had grown far looser than Hotaru had realized or would admit to himself.

But regardless of where things were now, Hotaru held the belief that Chaos had needed to be introduced into Seido, into Orderrealm.

But Earthrealm? Outworld? As far as Hotaru was concerned, these realms had been steeped in Chaos for their entire natural histories.

Earthrealm was an incoherent mess to him. Hotaru couldn't fathom how Garret had lived there for so many years before he had joined the Seidan Guard. Full of wars within themselves, split between multiple nations, ridden with criminals like the Red Dragon and Black Dragon clans, and evidently people willing to defy their own Protector God and the fight he was waging on their behalf.

It was utterly illogical. Outworld had also been consumed by a history of Chaos, but at least Hotaru could make sense of it. The people of this realm had been subjugated by powerful tyrants for millennia, and now that they were faced with a much weaker dictator, it was easy for Chaos to inspire rebellion.

The way Hotaru saw things, the people of Outworld had never seen true Order. Only the blunt and callous tyranny of dictators.

What rebels like Darrius, and the Outworlders who traitors like Aunor and Raiden's former allies supported, who fought for their apparent "freedom", as well as those traitors themselves, failed to realize, was what Hotaru's long-ingrained belief that the doctrine of the Seidan Guard told him was undeniably true:

From his perspective, the Seidan Guard and Raiden were liberating Outworld. Liberating them from the tyranny of Kotal Kahn, and by extension Shao Kahn's brutal legacy. From the weight of freedom and needing to govern themselves. Gifting them Order.

A gift they were so ready to refuse!

Hotaru's frustration came to a boiling point as he unleashed a wave of lava with one swipe of his hand that melted away the flesh of a group of Osh-Tekk soldiers, freedom fighters from a variety of Outworld races, Chaosrealmers, and Black Dragons who had been locked in combat, all in one fell swoop.

The uncharacteristic brutality of his leader startled Garret Bennet deeply. Such callous disregard for life was something he had seen before, in his Earthrealm commanders during his time as a medieval knight. He had found much of that work unsavory upon reflection, and had been proud to serve the Seidan Guard in order to enforce true Order and Justice. There was a civility and restraint to their actions that Garret had not seen in his conflicts of Earthrealm. They fought to protect innocents, not conquer them.

At least, that was the way Garret had seen things in all these years that he had served with the Guard. And he had been proud of that service…

Until now…

Quelling riots and combatting attacks by the Resistance as well as the occasional band of Chaosrealm marauders had been one thing. The purpose that Garret had been told that they were here, to bring an end to the reign of a violent dictator and help the people he had oppressed into some form of stability, had been one thing.

This was something far different. It felt like the veil of this mission's altruism had been lifted from Garret's eyes. Sure, they were advancing towards Kotal Kahn, and Garret strongly suspected that Raiden would kill him soon, but along the path from getting here, this intervention to save Outworld had turned into little more than an invasion.

Aunor had seen this. She had warned him about this, been open about her concerns with this. She had even given up her allegiance to the Seidan Guard in order to fight for what she believed.

And yet, as Garret looked at himself, he was still here. Taking part in this invasion, in the carnage of this war. In one day, he had seen Raiden raze armies and thousands of Outworlders who held no love for Kotal Kahn fight Garret's very own fellow soldiers for nothing more than their homes.

This was wrong, it all felt wrong, but Garret couldn't muster the strength in himself to do anything about it. What was he to do? He was currently shoulder to shoulder with Hotaru as they marched towards the palace. Any attempt to break away and aid the freedom fighters would be met with swift retribution, and after the betrayal of Aunor, with the anger and frustration that was already consuming Hotaru, Garret had a feeling he would not last long.

His death would be similarly quick if he tried to strike Hotaru, and Garret knew deep down that the invasion would continue even if his leader was killed, and Garret had mere hours ago helped Hotaru survive the combined forces of Darrius and Havik. Had he already chosen his loyalties then? Was there no hope for Garret to stand up for what he believed in?

No, that couldn't be true. Although they were on opposite sides to the Seidan Guard, he was surrounded by people fighting for what they believed in. And he had examples like Aunor and… the Hotaru he thought he knew, to guide him.

Garret decided to privately hold on to his hope, look for a way to resolve this calamity, or at the very least, fight for the people he was dangerously close to aiding in the subjugation of. It would be the end of the life he had known in the Seidan Guard, a life and sense of purpose he had been grateful for in all the centuries it had given him. But he could not simply allow this to happen. Not when it had become clear the Seidan Guard was helping no one, and its help was not wanted.

Unaware of Garret's inner thoughts, Dairou had no intention of aiding who appeared to be simply another Seidan Guard as he perched himself on a rooftop along the wide road that Hotaru and his forces were traveling and battling along on their way to Kotal's palace.

As Darrius had instructed, he was observing the Seidan leader for now, a fine mostly idle task that hardly interfered with Darrius's personal prerogative of helping anyone he deemed innocent in this conflict.

Even still, he had a strong feeling that anyone who got in Hotaru's way was already lost. Dairou himself had been able to fight the Seidan Guard leader to a stalemate mere hours ago, with minimal assistance. But now Hotaru was not only surrounded by guards, which Dairou knew he could easily dispatch, but he had begun making far more liberal use of his mystical power of magma, making a confrontation far more hazardous for Dairou than when Hotaru had relatively held himself back before.

The situation didn't exaclty bother Dairou, he could wait for backup from Darrius. Killing Hotaru had never been a particularly personal desire for him, merely a contract.

Granted, it had become a bit more personal now that Dairou felt some responsibility to stop Hotaru's unjust treatment of Outworld civilians.

It was not lost on Dairou that he could have been extending such assistance to civilians in Seido for years, especially with how he'd learned to evade the Seidan Guard ever since he escaped from prison.

Perhaps his cynicism had been what held his more noble side back so long. The state of things in Orderrealm had seemed hopeless for so long, Dairou's only focus had been on making a living for himself. Darrius's rebellion had its victories, but their force was far smaller than the Guard and it seemed like such an uphill battle that it would take millennia until they were victorious.

But here, Dairou had seen forces able to resist the Seidan Guard's formidable might. Forces that were divided, but capable nonetheless. Furthermore, Dairou had been even more astonished by the brave souls like Aunor, Hanzo, Kabal, and Kitana who had been willing to resist Raiden and the Seidan Guard despite the lack of anywhere near the reinforcements they would need to succeed. Willing to sacrifice their lives for civilians. For the innocent ones in all this.

Dairou knew he was guilty. He had helped Hotaru and Raiden get this far. Sure, he had been no grand architect of their crusade to conquer Earthrealm and Seido's enemies. He was not exactly one of their chief allies, but even still: he had participated in the slaughtering of the Brotherhood of Shadow, he had fought against the Shokan and Naknadan armies on behalf of Raiden's aims to neutralize Outworld as a thread, killed and intimidated people who could have resisted Raiden's current push into the very heart of Kotal Kahn's Empire.

Then Dairou rationalized that it hadn't been all bad. Kotal Kahn's continued reign over Outworld was far from what he desired either. Even still, this entire war… he couldn't help but feel partially responsible. Both for helping it start… and if possible, helping it end.

As he watched Hotaru continue to march on with his troops, he hoped the same hope shared by Garret and so many here on this battlefield: That this war would indeed be brought to an end.

Unfortunately, there were those souls that didn't want an end to this war. No, they would prefer that it carry on forever, and that none of the factions present succeed.

These warped souls were, of course, Havik and the band of Chaosrealmers he considered his clergy.

Though frustrated that Hotaru had escaped from his grasp, Havik had gotten over it. After all, once freed from the obligation of battling his hated enemy, he could enact gleeful chaos alongside the members of his clergy, running throughout the battlefield like a plague and striking down everyone they came across in however grotesque a fashion they desired.

They destroyed buildings and greenery as well, acting with reckless abandon as they left corpses and rapidly spreading, burning Chaosrealm fire in their wake.

As per usual, Kalamity and Katastrophe were right by Havik's side, reveling in the madness and venerating their cleric for his tutelage in the ways of Chaos.

Realizing that the Chaosrealmers were little more than rabid marauders with no real stake in the outcome of this battle that would advantage any of the parties involved, most of the factions that fought in the battle began to pull their forces away from the Chaosrealmers and attempt to simply avoid them, confronting them head-on to neutralize their immediate threat when this failed.

Unfortunately, only the Seidan Guards had the proper experience in fighting Chaosrealmers. Most of the forces from other realms that came up against Havik and his group found themselves bewildered by the way the Chaosrealmers fought, and quickly overwhelmed by their incoherent fighting styles and not-indecent numbers, not to mention how difficult they were to properly kill.

Indeed what was ultimately a very small player in this field of war had become unstoppable in their own way, at least until they ran into squads of Seidan Guards, who were more equipped and trained in dealing with their kind.

The Orderrealmers and Chaosrealmers were fairly evenly matched, and Havik eagerly took the opportunity to bash in Seidan heads with his morningstar. After all, doing so would weaken Hotaru's forces, and although Havik cared little for specific "purposes" other than his service to Chaos, that was why they were there thanks to that disgusting "agreement" he had reached Darrius.

Oh well, there would be time to break that agreement later.

As difficult to fight as the Chaosrealmers were as a force, they still paled in comparison to the power of the God who aided them, none other than Zagot.

Luckily for all those present at the battle, Zagot was currently being held at bay by a fellow god: the Wind God of Earthrealm, Fujin.

Ironically, in battling Fujin, Zagot was fulfilling much the opposite of the tactical function that Darrius had envisioned for the Chaos God. Zagot's power was meant to come to bear against Raiden, to hold the Thunder God at bay while Darrius and his forces weakened the Seidan Guard army, at least enough to potentially force a retreat.

Fujin had also come here to prevent Raiden from achieving his goals, but in a cruel twist of fate, both he and Zagot now held each other back from their goals, a situation which Raiden had improvised when faced with both Gods in order to enact his current siege of the Outworld capital unchallenged by any who matched his power.

Fujin was acutely aware that his brother was keeping him distracted in this way, but also knew that he could not allow Zagot to run free across the battlefield, else the results could be catastrophic.

Zagot himself would have enjoyed the chance to challenge Raiden further, but he was content to disrupt the plans of any God, viewing any Gods not of Chaosrealm to be agents of Order and thus his enemies.

Not sharing in the Chaos God's desire to prolong the confrontation for its own sake, Fujin considered ways to contain Zagot in his mind. Banishing the Chaos God back to the realm he resided in had proven ineffectual, as all Gods were capable of creating portals between the realms.

It had occurred to Fujin that Shinnok's Amulet, which Raiden brandished on his chest as a war trophy, had the power to imprison Zagot… as well as Raiden himself if Fujin failed at being able to reach his brother and convince him to stop all of this… his first attempt having failed already.

But… Fujin supposed that he couldn't even really think about that now. He would have a hard time getting the Amulet off of Raiden, putting it mildly, and he found himself unable to get away from Zagot to begin with.

So, as much as it bothered him that he could not deal with the true threat at hand, Fujin settled for at least being able to keep this mad God away from hurting innocents and people otherwise unprepared for his destructive power.

Fujin flew backwards through the air in order to keep Zagot's attention on him, dodging as the Chaos God fired volts of crackling green energy at the Wind God. Eventually, Fujin counterattacked, summoning a large tornado above his head and launching it towards Zagot.

The Chaos God was swept up by the winds swung around by the tornado, causing enough disorientation for Fujin to swoop in and tackle Zagot, intent on flying him to the ground level and away from the city.

Fujin's plan would not come to fruition however, as he quickly began to realize when Zagot began to cackle madly in his face. The Chaos God outstretched his hand and touched the winds that Fujin had summoned, a mix of red, green, orange, and purple crackling energy spewing from Zagot's hand and seeming to "infect" the tornado, causing the winds to lose cohesion, and sweep up the very Wind God that spawned them, throwing Fujin around as Zagot allowed himself to be carried by the chaotic winds, laughing madly as he took shots at Fujin which ultimately missed due to the very situation he had created.

Fujin had to react quickly, pulling on the corrupted wind with his divine power in an effort to reassert control over the tornado. Zagot's chaotic energy made this task difficult, but eventually Fujin was able to send out a burst of his divine energy, a sort of broadband version of his mastery over wind, that totally dissipated the tornado in a wave of white light.

Zagot teleported right in front of Fujin and grabbed him by the throat with his decrepit hand as soon as the Wind God had achieved his small victory, sneering angrily at him.

"You're getting in the way of my fun!" Zagot complained. "Now I'll make sure that your life is done!"

Zagot sent a shock of his chaos magic into Fujin via his hand, before throwing the Wind God away, then summoning a small vortex of the crackling chaotic energy around Fujin to hold him in as well as harm the Wind God with shocks.

Zagot hovered over to Fujin, his arms crossed behind his back and a wicked grin on his face.

"The wind is meant to flow freely!" Zagot shouted. "You think you can control it? Not ideally!"

Zagot slammed his open hands together like he was crushing something between them, causing the maelstrom of chaos energy he had contained Fujin in to explode. The Chaos God pulled his hands back apart, lines of crackling green energy now forming between his fingers. Zagot lashed out and the energy tendrils ensnared the already dazed and weakened Wind God before he could plummet to the ground below as a result of the explosion. Zagot then pulled on Fujin as though he were manipulating a marionette, making him dance around for his amusement and cackling at his own… ingenuity.

Fujin was quite annoyed by this and quickly began formulating a method of escape. Eventually he settled on using the wind to levitate his crossbow towards Zagot, the weapon taking a shot and a divinely infused arrow piercing the Chaos God's shoulder.

Zagot was very much annoyed by this and used his energy tendrils to slam Fujin into the ground, dragging him through a few buildings before throwing the Wind God up into the air and back to the altitude at which the Chaos God hovered. Zagot released Fujin only to drop him into a portal that led to multiple realms at once. Such a thing was heavily unstable and its mere existence warped the bonds of the realms, Fujin would have been torn apart had he not teleported out of the maelstrom as quickly as he had entered it.

The Wind God appeared behind Zagot and unsheathed his sword. It glowed a bright bluish white before Fujin swung it into the air, an arc of divine energy shooting off from the weapon and colliding with Zagot. The purity of the Heavenly power reacted poorly with Zagot's corrupted form and he was jolted before being shot back and sent careening through the air, Fujin flying right after him with sword raised.

Fujin took a slash at Zagot and cut into the Wind God, who cackled with mad glee before opening a portal above Fujin.

A massive flock of crows erupted from the portal and bombarded Fujin, pecking and scratching the Wind God all while Zagot watched, entertained.

Fujin eventually fought back, releasing a burst of wind out around him that threw the crows off course but did no actual harm to the birds, as all life was precious to Fujin.

He allowed them to fly away freely, and the birds quickly did so, Zagot allowing them to leave as to impose his will would go against the ways of Chaos.

One crow did decide to stay with Zagot, flying over to the Chaos God and perching on his shoulder.

"This Wind God is pesky, master," the crow spoke, pointing an accusing wing at Fujin. "I want to peck his eyes out!"

"In due time, Rook," Zagot assured. "Let's get this goose cooked!"

Zagot pointed forward a decrepit hand and sent a blast of green crackling energy towards Fujin, which the Wind God swiftfully deflected using his sword, before raising his crossbow and taking a counter shot.

Zagot pointed his finger and the energy that came out vaporized the arrow, but the brief amount of time allowed Fujin to fly in close and take a slash at Zagot, cutting so fast that he took off the Chaos God's lower arm.

Zagot was hardly as surprised as a normal person would've been, cackling madly before chaotic energy exploded out from the place where his arm had been, enveloping Fujin before exploding and blasting him back. The energy output was so intense that Rook flew from his master's shoulder in order to preserve his own safety.

Zagot then created a facsimile hand out of his chaotic energies, a crackling glowing claw which could stretch far longer than a natural arm. Using this hand, Zagot grabbed Fujin by the ankles and threw him violently towards the ground below.

Fujin crashed into a tall building and tumbled across the ground.

Zagot teleported down to where Fujin was in a burst of chaotic energy, his wicked grin still failing to subside, and Rook returning to his shoulder.

Struggling to get back up for a moment, Fujin outstretched his arm and summoned a powerful continuous gust of wind to hold Zagot at bay, knocking him back quite forcefully and limiting the Chaos God's ability to reach him. Rook fled for safety once more. As the wind Fujin used was a far less solid construct compared to his previous tornado, Zagot was unable to corrupt the gusts as he had before, though the Chaos God still had an unnatural command of other natural forces.

Zagot began to pull large chunks of the ground out using a telekinetic levitation, but before he could hurl them as projectiles, Fujin allowed his wind to carry him into a very fast flying kick that slammed into Zagot and sent him flying back.

The chunks of ground landed behind Fujin as he touched the ground, with Zagot crashing into a nearby abandoned house.

Fujin summoned his sword and prepared for the Chaos God to emerge. He expected some manner of head-on counterattack.

Instead, the broken chunks of ground Zagot had levitated from the Outworld lands Fujin stood upon began flying towards the Wind God from multiple directions, knocking into him and battering him with a seemingly relentless onslaught.

Eventually Fujin focused enough to send out a burst of wind that knocked the debris away, but by then Zagot was lunging at him with his crackling energy construct hand outstretched and reaching for the Wind God's throat.

Fujin began to spin his sword in his hand rapidly in a way that caused it to almost function like a makeshift shield, deflecting any attack Zagot made against it.

Fujin allowed the Chaos God to frustrate himself with repeated physical strikes, releasing hold of the sword and using his mastery over wind to keep it rotating. He placed his hands behind his back calmly as he observed Zagot struggle for a moment.

He hoped he could prevent his brother from succumbing to such rabid fury… and it scared him that he could not be sure.

Fujin teleported behind Zagot and delivered a strong spin kick to the Chaos God's back, causing Zagot to stagger forward and smash his face against the flat side of Fujin's hovering sword. Fujin then called his blade back to him, the wind carrying it to his hand until Rook made an unexpected passing dive, scratching at Fujin's face with his talons, breaking the Wind God's concentration enough for his sword to fall to the ground.

Zagot cackled and quickly took advantage of this, releasing volts of crackling energy from his "good" hand that in essence electrocuted Fujin, laughing madly as he did so.

Fujin collapsed to his knees, much to Zagot's delight.

"Such an Ordered God, thought you could command the air," Zagot chastised. "But against the freedom of Chaos, look at how you fare?"

Zagot raised his energy construct arm and the fingers on the large hand he had created began to expand to much longer claws, taking a menacing shape over Fujin's head.

Before Zagot could deal his blow, he heard Rook call out to him:

"Master! Watch out!"

It was too late. Fujin had regained his focus in the time that Zagot was gloating, and again used the wind to direct his sword.

Directly through Zagot's chest.

The Chaos God immediately stopped in his tracks and began to twitch wildly. His energy arm devolved into an unfocused blob of chaotic energy shooting from his damaged arm. Zagot looked down at the blade piercing his body and began cackling madly as Fujin stood up.

Rook flew at the Wind God quickly, but Fujin summoned a blast of wind to send the crow away. He then focused on his sword.

The sword began to glow a bright bluish white, releasing its heavenly energies, charged by the Earthrealm Jinsei in the past, into Zagot's body.

The Chaos God began to feel the foreign energy within and started panicking.

"W-Wha… what are you doing to me?!"

"I am attempting to purify your corrupted form," Fujin explained. "To heal you. I know you were a God of Order once. I do not condone what your brother did to you, and I will help you recover from it. Please Zagot, I know this will seem strange, even painful… but allow yourself to heal."

"No, NO!" Zagot denied. "You can't… this can't be happening! My rhyme! Where'd it go?! Stop it! Stop trying to make me like you! That's what he did! He banished me, trapped my sister, because we didn't fall in line!"

"Amaterasu lives?!" Fujin questioned, stunned at the news, believing the absent Goddess of Order to have been lost long ago.

"Don't pretend to care now!" Zagot responded angrily. The Jinsei energy was clearing his mind, but his bitterness came from no corruption. "You Earthrealm Gods didn't help then, you won't do anything now!"

"I can and I will if you will let me help," Fujin said softly, compassionately. "I am truly sorry that we were not there when Abacus seized his power. The war with Shinnok all those millennia ago preoccupied us, and when we learned of his treachery, the Elder Gods forbade our interference. They believed that so long as Abacus carried out their will and design, it did not matter how the power was arranged."

"Spineless lackey!" Zagot insulted. "Bowing to the whims of others, complacent so long as it preserves your Order and the Order of your lords!"

"I did not say that I agreed with them!" Fujin corrected. "I would have challenged the Elder Gods, even if it had been futile… but Raiden was clearly worried for my safety, and I could not bear to bring him the pain of my loss."

"No, that's fine, be the coward all you want!" Zagot mocked. "All it did was give me time to embrace the ways of Chaos, to see the truth! I shall have to thank Kochal when he escapes from his prison."

"What?!" Fujin questioned.

"Oh, you have bigger problems to worry about, don't you Earthrealm God?" Zagot pointed out. "You claim to have such a problem with your brother's little conquest, why don't you do something about it? My allies came here to do something about it. Maybe you should talk to them. You could learn a thing or two from Darrius about being willing to challenge authorities who's Order infringes upon your freedom, no matter how 'powerful' they are!"

Zagot summoned a portal back to Chaosrealm behind himself. Rook quickly flew into it, sending his master's intentions.

"Zagot, wait!" Fujin pleaded. "I can help you!"

"Oh you've helped enough," Zagot assured him in a sinister tone. He pulled Fujin's blade completely through his chest and tossed it onto the ground. "Keep your sword. I'm not going back to the way I was, it's too late for that now. But your wretched light has given me a certain clarity I didn't have before. Chaos is my way now, but I will not let it blind me any longer. So thank you, Fujin," his wicked grin curled to an even more unnatural shape than before. "You've been a big help."

Fujin tried to grab Zagot's "good arm", but the Chaos God descended into the portal too quickly, the swirling vortex collapsing seconds after.

Fujin was left unsure of what his actions had just caused, what he may have wrought upon the realms. And unsure of what Zagot had said. Was it merely the ramblings of a madman? He could not know now.

Zagot was right about one thing. Fujin had stopping Raiden's crusade to worry about. He had allowed himself to be distracted long enough.

Using a gust of wind to blow off Zagot's blood from his sword, Fujin summoned it back to his and quickly took off flying towards Kotal Kahn's palace, hoping he would not be too late to intercept Raiden and stop him before this war escalated any further.

What reassured Fujin as he flew over the raging battlefield, stopping at each person he spotted in need of help and working his hardest to stem the loss of life and preserve that which was most sacred as much as possible, was the way that his allies, the heroes of Earthrealm, Outworld, and more, kept fighting against the forces that would impede the freedom of others or take life and enact cruelty, unwavering in their convictions no matter what forces came against them.

And they were a particularly formidable fighting force unto themselves. A combination of Mileena's Union, many of the best fighters of the White Lotus, the ninjas of both the Lin Kuei and the Shirai Ryu, elements of the Special Forces who opposed the orders that would keep them from being able to help the Outworld people, demons of the Netherrealm who sought to preserve life rather than to take it, a lone Seidan Guard deserter who has chosen her principles over the doctrine of the Guard, and simply people who had chosen to take up the fight against evil regardless of where they came from and what powers they possessed.

Focusing on field leadership, Kitana, Mileena, Tanya, Sonya Blade, Shujinko, Jax, Sub-Zero, Hanzo Hasashi, some of the Shaolin masters, Li Mei, Jade, and their core allies, had centralized together into a group that tried to ensure that their troops were as well-coordinated as possible and protected as much as they could be in the heat of war.

This created plenty of opportunity for reunions, as well as resolutions on things left unsaid.

Fr

"Li Mei," Sonya said aloud as she and the Outworld freedom fighter both used their energy projectiles to blast back enemy soldiers who came in their direction and towards their troops.

"It is good to see you as well, General Blade." Li Mei responded kindly.

Sonya sighed. She didn't feel very deserving of Li Mei's politeness right now.

"I find that kind of surprising, to be honest," Sonya responded. "I betrayed your trust-"

"We all did." Jax added, trying to prevent Sonya from placing all blame on herself, as he knew she often tended to.

"We were given orders that in our hearts we could not follow," Kenshi explained as he uses his telekinesis to throw enemies across the battlefield, even breaking apart engagements between rival factions that were equally his enemy in order to stem the loss of life.

"And it took a little while before we realized we had to do something about it." Johnny detailed as he dodged repeated sword strikes from a Kotal-serving Outworlder with a scimitar. One slash did connect, only for his green energy to react split-second and shield him, allowing Johnny to unleash a powerful jab to his opponent's stomach that sent them flying.

"Duck and weave, Cage!" Jax advised. "I didn't teach you boxin' for nothin'!"

"I'll keep that in mind!" Johnny responded simply as he moved on to other opponents.

"What I'm trying to say," Sonya spoke back up. "Is that I should never have allowed them to push your people out. You put your faith in us, asked us to help you and protect you, we accepted that responsibility, told you our principles were to help anyone who needed, and then we turned our back on you. Because it was easier than living up to our values, and because it made some of us feel safer."

"What your government did was an injustice," Li Mei readily affirmed. "But you did not make that decision. I would hold you responsible if you held up the word of your institution without question. But you and your people chose to stand for what you truly believed in. Even if it took some convincing."

While Sonya was partially relieved that she would not lose Li Mei's friendship, she still felt guilty for the US government's forced deportation of the Outworld refugees. And she was slightly confused by Li Mei's last statement.

"Huh?" She said aloud.

Through sheer coincidence, John happened to be fighting nearby, gunning down a centaur that would have nearly impaled a Sun Do resident with a spear.

"John?" Sonya asked in surprise.

The soldier lifted up the visor of his helmet and offered a salute.

"General," he said respectfully. "Good to have you on our side."

"How are you even here?" Sonya asked.

"Me and my unit got handed the orders to oversee the deportation," John explained regretfully. "Li Mei convinced us that it wasn't right. Now we're helping her fight to free her people."

"Good on ya John!" Jax complimented. "All of ya. I'd hand y'all promotions if we were still gonna have careers after this!"

With that, he handily uppercutted an Osh-Tekk warrior before using his ground pound to knock down several Black Dragons.

John chuckled and continued to fight. Sonya wished she could make light of the impending end of her military career like they could. Even though she knew she would regret the loss, she also knew that this was what she had to do.

"Li Mei," she tried to refocus on making amends. "While I appreciate what you said, and while I'm glad that we can still be friends, I know it doesn't fix what I allowed to happen. I promise you, I'm not going to stop fighting for your people, no matter what happens when I go back to Earthrealm."

"I am happy to have you as an ally." Li Mei responded simply.

Sonya nodded. "Glad that you'll have me."

The projectile-based approach the two warriors used to keep their enemies at bay continued to prove effective until a daring Centaur began to charge at them. After Li Mei's chi attacks proved to be mainly ineffective, Sonya took a shot with her gauntlets, but the shockwave created by the energy wings only served to boost the Centaur into a leap where it seemed like they would crash down upon the two warriors.

This was quickly averted when a condensed tornado shot them back to the ground followed by Kitana and Mileena leaping over Li Mei and Sonya, Mileena delivering an energy-infused dive kick that successfully knocked the Centaur unconscious.

"Kitana?!" Sonya shouted aloud in surprise. "I-I, I thought I saw you earlier, but I wasn't sure… is it really you?"

"She's back?" Jax asked, equally surprised.

Kitana rose up after using a sizable gust of wind to launch several enemy soldiers away, turning around to face her old friends.

"Jackson, Sonya?" She said surprised.

"Holy shit…" Johnny blurted out, taken aback to see another of his old friends restored.

"Well I'll be…" Jax said approvingly, allowing a smile to cross his face.

"Well," Jade chimed in as she knocked out an Osh-Tekk and a Black Dragon who were within the vicinity of their part of the battle. "Didn't think we'd see each other again so soon."

Li Mei smiled at the sight of the Edenian warrior.

"Almost lost track of you after we got away from Motaro." She noted.

"Yes well, you were hardly going to get rid of me that easily." Jade retorted.

The two shared a laugh.

Also surprised to see Kitana restored from her revenant state, Sareena used her sorcery to summon a small barrier of pink flame to keep enemy combatants at bay as she made her way over to the reuniting group of heroes, Ashrah protectively following in toe after successfully knocking a Red Dragon soldier unconscious.

"But how…" Sonya managed to get out to her old friend.

Kitana gave a warm look towards Mileena.

"My family was able to help me find my way again." She explained simply.

"You?" Sonya asked in shock, her eyes falling on Mileena. She'd known the rebel leader as only an enemy before now, even when she had held her private sympathies towards her.

Mileena nodded. "I couldn't abandon my sister. It wasn't easy, but we were able to pull it off."

Sonya was still processing for the moment. "Clearly."

"For what it's worth, it's good to be on the same side." Mileena added.

"Likewise." chimed in Cassie as she knocked down a Seidan Guard with an energy infused kick.

Kitana took her chance to approach Jax and Sareena, who had taken up a proximity to one another after discovering that Kitana herself had been restored.

"It's good to see you both with clearer eyes…" Kitana began before pausing. "I just wanted to say, thank you for trying to help me, even when I wasn't ready to listen."

"It was the least we could do," Sareena said humbly. "We'd been where you were."

Jax nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it's not easy. Especially when you feel alone… and besides, you're a friend. Didn't want to leave you behind. Sorry we couldn't do something sooner."

"It's alright," Kitana reassured him. "I know you tried."

The moment was relatively brief, as around the heroes the battle continued to rage, and Kitana, Jax, and Sareena quickly found themselves fighting alongside each other and their allies against the numerous enemy factions as they all made their efforts to eliminate their rivals.

Kitana used her wind magic to blow the bullets of Red Dragons and Black Dragons off course, before launching her fans to slash their hands and effectively disarm them, with Mileena dodging and weaving around Centaurs and counterattacking with swift strikes,while Jax bashed through Seidan Guard armor with his charged up metal arms, knocking down the Orderrealm warriors left and right. Sareena used her skilled bladework in conjunction with mystically-summoned throwing knives to hold off a squad of Osh-Tekk soldiers, with Ashrah fighting nearby and keeping a protective eye on her girlfriend as the battle progressed.

The group of heroes continued to fight as a tight and effective unit, but even still, the enemies came from all sides and this sprawling battle hardly seemed like it was going to end any time soon.

The unending nature of the conflict weighed on all who took part in the fight, including a particular Seidan Guard who managed to successfully best and then summarily impale an Osh-Tekk soldier after a brief melee.

The disciplined minds of the Seidan Guards made them better equipped to deal with the violent monotony of the battle they fought, but all of this was still a bit much for even these regimented fighters.

The tired Guard turned their sights to the inevitable next enemy and found Mileena who was caught in a battle of her own.

A leadership figure among one of the enemy factions. A sensible target.

The Guard raised a hand and blasted out a shot of their mystically summoned lava towards the Outworld rebel leader, only for it to be intercepted by a ball of cryokinetic energy, both powers cancelling one another out and leaving only a bit of steam.

The Guard looked for their attacker, expecting a Lin Kuei Cryomaner after having spotted the clan entering the field of battle, but instead found themselves being rushed by Kitana who used her wind magic to blast herself forward at an impressive velocity and strike the Seidan Guard in the face with her knee, knocking them out and even throwing their helmet off.

That done, Kitana hurled a fan towards the Black Dragon goon who had tried to pick a fight with her sister's savior, slicing across their back and creating the opening Sub-Zero needed to deliver a simple knockout punch.

"Thank you for that," Kitana said quickly. "I wouldn't have been able to intercept it before Mileena…"

"It was the least I could do, Kitana," Sub-Zero responded humbly. "And I must say, it is good to see you again. And to fight on the same side once more."

"Likewise," Kitana said kindly. "Is Kurtis with you?"

"He and Tomas volunteered to take a second group of Lin Kuei to enter the battlefield from the other side." Sub-Zero explained.

"Tomas?!" Kitana and the nearby Jade both said at once.

As if on cue, the NYPD officer and Lin Kuei vapormancer pushed through enemy lines with a Lin Kuei group sharing their determination just behind them, they took on all challengers and showed no signs of fear or wavering.

"Well by the gods…" Jade said aloud.

"Oh hey, there's the rest of the gang!" Stryker noticed, waving at them.

"Good to see you all again!" Smoke shouted over. "Kitana? You're looking better!"

"Same to you!" She complimented back.

"I got separated from Kang and Lao back in the Netherrealm," Smoke explained as he punched out an incoming Osh-Tekk. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright," Kitana responded understandingly. "I'm not giving up."

"I'm sure I've already said it, but it's really good to have you back, Kitana." Jade chimed in.

"Thank you." Kitana replied.

"Hey, sorry if I'm interrupting," Stryker said politely as he shot at a few oncoming Seidan Guards, his hellfire bullets knocking them down despite failing to penetrate their armor. "But I was wondering if you'd seen Kabal and Nightwolf. And your mom, actually. Smoke mentioned that they went with you."

"Nightwolf is…" Kitana's voice trailed off. "The next person I hope we can save."

That struck a chord with the nearby Eyota, who was fending off opponents of her own.

"Gotcha," Stryker replied understandingly. "But does that mean that your mom and Kabal are-"

"Kurt?"

Kabal had just sped over to where his comrades were after knocking down a number of Black Dragons like bowling pins. He felt a personal responsibility to stop his former clan's actions here, and planned on taking out as many of their number as he could manage.

"Kabal!" Stryker said in amazement. "You're back! You're you again!"

Kabal had trouble with his friend's well-meaning proclamations. He slammed the flat side of one of his hooksswords into an Osh-Tekk that tried to pick a fight with him.

"Mostly," he replied. "I don't quite feel all there again. Not sure if I ever will."

"I… I'm sorry," Stryker responded. "I know coming back is something we all deal with in our own ways. I didn't mean to-"

"It's alright," Kabal reassured his old friend, before jabbing the blunt curve of his hook sword into a Black Dragon's face. "It's good to see you again, Kurt. I… I missed you."

"I missed you too, Kabal." Stryker returned the sentiment.

The duo continued fighting but quickly had their attention drawn when Kitana, Jade, and Mileena, who had been fighting nearby one another, were all thrown back and to the ground by the swinging tail of a Centaurian warrior.

Their various allies all rushed to be of some aid as the Centaur, wielding two battle axes, closed in on the Edenian trio, but their efforts proved unnecessary when Sindel landed on the field and unleashed a powerful sonic scream that sent.

"Guess that answers my question," Stryker remarked as he helped Kitana up, Li Mei rushing to Jade and a concerned Tanya helping up Mileena, leaving Rain in command of the contingent of troops she had been leading.

"Are you alright?" Li Mei and Tanya both happened to get out at the same time.

"Better now." Mileena said romantically before giving Tanya a loving kiss.

Jade chuckled, giving Li Mei a small smirk and privately hoping to get close enough so as to be as romantic with her.

"Oh, you know I'm tougher than that." She remarked pridefully.

"You still make me worry." Li Mei playfully pointed out, realizing how much their exchange reminded her of so many conversations she'd had with Siobhan after risking her life to protect others.

Sindel was always quick to attend to her daughters, and smiled when seeing that Jade was alright as well.

"I'm glad you're both safe." She said before grabbing both Kitana and Mileena into a hug.

"Thank you, mother." Kitana replied.

"You're a lifesaver." Mileena added.

Sindel smiled, but then began to look around at her allies, the warriors who had fought alongside Kitana against Shao Kahn's invasion, the warriors who she had…

Guilt began to run its course through Sindel. Even without the revenant corruption driving a toxic level of self-loathing, she still felt that she had to face up to the crime of having taken all of their lives those years ago, and damning them to be revenants alongside her.

Sindel began to levitate into the air, taking a position that made it easier for her to be seen, and used her sonic magic in a passive manner to broadcast her voice more clearly.

"I am sorry, to all of you," she started, tears streaming down her face. "I was turned into a weapon against you and used to take your very lives from you, and deliver you into a fate worse than death. Made you slaves as I was. I know that I was not in control of my actions. But my hands were used to hurt you. To kill you. I do not know if I can ever truly make up for that act. But at the very least, I can fight with you, so that we may liberate this realm together."

The fighters all processed her speeds as they continued battling the enemies that came at them from all sides and seemed practically endless. The trauma of what Sindel had done to many of them while enslaved by Shao Kahn would not leave them, not permanently. But many of them had also spent nearly three decades as revenants, and understood exactly what it was like to be enslaved by cruel magics and forced to do terrible things. And many of them had spent that time with Sindel while they were trapped in the Netherrealm.

Finally, as Sindel re-entered the fight, having said her peace and expecting no forgiveness, nor feeling that she deserved any, a voice spoke up.

"You're one of us now," Jax said simply before uppercutting a Centaur. "You're in control of yourself and you chose to fight with us. That's all I need."

"I have suffered many hardships in my life," Sub-Zero reflected. "I do not blame you for any of them. The monsters responsible have… almost all been brought to justice. I to was a different kind of slave before I was a revenant. I understand your pain, as much as I might while still acknowledging that I am not you."

"I… I forgive you." Stryker managed to say, visibly surprised by himself.

"It's been a long time since we were enemies," Smoke said simply. "Besides, how could I stay mad at someone with fabulous hair like yours."

That elicited a small chuckle from Sindel before she refocused on the battle and drop kicked an Osh-Tekk. Despite the visceral combat they were swept up in, she was surprised by the positivity of her fellow warriors.

"You already know that I could never hate you, mother." Kitana reassured her.

"I've had to fight plenty of friends who weren't themselves," Jade recalled. "I knew they weren't themselves, and I knew the same for you, my Queen."

Sindel winced at the invocation of her title. She didn't feel worthy of it after all that had happened.

"The details of why my life has been a shitshow start to not matter as much after a while," Kabal reasoned. "I think we can be friends."

"Thank you," Sindel said kindly. "Thank you all. It is an honor to fight alongside you."

"Yeah! This is great!" Johnny excitedly agreed, happy to have most of his friends in one place. He landed a green energy infused punch on a Black Dragon then ducked under the swinging tail of a Centaur who was subsequently knocked back by Eyota's bear spirit.

"It's almost like having the whole gang back together!" Johnny continued, before quickly realizing that he had inadvertently reminded them that their band of warriors wasn't complete, which brought down the moods around him a bit, but the heroes tried to hold on to what they had at the very least.

"Yes…" Eyota spoke up as she was reminded of her mentor in particular. She could sense him, somewhere here in this battle, still a revenant. "Almost…"

"Sorry." Johnny said aloud after hearing her.

"It's alright." Kitana assured him.

"We know what you meant." Jax added.

Eyota couldn't find anything to say, and instead silently slipped away from the rest of her fellow fighters for freedom and started making her way through the battlefield alone, moving on a beeline straight for Akicita, the previous Nightwolf.

She was going to save him. No matter what it took.

Though for a multitude of reasons that had called them to this battlefield, her determination was felt and shared among all who fought for freedom and redemption on this day.

Including one of her peers, who like her mother, felt compelled to make an apology.

Working her way across the battlefield while firing off concussive spheres of green energy from her dual pistols, having emptied the bullets out of them before she came to the battle, vowing that she would not take another life.

And Cassie felt strongly that she needed to make amends with the life she had almost taken mere days ago.

Shujinko was locked in battle as near everyone else on the battlefield was, taking on sizable groups of opponents all at once.

A centaur charged at the Shaolin master only to for their attack to be ducked under with a supernatural speed, followed by a large telekinetic push that threw the warrior towards a group of their Osh-Tekk contemporaries, before summoning a thick wall of ice to block the oncoming bullets of a Red Dragon soldier, then launching a forceball into the air that came down on the soldier and conked them in the head sufficiently sniffing to knock them out.

A Chaosrealmer then took wild swings at Shujinko with a gnarled and rusted axe, but Shujinko dodged the swings with a unique combination of a Seidan Guard's percision and a Chaosrealm native's unpredictable movements. He then summoned a blast of water to throw the opponent back, before roundhouse kicking the knife out of a Black Dragon's hand before grabbing that same arm and using the leverage to flip the much younger criminal onto the ground, an additional punch knocking them out.

Shujinko raised himself up only to see a Seidan Guard rushing towards him with their spear bared. The Shaolin master raised his hand and stopped their approach with a flash of light, before rushing the Guard himself and grabbing their weapon, administering a small electric shock through his hands to get them to release the weapon, before bashing them with a swift glowing green fist.

Shujinko's next challenger was an Osh-Tekk pyromancer who left his sword strapped to his back as he summoned two fireballs into each hand.

"All are below the Sun," he said in a cultish drone-like tone. "And the Sun's God is our eternal Emperor, Kotal Kahn!"

The soldier then launched one of the fireballs directly at Shujinko. The Shaolin master hardly reacted, making no effort to dodge until the fireball was so close that he could swipe it out of the air, catching it in his open palm.

This display of control over flame stunned the Osh-Tekk warrior, who was about to prepare another attack when he was knocked down swiftly by a green energy-infused kick from Cassie Cage.

"Thank you!" Shujinko said gratefully before taking the fireball in his hand and throwing it right at the head of an oncoming Centaur, causing a small explosion which successfully knocked the warrior over.

Cassie and Shujinko closed their distance as they continued to take on enemies that came at them from all directions, eventually finding themselves back to back as they fought.

"I just wanted to say," Cassie spoke up when she got her chance. "I… I know we already talked about this, but I'm truly sorry for what I did to you. I promise you, but I'm not giving up until we stop what Raiden's doing here."

"I appreciate your convictions, Ms. Cage," Shujinko responded. "I am well versed in being on the receiving end of Deception, and I know the struggle to redeem oneself after. I assure you, I would be honored to walk that path with you. We all have things to atone for, though if it is any consolation, I do not blame you for what happened. I was once blinded by the desire to defeat villains like Shang Tsung as well."

Cassie took a deep breath as she took in the Shaolin master's words.

"I… Thank you," Cassie started to say. "I'll try to keep that in mind. I still feel like an idiot after what happened, but… things have gotten a little better since then," she thought of Frost. "And I'm glad you're ok."

"I am glad," Shujinko responded. "And thank you."

As Shujinko sent blasts of light from his hands to throw back a pair of Black Dragons, an Osh-Tekk soldier rushed at Cassie with a battle axe. She was about to preemptively attack, only for her opponent to be taken out by a flying kick courtesy of Frost, who then landed gracefully with a touch of her hand to the ground generating a defensive wall of ice to protect her girlfriend and their allies.

"Woah!" Cassie reacted, clearly impressed. "Thanks babe!"

"Y-Yeah, of course," Frost replied, mildly embarrassed by Cassie's continued romantics in the heat of a combat situation. "Couldn't let you get hurt."

Frost drew her attention back to the battle when she summoned a few large throwing daggers made of ice which she launched to crack through the armor of an already-weary Seidan Guard, who was given much-needed rest involuntarily when Cassie launched a concussive forceball at his face.

"Oh, might as well introduce you," Cassie realized. "Mr. Shujinko, this is my girlfriend, Frost."

The Shaolin Master gave a warm smile.

"I believe we have met in this realm before, but I am happy that you both have found love." Shujinko said kindly.

Frost snapped her fingers before summarily punching out an Osh-Tekk.

"That's right! You helped me find that map to the Ice Caves when Sifu and I were trying to find them." She recalled.

"It is a shame that humble personal quests are not what has brought us here again," Shujinko spoke remorsefully. "But alas, we have a higher calling on this day."

"You said it." Frost simply agreed as she created an ice staff to pole vault over an attacking Centaur before landing and stretching the limits of the increased strength resulting from her unwanted cybernetics to grab the Centaur's tail and hurl the large warrior over her shoulders and slam him onto the ground.

The trio would soon find themselves joined in battle by a combination of Frost's fellow Lin Kuei and Shujinko's fellow Shaolin, who surrounded them defensively and United into an effective combat unit that pushed back all enemy warriors.

Leading the pack of the Shaolin group were Jen, Lori, and Liu Chow, separated from their masters over the course of the battle but still trying to live up to their example as they fought for the free people of Outworld and made use of non-lethal tactics to defeat their enemies, as even in war the White Lotus would not take lives.

Eager to fight alongside their fellow Shaolin, Kung Jin and Kai leapt into the fray to aid their comrades, taking advantage of their opportunities to catch up with Shujinko and their classmates.

Jin vaulted over an oblivious Centaur before using his staff to knock out an Osh-Tekk, focusing his chi, a skill he was still working on, into arrows which shot into a Seidan Guard who had been fighting the Osh-Tekk, piercing through their armor but not deep enough into the flesh to kill, Jin knocking them out with another whack of his staff.

Kai meanwhile had talked one of Mileena's vampire allies, specifically the eager-to-help Agile, into giving him a lift, before dropping him and allowing him to launch into an flying kick from high altitude, his flaming foot crashing into the Centaur's face and knocking them out before they could attack Jin, Kai landing with a showman's bow right after.

Jin chuckled.

"Showoff." He non-seriously chided.

"Nice job!" Agile complimented from above before taking her blood magic-enchanted blade to bear against a pair of jetpack-equipped Red Dragons.

"What can I say," Kai responded. "I like to impress. Especially to impress you."

Jin's cheeks flushed red before he spun around to knock a knife-wielding Black Dragon in the head with the dragon sculpted atop his staff, allowing Kai to sneak in a kiss to his cheek.

"Now you're just messing with me." Jin said with a chuckle.

"Maybe a little." Kai half-admitted.

Jin pointed forward worriedly and after looking behind himself, Kai skillfully ducked under the energy blade of a Red Dragon melee fighter, before kicking them in the stomach to knock them back, destroying the energy blade of their weapon with a small fireball, and landing a strong punch across their face.

The Red Dragon proved to be less of a glass jaw than anticipated, pulling a gun which was knocked out of their hand with a roundhouse kick, Kai immediately hitting a second one to their head that knocked them out.

That dealt with, the couple moved closer to their fellow Shaolin to create a tighter perimeter, as well as grant them the reunion opportunities they had hoped for.

"Jin! Kai!" Lori excitedly exclaimed after knocking down an Osh-Tekk soldier with a swift chop to the head. "I'm so glad you guys are alright! We were worried about you!"

Kai couldn't help but smile. "Sorry to scare you guys, we would've come back sooner if it wasn't for… well a lot of the stuff that happened."

"I'm just happy that you're ok!" Lori expressed happily.

"Thanks." Kai and Jin said at once, sparing each other looks right after.

As the three continued to engage in melee combat against Osh-Tekk and Seidan Guard opponents who were also battling one another, a Red Dragon soldier approached the fight and raised a machine gun, intent on mowing down everyone in their path.

This plan was stopped seconds before they pulled the trigger when a bo staff crashed into their head and knocked them out, courtesy of Jen, who quickly approached her compatriots.

"Kai? Jin? Long time no see!" She greeted as she entered the fray, engaging in a staff-based duel with a Seidan Guard.

"Yeah, it's a long story." Kung Jin semi-explained.

"I'll bet," Jen accepted his answer. "How have you two been?"

"That's um… more loaded of a question than you might think." Jin replied.

"We got into some fights with a crazy guy and his brainwashed cyborgs, annnndd we're dating now!" Kai summed it up as briefly as he felt that he could.

What had actually happened was more complicated and had at times been far more painful than that, but an in-depth conversation could come later. They were fighting a war now.

"没门！真的吗？Omigosh YAY!" Lori exploded into excitement and surprise. "That's wonderful! I'm so happy for you!"

In her excitement and due to relative inexperience, Lori's mind drifted from the surrounding battle, allowing an Outworlder soldier loyal to Kotal Kahn to sneak up on her with a sword raised.

Lori was able to pull her mind back to the fight just as Jen shouted her name, dodging a sword swing and then launching into a high kick, knocking the Outworlder in the chin, an area their old Kahn Guard skull mask did not protect, before twin strikes on either side of their head from Jen and Kung Jin knocked them out.

"Thanks guys!" Lori said gratefully. "Sorry!"

"It's ok," Jen assured her. "Just be mindful of your surroundings, like Master Shen taught us."

"Is Master Shen here?" Jin asked before firing off three flaming arrows at a group of marauding Chaosrealmers which exploded with the chi energy Jin had charged them with, knocking the warriors back and a few to pieces, though for Chaosrealmers that was hardly fatal.

"Oh yes," Jen confirmed, knocking away the Seidan Guard she had been contending with earlier. "He was one of the first volunteers when Fujin gave his call to arms. Masters Apep and Mekko were worried about his health, but last I've seen he's holding up pretty well for himself."

"Master Bo' Rai Cho…" Jin started to say as an air of sadness fell over the group of Shaolin. "Always used to say that our true power came from within."

"We all miss him." Lori said in a quieter tone.

"You and Kai must've… been there when it happened," Jen realized. "The Special Forces sent us a report after they got back to Earthrealm. I'm so sorry…"

"I… thank you." Was all Jin could think to say.

"I can't even describe what that was like…" Kai added as he continued to fight. "But… we've been getting better, at least."

"Sounds like it," Jen replied. "Congratulations, by the way. Lori and I always thought you were a good fit for each other."

Lori tried to hide her embarrassment by focusing on kicking the crap out of the Black Dragon thug that had tried to come at her with a knife.

"Thanks." Kai responded simply.

"Yeah, what he said." added Jin.

Kung Jim found himself set upon by two Osh-Tekk soldiers at fairly close range, leaving him without the option to attack from long range, but that hardly made him defenseless, blocking sword strikes from them both with his staff before pushing forward and knocking them back, sweeping their legs with his staff right after, and striking them both with enough force for a knockout.

"And Lori," he said once those enemies were dealt with.

Lori knocked down an Outworlder Kahn soldier, before turning her attention to her friend.

"I just wanted to say," Jin continued, recalling a previous conversation they'd had about their respective queer identities and struggles with familial lack of acceptance. "You were right. Being myself was the best way to go."

Lori smiled. "Happy to help."

She further proved that point by jumping into the air and dive kicking a Black Dragon goon that might've otherwise managed to ambush Jin.

The four Shaolin prevailed over all enemies that came against them until a Centaur warrior came charging forth, eager to earn glory in battle by slaying foes. The Shaolin quickly dodged out of their way, but an Outworlder fighting with Mileena's rebels was not so lucky, and was impaled on the Centaur's spear.

Saddened and angered by the loss of life, the Shaolin and what other allies were quick to strike back against the centaur, with Kai as Jin launching fireballs and arrows.

More Centaurs quickly closed in, intent on taking out this entire cluster of their foes. Six of them quickly became the main concern of the nearby Shujinko, Frost, and Cassie, leaving the four Shaolin to deal with this one.

Jin and Kai's projectiles did little against the Centaur's formidable hide, and Jen and Lori's attempts at physical strikes fared little better. The Centaur warrior grabbed them both by the head, momentary hostages to prevent Kai and Jin from pestering them with their projectiles.

The Centaur then threw the two at their friends, knocking all four down. They continued to close in…

Until Liu Chan barrel rolled underneath their horselike bull and delivered a punch surrounded in blue flame powerful enough to cause the Centaur to rear back in actual pain, which surprised them coming from a mere Earthrealmer.

Kai seized his advantage and jumped into a flying fire-charged kick, Chan joining in with his own flaming kick and both sending the Centaur flying back and crashing to the ground.

"Thanks for the assist," Chan said respectfully. "Even with the element of surprise, he could've been trouble."

"No problem, and good to see you man," Kai replied. "And thanks."

"You really saved our arses." Jen said with a laugh as she got up and helped both Lori and Jin to their feet.

"Hey cousin," Jin said casually. "Sorry we haven't seen each other in a while."

Chan nodded. "I would've helped you if I'd been there."

"I know, don't beat yourself up over it." Jin didn't need to say that he was referring to Chan's guilt over the death of Bo' Rai Cho rather than assisting Jin and Kai in Outworld and against the Tekunin. That much needed no words.

Liu Chan clenched his fists.

"I… I've been trying to tell myself that as of late," he admitted. "People have been telling me that it might be good for me. Not to mention… holding onto a little less anger."

"It never hurt anybody, I'll tell you that much." Kung Jin responded to the advice, remembering a time when he had been much angrier and more isolated.

"Just try to remember that you've got friends." Jen advised.

Chan nodded in acknowledgment.

"And I've got him." Kai lightly boasted, putting his arm around Kung Jin and giving his boyfriend a kiss on the cheek, prompting a very red face from Jin.

"Congratulations." Chan offered politely, paying no further comment.

The moment abruptly ended by the arrival for further enemy combatants, the group of Shaolin quickly took to continued fighting and as the battle progressed, made it over to their shared mentor, Shujinko, who's wide array of powers was put to use pushing back the Centaur contingent, this display of power and skill certainly a surprise for the various Outworld fighters.

Cassie and Frost offered what aid they could, but were only able to take on one of the Centaurian warriors at a time as opposed to Shujinko's uncanny ability to hold back multiple.

Two of the centaurs were sent crashing together by his telekinesis, with three more blasted back by lightning copied from both Raiden and Rain's skillsets, and taking on a suitably mixed hue of intertwining blue, red, and violet crackles of light.

A wave of lava to the ground, a power learned from Shujinko's time under Hotaru's tutelage, served to create a barrier to protect the Shaolin master's allies from oncoming attack and mitigate their enemies' ability to charge them, a favored tactic of the Centaurs in particular.

Frost used ice barriers to much the same effect, the towering forms of Centaurs she had incapicsted with a full freeze also serving as makeshift cover for her allies, though the powerful warriors tended to break free and have to be knocked out subsequently, something a well timed blow to the head enhanced by Frost's internal cybernetics or Cassie's glow was capable of accomplishing.

Cassie had bolstered her guns and gone full hand-to-hand upon discovering the ineffectiveness of her green energy pellets against Centaur hide, finding Jin and Kai coming to the same conclusion as she met up with them.

"Hey loverboys, long time no see." She lightly teased.

"We practically just got here." Kai pointed out.

"And we came to Outworld together." Jin added.

"It feels like it's been days." Cassie noted.

"Tell me about it." Jen chimed in to agree.

"None of you were meant to face the harsh realities of war," Shujinko opined. "I have the utmost respect for your bravery in facing it, but I still wish that you did not have to. You are all still so young."

"Hey, we're old enough to fight for what's right," Frost protested. "I'd say that's what matters."

Shujinko nodded. "Of course. I do not mean to diminish your choice. My own journey began when I was much younger than all of you. But where I gave my youth to what was ultimately a deception, you give yours for a truly just cause. You are all far greater heroes than I was."

"Aww, you don't have to be so harsh on yourself, Master Shujinko." Lori contested as the group continued to fight down enemy combatants, this time approaching Osh-Tekk and Seidan Guards who had charged one another with the Lin Kuei and Shaolin caught in the middle.

"Thank you Lori," Shujinko replied kindly. "I still carry some regrets, but I am glad that I have the chance to fight for a cause that is true. And I am very proud of all of you."

"Thank you!" Lori said gratefully.

"That really means a lot, Master." Kung Jin affirmed.

"We wouldn't be where we are today without you, Master Shujinko," Kai noted. "I'm happy to have measured up, but don't sell yourself short."

"I know how… consuming, guilt can be, Master," Liu Chan admitted. "You, Fujin… Master Bo' Rai Cho. You worked so hard to help me see past mine. I am sorry that it has taken so long for me to begin to open my eyes."

"It can be a difficult journey to set on, Liu Chan," Shujinko acknowledged. "But I believe it is one you will find worthwhile in the end."

"And your journey?" Chan asked.

"It is not yet over." Shujinko admitted.

"Life goes on, eh?" Jen chimed in.

Shujinko nodded. "Indeed."

"You White Lotus guys are so nice!" Cassie complimented.

"Good people to fight with." Frost observed, as she and Jen double-kicked an Osh-Tekk and successfully knocked the relatively larger warrior to the ground.

"We are happy to have you as well." Shujinko told the couple.

Cassie and the assorted group of Lin Kuei and Shaolin exchanged friendly smiles as they continued to fight against the forces of oppression as well as Dragon Clan criminals, putting their all into this battle that would decide the fate of many realms.

Not too far off nearby, their seniors were continuing their battle as well.

The heroes who had fought against Shao Kahn's invasion 26 years ago and their surrounding allies had formed a formidable and effective fighting unit, taking on enemies from every angle and coming out on top no matter what manner of forces came against them.

On top of this, they kept a watchful eye on their troops, protecting anyone they could against the forces which threatened the freedom of Outworld as well as the opportunists fighting for their own evil gains.

While civilians had mostly been pushed out, not so much a measure to preserve their lives but one to get them out of the way of Kotal Kahn's troops, a few had managed to remain, and the freedom fighters took it upon themselves to protect them diligently.

Mileena in particular did her best to coordinate all fronts of the battle via her network of clones. In the chaos, a few of them ended up falling in battle, that number slowly growing to the concern of her allies and followers, but for the most part, she had been able to maintain this operation.

Still, the concentration required to manage the clones was not an art she had fully mastered, and in getting a civilian family safely out of the capital city via a clone body that was miles away, she had left her primary body, the one fighting alongside her big sister, mother, and their assorted allies, momentarily vulnerable, something a headstrong Centaur warrior attempted to take advantage of while his Osh-Tekk allies were getting beaten up around him, at least being enough of a challenge to keep Kitana, Sindel, and the rest busy, while the Centaur made their play for glory.

This would hardly go according to plan thanks to a red blur ramming into their side and knocking them down. The Centaur was conscious long enough to look up and realize this was Skarlet, before she knocked them out with a strong kick.

Tanya, along with Meat, Ermac, and Nitara, who had arrived with Skarlet, trailed behind her and quickly rushed to attend to Mileena now that the threat had been dealt with.

"Mileena, my love?" Tanya asked in a worried tone.

"Huh? Oh!" Mileena suddenly became aware of this particular body's surroundings. "Sorry, there was a family on the edge of the city. I had to get them out. I was using one of my others to do it and-"

"Being in a bunch of places at once is tough?" Meat discerned.

"Yeah." Mileena replied simply.

"I'm just glad that you're alright, I was worried about you." Tanya said before giving Mileena a hug.

"I appreciate that Dearest," Mileena replied kindly. "How are things going here?"

"We're pushing Raiden and Kotal's forces back," Tanya reported. "But there's just so much fighting going on. And no one I can reach easily can get a visual on Raiden himself. It's all so chaotic… it almost feels pointless."

"Don't say that my love," Mileena pleaded. "You know why we're fighting. Hell, you're part of why I'm fighting."

"I know," Tanya conceded. "I just meant that this battle doesn't feel like it's furthering our cause. Everyone is fighting one another and… we know from what Shujinko and Li Mei told us that there's something looming. Not to mention, if we can't stop Raiden now, who knows what he'll do next."

"I know it's uncertain," Mileena acknowledged. "But I know we're making a difference here. We're stopping this from spreading across all of Outworld by keeping Kotal and Raiden's armies busy. We're making our biggest stand against Kotal in… well ever. You taught me that there was always hope, my love. I hope you were listening to yourself when you told me those things."

Tanya was able to get herself to smile. "Thank you, Mileena. You… you're right."

"I'm always here for you, my beloved." Mileena assured her.

"And I, you." Tanya reaffirmed.

The two shared a kiss, but the moment would sadly last all too short.

"Look out!" Shouted Jax.

He and Ashrah had formed an unlikely duo, charging towards an enemy that Mileena and Tanya quickly looked in the direction of.

Strangely however, they saw no obviously threatening foe. A few of Kotal's troops and the Seidan Guard had gotten a bit close for comfort, but Ermac, Meat, and Nitara effectively held them at bay with Skarlet joining the fray and quickly sending all enemies near her running.

Jax and Ashrah rushed past the couple as they began to assume that the two merely meant to join against this particular contingent of enemies.

Seconds later they realized who their target was:

Ermac!

The soul collective was telekinetically throwing aside various enemies when he sensed Jax and Ashrah approaching, failing to react quickly enough to stop a powerful punch charged with their respective energies.

The world went a deep purple and a bright white for a moment as Ermac was sent flying across the battlefield and crashing to the ground.

Jax and Ashrah rushed to continue their offensive, but Ermac was able to pull himself up and focus enough to grab them both in a telekinetic hold, halting their advance.

Sonya, Vera, Jacqui, Sareena, Johnny, Sub-Zero, Smoke, Stryker, Kabal, Takeda, and Kenshi quickly rushed to surround Ermac and readied their respective weapons for what they assumed could only be an inevitable battle with the soul collective.

This sudden turn of events shocked and worried Mileena, Tanya, Jade, Kitana, Sindel, Skarlet, Meat, Nitara, and Li Mei, who all quickly rushed over in the hope that they would be able to clear this matter up.

Mokap, Kia, and Jataaka, who faced down opponents nearby, were confused by this turn of events but too focused on their attacking enemies to intervene at the moment.

Sektor and Cyrax were similarly unable to act as they found themselves back to back against a small squad of Centaurs, with larger groups of troops menacing the Shaolin and Lin Kuei that Cassie fought alongside.

The rest of Mileena's core allies were spread thin across the battlefield coordinating Union troops and the Special Forces Lieutenant John was similarly managing his own squad at the moment. Fujin was focused on intercepting Raiden and touched down to save lives, the exact matter which was presently preventing him noticing this sudden predicament. And Eyota was tracking down her predecessor, making her equally unavailable.

All in all, not the best situation.

"What is the meaning of this assault?" Ermac questioned.

"As if a two-time Kahn cronie like you wouldn't know!" Jax responded angrily. "I've been making a lot of new friends lately. Two of them are the nice couple back there that I'm not gonna let you hurt! And one of them is Ashrah here, who happens to have the same thoughts I do on the subject!"

"Release us, sorcerer's work!" Ashrah added. "I bested you once before, and I shall do so again!"

"I would not hurt my daughter!" Jerrod's voice came from the soul collective.

"Holy shit, is Shao Kahn in there?!" Johnny questioned.

Ermac gave the actor a look, as if surprised that he could have discerned the truth. He realized it was simply a presumption.

"No," Jerrod denied. "In life I was King Jerrod of Edenia. Through this form, I align myself with others who suffered Shao Kahn's cruelty to fight for freedom, as all of you do. There are times where my concern for my daughters overpowers the cohesion of our union."

"Then why in the hell were you working for Kotal the last time I handed you your ass?" Jacqui questioned.

"If what you say is true, release them!" Sareena pleaded.

"Friends, he's not lying!" Mileena insisted.

"I was wary of Ermac at first as well," Jade admitted. "But he has changed."

"I saw him as my father's soul when I was freed from that awful corruption," Kitana further explained. "Shao Kahn held these souls under sorcery which forced them to serve him."

"Much like he once controlled me." Sindel added.

"It certainly sounds like Shao Kahn," Sub-Zero said knowingly, recalling his brief information of the Emperor's forces as a cyborg. "And I for one am fond of second chances."

To show his convictions, the Lin Kuei Grandmaster dematerialized the ice ball he had been forming in his hands.

"That's nice man, but didn't rip your fucking arms off!" Jax pointed out.

In an instant, Ermac recalled his sins. Their sins, when they were souls enslaved to perform Shao Kahn's bidding.

They had planned on delivering apologies to Ashrah in particular when Jade had mentioned her as an ally. But in the heat of the battle they had allowed the fact that they were fighting alongside people they had hurt to escape their minds. Their fusion into a single entity granted them great cohesion as a unit, but sometimes that focus took away some of the advantages of ten thousand individual minds.

Faced with unavoidable truth now, they understood what made them so hard to trust.

"If we release you, and you do not attack, and we do not attack, will you allow this to be resolved peacefully? We… have things to say." Ermac offered.

"You get one shot." Jax said against his better judgement.

"I am willing to talk," Ashrah conceded. "But my blade will not leave my hand."

Ermac nodded and released them both.

By now enemy forces had begun to close in, taking the freedom fighters as distracted, which for all intents and purposes, they were. Those who surrounded Ermac, Jax, and Ashrah, quickly began to take up the fight against these opponents, leaving them to discuss the sins of the past.

"We understand your anger, your resentment," Ermac began. "You deserve nothing less to feel it."

"That's certainly a lot more human than I remember you bein' last time I saw you." Jax admitted.

"Aye," Ashrah agreed, putting one hand on her waist. "And you were not the type of opponent to lure their prey into a false sense of security when last we fought."

Ermac looked at Ashrah. Starting with her was easier.

"We understand all too well the drive to cleanse oneself of the sins they have committed in the past," Ermac related. "Your quest was much the same as what ours is now. You may not believe that, and we do not blame you for that. You were alone then, and we were just another hunter trying to kill you. We had the advantage of the family we were able to form. Both Jerrod's family, and those fellow constructs who Shao Kahn and Shang Tsung had abused. Even under Shao Kahn's thrall, we were in a position of relative safety. We had privileges you were denied for years, and when we last engaged with you, all we did was make matters worse.

We… are unsure of what to say other than that we apologize. We are glad, in hindsight, that you defeated us. Had we taken your life, we would never have been able to forgive ourselves. We hope your life may only improve in the days to come, and are honored that you would fight for Outworld's freedom with us despite our past transgressions against you."

"I… I can hear a certain conviction in your words, soul fusion," Ashrah admitted. "I do not know if I can forgive you yet, but I was once a thrall myself, and if I could defy Quan Chi, and you would fight here against tyranny, you are certainly capable of defying Shao Kahn. Thankfully, both are now dead. I would be willing to have you as an ally, Ermac."

"Thank you." Ermac responded.

Ashrah offered her hand, to Ermac's surprise, and they shook it.

Jax had crossed his arms at this point.

Ermac moved their gaze to meet his iron glare.

"Yeah, that was nice and all," he admitted. "But it doesn't explain why you were working for Kotal. And why you tried to kill my daughter, my future son-in-law, and their friends."

"We were infiltrating Kotal's regime on behalf of Mileena," Ermac explained. "Even after her apparent death, we could not afford to risk our cover for the sake of the rebellion. We fought for him, but we made no legitimate attempt on the lives of your loved ones. In point of fact, we allowed ourselves to be used by your daughter as an outlet for her frustrations regarding… what we did to you. She is a skilled fighter, and would likely have beaten us even if this was not our intention. You must be very proud of her."

"I am," Jax confirmed. "The only thing that lines up about your story from where I sit is that you haven't tried to kill Mileena, and that I trust Kitana and Jade a lot more than I trust you. If you ain't bullshittin', I suppose we can work together. Now let's get this show on the road."

"Hold on," Ermac requested. "We would wish to take a chance to apologize."

"Yeah? Well I ain't givin' you one." Jax replied indignantly. He raised one of his metal arms. "There ain't nothing you can do that could make up for this."

"No, there is not." Ermac agreed.

"Glad we can see eye to eye, then." Jax responded sarcastically, as he turned and began to walk away.

"Each soul within us has suffered much as you did," Ermac explained. "Our bodies were destroyed and mangled. Our souls torn from them. In this form, we are able to regain a semblance of what we were. But it will never be the same. We caused you great pain. We cannot expect to be forgiven for that. We cannot make amends for that crime. We cannot relinquish the shame we feel for that sin. All we can do… is say that we understand pain like that which we inflicted upon you. Perhaps that only makes us more guilty than we already are. We can accept that. All we can ask is that you fight alongside us. Not for our redemption, for the good of the people that need our help."

Jax paused and stopped in his tracks. And took a deep breath

"It'd be real hypocritical of me to ignore what you've been through. What every one of you in there has been through. I lost my arms, I was a revenant… I know a little about what you had to deal with too. I admit that. We've all gotta keep living in our own ways… and if you really have found a way for all of y'all to do that… I guess I can't hold that against you. Maybe we can help each other… and we can definitely help these people. But I don't think lookin' at you is gonna get any easier."

"We understand." Was all Ermac said in response.

Jax nodded. "Let's get to it, then. People need us."

Ashrah and Ermac nodded in agreement, and before long the three warriors leapt into battle against the forces of evil, united in purpose if nothing else.

The rest of their allies were relieved that the matter had been resolved peacefully, and could now refocus their full attention on their primary objective of securing Outworld's freedom.

Nitara in particular was speeding through the battlefield like an aerial ace, dodging enemy attacks from all sides and slicing through enemies with her Kama, not to mention knocking them around with her impressive martial arts skills.

The de-facto leader of vampiran independence soon found herself fighting alongside an equally graceful princess of Edenia, none other than Kitana, both using their skills and abilities to move through the battlefield and overcome all challengers.

As effective as a duo as they were, Nitara couldn't help but notice something.

"Umm… Princess, on your head," she began. "I've been meaning to ask. Is that…"

"Oh gods," Kitana quickly released, tearing the skull mask off her head. "I am truly sorry, Nitara. I adopted this during my time as a revenant. I… I realize that it is the remains of your people's former leader. Shao Kahn used it to strike fear into so many, but I believe it's true place might be as a cultural artifact of Vaeternus. If I am not imposing this reminder of your realm's history upon you, and I would understand if you do not want this, but I would like to return it to you."

"Thank you," Nitara responded, landing on the ground and taking the skull mask. "It should be laid to rest in King Erebus's tomb. I'll make sure it gets there. I know you would not willfully don a symbol of my people's suffering."

"I appreciate that, Nitara," Kitana said gratefully. "I'm just glad to clear it up in any respect. And thank you for making my sister happy."

"Of course," Nitara responded. "So, wanna get back to busting heads?"

"Not quite how I'd describe it, but I definitely agree with the sentiment." Kitana accepted.

The two freedom fighters leapt into battle, their burgeoning friendship a source of happiness for their family members and loved ones.

To see her daughters and son fighting for what they believed in, alive, and happy as they could be in this battlefield, Sindel found herself lifted up from the despair that had ruled her for so long. As she fought Kotal's forces, Seidan Guards, Black Dragons, Red Dragons, and the odd Chaosrealmer, Sindel held firm in her own convictions as well. No longer would tyranny reign over Outworld.

Equally committed to this cause and fighting with all she had was Emerald, the decorated Edenian soldier who had once been a royal guard to Sindel herself.

Before Shao Kahn destroyed both their lives.

As she found herself fighting alongside her restored queen, finally able to witness this seeming miracle with her own eyes, Emerald was both strengthened in her Edenian pride and set upon with guilt over her role in Edenia's conquest ten thousand years ago.

"My queen," she found it within herself to speak up, usually something that was far from difficult. "I am pleased to see you in good health once more."

"Thank you, Emerald," Sindel replied kindly. "It is good to see you again as well."

Emerald paused, for a moment remaining silent as she fought back a pair of Centaur warriors.

"That surprises me your highness," Emerald admitted. "I failed both you and Edenia."

"I suffered under the cruel sorcery of Shao Kahn's minions as well," Sindel reminded her. "And I… did far worse in that time. You fight for Edenia now, Emerald. You are as dedicated a warrior as you ever were, and I am honored to have you by my side."

"I… thank you, Queen Sindel!" Emerald responded. "I am glad that you approve of my continued service."

"You do not need my approval," Sindel assured her. "Your continued battle for freedom speaks for itself."

"Then I hope I can carry on that battle with you at my side, Your Highness," Emerald concluded. "It would be a great honor."

"It would honor me as well." Sindel agreed.

And with that, the two Edenian warriors quickly became a nigh-unstoppable duo against the forces that opposed them, busting through enemy lines with relative ease.

Deciding to join them, Rain blasted back a fair number of enemy combatants with ease using a powerful jet of water, before taking out two daggers and jumping into the fray properly.

"I overheard all that," he revealed to Emerald. "Always told you that you were too harsh on yourself."

"I think I recall having to teach you the same lesson a time and again." Emerald poked back.

"True." Rain admitted, the two sharing a laugh.

Rain continued to fight against the forces in front of him, leaving him temporarily vulnerable to a Centaur who charged from the side. Fortunately, a geyser of suddenly appearing water lifted the Centaur up and dropped them to the ground below just as quickly.

Rain was not responsible for this particular demonstration of hydromancy, but as he saw Alyssa briefly waving before engaging with enemies of her own, he knew exactly who was.

"Good job!" Rain shouted out encouragingly.

He was starting to like being a mentor.

That was an area that Sub-Zero was well versed in, Kenshi less so, while Takeda and Jacqui were used to being on the receiving end of mentorship.

The four fighters had assembled together into a rather formidable unit as the battle continued to rage on, using their varied skills to overcome any enemy who came up against them.

Of course, having some help was never a bad thing.

Determined to catch up to Raiden and prevent him from accomplishing his plans of conquest, Hanzo Hasashi led the Shirai Ryu through the battlefield, fighting his way past anyone who got in his path.

He stopped only when he saw his protege and familiar allies, letting his drive to complete the mission subside for the moment so he could reunite with them, something his second-in-command Peron and student Aqua were eager to do as well.

The Shirai Ryu ended up forming a perimeter around their various allies, allowing Hanzo himself to get to his friends and pupil.

Noticing their arrival, Sektor began to make his way across the battlefield towards Hanzo. He would assess the trustworthiness of the Shirai Ryu Grandmaster personally.

Kia and Jataaka similarly wanted to speak with Hanzo, as they had rather damning information to share with him.

For now though, the former Scorpion concerned himself with the quartet of allies he had not seen in some time.

"Kenshi, Takeda, Jacqueline, I am pleased that you are all well," Hanzo said kindly. "Sub-Zero, it has been quite some time."

"Yes," Kuai Liang agreed, his tone somewhat unfriendly. "It has."

"If it is your concern that I am still allied with Raiden, I assure you, my ties of loyalty to him have been severed." Hanzo explained.

"It took all this death to make you realize how insane his ambitions are?" Kenshi shouted accusingly.

"I…! I was blinded by the promise of a path to a redemption for my sins," Hanzo explained. "I thought I was bringing peace to the realms, as Raiden no doubt still believes that he is, in his own warped way."

"Is that what you thought you were doing?" Kenshi continued. "It sounded a lot more like more selfish vengeance to me. When you and the others returned after Bo' Rai Cho was lost to Raiden's madness, out of respect I did not go further back into your mind than the last few hours, and see the depths of what you have done in service of Raiden. I wonder what I might find if I did so now, but at the same time, I would like to maintain what respect for you I have left."

"Kenshi my friend, I understand your anger," Hanzo tried to respond. "The folly of joining in this war-"

"Oh, that's all?!" Takeda cut in. "Not even gonna mention how you've been keeping secrets from us?! From me?! So much for your best student…"

Hanzo realized what his allies now knew, but remained silent for a moment.

"We wanted to tell you about the attack on the Brotherhood, Takeda." Peron explained softly.

"Maintaining that secrecy was Raiden's idea," Hanzo elaborated. "He feared losing the trust of you, and of the Special Forces."

"That's right, we're just his tactical advantage." Jacqui chimed in disgustedly, recalling the assassination attempt on Kotal Kahn as well as the battle at a Red Dragon outpost that had led to Kenshi's heavy injuries.

"It is this exact weaponization of allies that drove me to take the Lin Kuei into hiding," Kuai Liang revealed. "I wish so very much Hanzo, that you had taken my advice, and done the same."

"After Shinnok, I believed that Earthrealm needed defending," Hanzo tried to explain. "I put my allegiance behind Raiden for that purpose."

"Yeah, I told myself that kinda shit to," Sonya admitted as she walked over to the group, beating down any enemy that tried to attack her. "I believed that keeping our world safe was the top priority, no matter what. I let Raiden run unchecked, let him put together what he needed to do all of this, let him lead you into that attack in the Netherrealm. Let a man who tried to have my daughter and my soldiers killed remain on the throne of the same realm we're fighting in, fighting for, right now. And now I'm destroying a career that's been my life's calling for decades because the higher ups are too selfish to help these people, because yes, I did take too long to realize that Raiden has gone off the rails and it's our responsibility to stop him now. The only saving Grace of all this is some personal realizations and getting to see some old friends I've been missing for a very long time. No thanks to you on that front. So stow the excuses, soldier. We've got more than a war, we've got a realm's freedom to win."

Hanzo was both relieved that Sonya understood his situation and struck by her differing response to a similar journey.

"I was not trying to make excuses," he then tried to argue. "I was merely trying to-"

"Rationalize what you had done because in your heart you knew it was wrong," Kuai Liang interrupted knowingly. "We assassins are all too skilled in that."

He had not intended that particular callout to be heard by Smoke, Kitana, Mileena, and Skarlet, but it caused some self reflection in them much as it did with Hanzo. The feeling was also shared by Rain, who had recently arrived in the area, and Jade, who had been a bodyguard, but a servant of Shao Kahn all the same.

Hanzo looked down, unable to make eye contact with his allies due to his building shame.

"It's not just that you bought into what Raiden was selling," Takeda spoke up, finding it in himself to say his peace. "It's that you lied to us. Lied to me. I've trusted you since I was a little kid! I looked up to you! Even when you killed Quan Chi, and robbed my friend of seeing his big cousin again, I tried to see the better in you. Because… because I thought that you always brought out the best in me! Showed me that there was more to life than being angry at the world for what happened to me and my mom, gave me a family and helped me reconnect with my first one when dad was ready to come back into my life. You taught me to fight to protect people. What you did… massacring a whole group of people… coming here to wage a war.

Grandmaster Hasashi, I've trusted you so much… but how can you tell me that you've really been protecting anyone?! Fine, the Brotherhood of Shadow needed to be shut down before they could hurt people. Never mind the fact that they've been quiet since we beat Shinnok, even if they were an active threat, there is nothing that could justify exterminating them! Or helping Raiden take over an entire world! Kotal Kahn tried to kill me, I'd love to see that bastard fall. But this!" Takeda pointed at the ground they were standing on to refer to the entire battle. "Isn't justice! It isn't what you taught me and it isn't what I believe! This is just more revenge! And I remember a man I looked up to once telling me that revenge was hollow, that revenge cost him seeing his family again. And those lessons kept from going out for blood against the Red Dragon and getting hurt like my Dad did after Raiden put the idea of getting some revenge in his head, like I guess he did for you."

Kenshi looked away for a moment, considering the effects his own anger had wrought over the years, while his son continued:

"I guess none of those lessons mattered, none of that applied to you, when you could get your revenge on the right people. Damn anyone else who suffers for it. It wouldn't be the first time. You've never talked to me about it, but Dad told me everything that happened at the refugee camp. And it took until now for me to find it in me to ask you: How could you do that to people who're in the same boat you were in. I guess all this death and destruction answers my question. Because your revenge matters more than what anyone else is going through. If it'll relieve you of your self-appointed burden, just think about the fact that I didn't ask you to get back at Kotal Kahn for me. I didn't ask for any of this. And neither did the people who live in this realm. They had enough problems before you and Raiden came along."

Encroaching forces of the gradually advancing Seidan Guard and the crumbling resistance of Kotal Kahn's army bolstered by the robust might of the Centaur forces had quickly turned the priorities of the freedom fighters to combat once again. The continuation of any dialogue between their ranks would have to occur in the midst of combat against these opposed regimes and the sinister interlopers in between.

Privately, Hanzo hoped that the resumption of battle after a momentary lull caused by the sheer effectiveness of their small but formidable combined fighting force would bring an end to the difficult conversation, at least for now.

Takeda's words cut into him more than any blade, and forced him to truly question what he had done and how much he truly lived his own beliefs. Ever since his restoration from his status as a spectre, Hanzo had vowed to change him for the better. Rebuilding the Shirai Ryu had been part of that process, and until recently, so had the practice of aiding Raiden in the defense of Earthrealm.

His first restoration anyway. As Hanzo thought back over his efforts, he began to wonder how far he'd actually come, how much progress he had truly made.

If he was no longer the man he was, Hanzo finally admitted to himself, he would not have been reborn as a spectre for a second time when Havik managed to kill him in battle. Raiden had allowed him access to the Jinsei chamber to seemingly purge the Netherrealm's influence from him a second time, a tactic that at the time still remained an uncertainty as to whether it could aid the revenants or not. Raiden had considered Hanzo to be less corrupted than they, to have retained more of his sense of self and humanity. At the time, those words had comforted Hanzo, led him to believe that despite his relapse and the internal struggle that had resulted, that he was making progress towards bettering himself. That he was becoming less driven by rage and self-righteousness.

But… How true was that?

Hanzo had spent years feeling entirely vindicated in his decision to kill Bi-Han, remorseful only for what his vengeance had done to Kuai Liang, and even then, it was some time before they were on speaking terms. And even when the supposedly "historic" occasion came, Hanzo had been angry and difficult and stubborn… and enough of a potential threat to the Lin Kuei to warrant Frost's attempt at a preemptive attack. He wondered oftentimes why Kuai Liang hadn't called off the talks after Hanzo's brief fight with his star student and subsequent battle with Sub-Zero himself.

And in spite of his blatant aggression, refusal to listen to what he had to say, even at the cyberization of unwilling Lin Kuei ninjas at the hands of Oniro, and endangering his protege, Kuai Liang had remained patient with Hanzo. Willing to explain the truth to him, to trust him, to begin joint operations between the two ninja clans, to allow him to pursue Quan Chi and achieve his final vengeance.

And the price that final vengeance had taken…

Again overtaken by the anger he frequently convinced himself he was beyond. And of course it was a lie, Hanzo had enough knowledge of his own abilities to know that he would no longer be able to command hellfire if his rage was truly gone. That enough was a sign that he was not as far as long in his self-dictated redemption as he had allowed himself to believe.

Being ruled by anger and the powers of the Netherrealm was something the revenants knew far too well, and Hanzo had ignored their suffering so much like his own to enact his vengeance against Quan Chi. He thought he was avenging his clan. Avenging Harumi and Satoshi.

It was selfish. An action taken to soothe his own sense of justice and nothing more. And it had cost him dearly.

Though willing to extend moderate forgiveness, his allies had never looked at him the same. His friendship with Kenshi had been strained, it wouldn't be long before Kuai Liang would take the Lin Kuei into hiding with nothing more than a single conversation between them in which the Lin Kuei Grandmaster had tried to argue a case Hanzo should've listened to months ago. The Special Forces, though friendly on the surface, had modified security protocols after the incident so that Takeda was the only Shirai Ryu member allowed on SF grounds without the explicit vouching of Raiden himself. Sonya had for a time seen Hanzo as something for Raiden to keep in line.

Lately, given the Thunder God's change in demeanor, Hanzo had seen himself in somewhat a reversal of roles: trying to calm Raiden's temper as it was one he knew all too well, and it worried him to see the god he looked up to behaving this way.

But he did not heed those worries strongly. If he had, perhaps he would have taken a stance more like that of Kuai Liang or the Shaolin. Instead, he continued to stand with Raiden, blindly following the Thunder God into what he believed would be his only path to redemption.

But, it was more than just that… Takeda was right. Hanzo didn't say it aloud, but he knew he would need to sooner rather than later. Their enemies were the Brotherhood of Shadow, then Kotal Kahn. It was all more revenge. Hanzo had even said as much to Raiden during their assault on the Brotherhood.

At the very least, he had prevented Raiden from going too far…

But then, why was Takeda insisting that the Brotherhood had been exterminated? He wasn't there, but anyone who might've told him would have explained the situation accurately, he had hoped.

Then again, Hanzo himself had far too much history with being manipulated. He had noticed demons, the same ones that fled the attack when Raiden demanded they be allowed to leave upon seeing Jade and Stryker freed from their revenant curse.

Hanzo still had no idea how this had happened, and only the vaguest idea as to how Kitana and Sindel had escaped their corruption. He knew vaguely of Kabal's encounter with the Jinsei, and nothing of how Kuai Liang's old friend Smoke was on the side of good again as well. However it all had happened… he hadn't contributed. He'd only prolonged their suffering. Then again, if their own wills had broken through the corruption, perhaps there was hope for Hanzo after all.

But no, he couldn't just think of himself. Not now. His Shirai Ryu, the people of Outworld, his allies. They needed him. Hanzo resolved that he would fight for more than his own redemption. He would fight for what was right.

"Takeda." he finally said aloud.

"Yeah?" his pupil asked as they found themselves back-to-back against Seidan Guards and Osh-Tekk alike.

"You were right," Hanzo said with conviction. "As were General Blade, Kuai Liang, and your father. As was Peron when she warned me against this path every step of the way. I have betrayed my own principles. I wish only to fight for them now… I hope even after the lies you can believe that."

Takeda nodded as he fought. "I do, Grandmaster Hasashi. Thank you."

Takeda's whips effectively kept all opponents that came in his direction at bay, while Hanzo made use of his hellfire-encompassed sword to get through the durable armor of his foes.

"I do wish to make one final clarification," Hanzo continued. "I convinced Raiden to spare the survivors of our attack on the Brotherhood of Shadow. I assure you… I would never allow such extermination to occur. Not even them."

"I can't believe you, Hanzo!" Kenshi yelled angrily. "After all that, you would still try to lie?!"

"Search my mind, Kenshi," Hanzo implored. "This is no lie."

"Not one of his design, anyway." Jataaka corrected, slashing the air with her mystically enchanted sword and launching from it a wave of blue energy that crashed into three Seidan Guards and sent them flying back, cutting through their armor some for good measure.

"What is your meaning, demon?" Hanzo questioned.

"My name is Jataaka." she quickly corrected.

A razor boomerang flew right past Hanzo's head and slashed the shoulder of a Centaur, allowing Kuai Liang to knock them over with a large ice hammer now that the opponent was not focused on him.

"And if you call her that again, the next one won't miss." Kia threatened.

"I… apologize…" Hanzo finally said. "What I did to you… the very same was done to my own clan years ago. I have… once again failed to see that I have inflicted suffering much like that I have faced."

"We don't care about the Brotherhood, they kept us slaves for centuries." Kia told him bluntly.

"What we're trying to tell you is that Raiden lied to you, if really did try to talk him down," Jatakaa explained. "We saw from the distance while we were fleeing his forces: Flames and smoke. The burning of bodies. Trust us… we've seen it before. We could even see souls trying to escape only to be dragged down somehow. We believe it to be some kind of Seidan trap the Guard has used to imprison our kind when we have broken their laws. Quan Chi used to complain that such techniques were what made Seidans such a frustrating enemy that would inevitably give Shinnok trouble."

Hanzo was taken by such complete surprise that he would've stopped dead in his tracks were it not for his innate fighting instincts. Instead he continued to counter his enemies, punching out an Osh-Tekk as if to punish them for interrupting his thoughts.

Raiden influenced him to lie to people close to him, to friends, and to the young man that had almost been a surrogate second son to him. But the deception went deeper than Hanzo had imagined… Raiden had lied to him. Carried out the very massacre Hanzo had urged him to stop. And he had done it days ago. Looked Hanzo in the fact with that knowledge and still asked for his aid in this war against Outworld.

Just as Quan Chi had looked in the eyes of the man whose family he murdered and still given him orders. Commands.

Sub-Zero was right. Jacqui was right. Raiden's once-treasured allies were just weapons to him now. Tools of his crusade.

In an instant, Hanzo's self reflection was almost entirely pushed down, the very relapse he had sought to prevent. Rage overwhelmed him, consumed him.

Burning like a fire.

Worry and fear swept through all on the battlefield that could bear witness to Hanzo as hellfire enveloped his body, his eyes particularly glowing with flame.

"Raiden…" he said hatefully to himself.

"BETRAYER!"

In a flash, hellfire exploded out from Hanzo, incinerating Osh-Tekk soldiers, Seidan Guards, Red Dragons, Black Dragons, and Chaosrealmers who were in his immediate vicinity. Even his own allies were forced to move back to evade Scorpion's rage.

Hanzo launched the chain of his severed kunai at the nearest Seidan Guard, the burning chains wrapping around their neck and pulling them away from the Seidan Resistance fighter they had been battling. The Resistance fighter pulled back, deciding to contact their leader…

Hanzo dragged the Seidan Guard across the ground with the chain burning their neck and through their army with every passing moment. Hanzo pulled them up to his face and stared them down with flaming eyes, fear evident even with the helmet concealing their face.

"Where is Raiden?!" Hanzo angrily demanded.

"Hanzo, stop!"

Peron rushed over to him, with Aqua, Takeda, Kenshi, and Kuai Liang in tow. The rest of their allies tried to create a defensive perimeter to allow them the chance to talk him down.

"Raiden lied to me! Sanctioned indiscriminate murder! Manipulated me, just like Quan Chi before him!" Hanzo raged.

"I know, but you can't take that out on everyone around you!" Peron argued, trying to touch his arm to get his attention only for the heat to cause her to pull back.

Hanzo recognized that even minorly he had hurt her. In ways more than physical, he had hurt everyone that mattered to him… and those that mattered to them… perhaps it was self-loathing that drove his rage now.

"I will focus my rage singularly on Raiden once this Seidan thug tells me where he is!" Hanzo shouted adamantly.

"I have focused my rage on single targets before, Hanzo!" Kenshi tried to remind him. "It caused me to spend years pursuing Shang Tsung, an enemy who would ultimately be felled by other hands. And led me down my crusade against the Red Dragon. While I still seek justice for Suchin's murder, I do not resort to torture to achieve it!"

Hanzo began to reconsider what he was doing, the fire in him beginning to simmer down. He looked at the Seidan Guard at his mercy.

"Please…" they begged.

Hanzo remained frozen in time for a moment, so Kuai Liang took it upon himself to fire a cryokinetic mist powerful enough to cool Hanzo's chain.

"The punishment for cruelty cannot be more cruelty," Sub-Zero told his fellow Grandmaster. "Hanzo, for as long as I have known you, your rage has been at its most destructive when misdirected. Quan Chi's manipulations caused you to kill my brother, now this person who you have no history with nearly suffers the same fate because of your anger at Raiden's deceptions."

"You had the same attitude when you attacked the Special Forces for refusing to hand over Quan Chi before we could save lives," Kenshi added. "Even at the worst of my desire for vengeance, I knew patience, Hanzo. That virtue seems to be lost on you every time you find yourself a new target."

"Is not urgency what we require to stop Raiden's madness?" Hanzo asked.

"This is not urgency, it is blind rage." Kuai Liang argued.

"If you can get your head clear, we know that you know that." Peron said semi-reassuringly.

Hanzo silently considered. The fire inside him not subsiding, it hardly ever did if he was honest with himself, but it was lessening in intensity.

Finally, he pulled the chain off and released the Seidan Guard.

"Go. And cease your warmongering. Raiden's crusade is madness."

The Guard warily got to their feet, looking at the individuals in front of them with caution.

"I cannot and will not betray my oath as a Seidan Guard," the Orderrealmer said dutifully. "Order will be brought to this realm. However, I thank you for sparing me."

Hanzo walked up to the Guard and knocked them out with a flaming punch to their helmeted face.

"You're welcome." He said indignantly.

"I suppose that is still restraint by your standards." Kenshi reasoned.

"I will not kill anyone who does not deserve to die," Hanzo promised. "Should we catch up to Raiden, I am prepared to take lethal action to end his crusade and bring him penance for his crimes."

He began trying to move forward through the battlefield, his clearer mind allowing him to discern that Raiden was likely targeting Kotal's palace and going in its direction would allow him to find the Thunder God.

"Fujin believes that he can still be saved," Peron explained, following along to make sure he listened. "It… it sounds crazy, but I want to be able to believe him. We have to hold on to hope."

"Look at all the devastation around you," Hanzo pointed out pessimistically. "Think of all the lies."

"Have you been listening to anything we've been telling you?!" Kenshi demanded to know. "This is the same dogged pursuit that led you to take up arms against the Special Forces and myself. Your decision to kill Quan Chi before his sorcery could be used to save the former and current revenants was what led you to seek validation from Raiden in the first place, is it not?!"

Hanzo stopped in his tracks.

"Hanzo, please," Kuai Liang pleaded. "Do not rob another person of his brother."

Hanzo looked down and sighed.

"From the moment I knew who you were, Kuai Liang, I have regretted taking Bi-Han's life," he confessed. "No amount of apologies will ever make it right, but I thank you for giving me a chance. Raiden gave me a chance as well. As far as he has fallen… and as far I have been dragged down with him… you are both right. He deserves at the very least a chance to redeem himself, if we can reach through to him…"

"We have to." Peron reasoned.

"There was a time where I worried that my sister might be too far gone," Mileena suddenly chimed in, having battled her way within eyeshot and earshot of her allies alongside Tanya. "A time where she believed it herself… but I refused to give up on her, and when I got her back, when she could finally accept me and we could be sisters, it felt like a miracle. If there's any hope for Raiden… as angry as I am with him, we can't lose that."

"We're fighting to save people, not kill them." Tanya added.

"Well said, my love," Mileena complimented. "That being said… I do understand the desire for revenge. There was someone who… hurt me, forced Tanya and I to be apart in the most painful way either of us could imagine. We took our vengeance on that person, to have closure before moving on to the fight that really mattered."

"You can punish those who've wronged you," Tanya reasoned. "But never lose sight of why you're really fighting."

"We try not to," Mileena admitted. "It can be difficult sometimes."

"Especially with an enemy as obnoxious as Kotal," Tanya joked, right before knocking out an Osh-Tekk warrior with a strong strike of the flat side of her naginata. "But it's best to remember that we fight for what we stand for and most importantly, who we love, not simply because we hate our enemies."

"Well said," Kuai Liang complimented. "I have tried to impart much the same lesson upon my students… and to myself, especially when facing the worst enemies of my past."

"Speaking of which," interjected Sektor as he hurled two unconscious Seidan Guards across the battlefield, sending them crashing into a pair of Black Dragons. "I would have words with you as well, Hanzo Hasashi."

Hanzo brandished his sword and prepared for battle with the Lin Kuei cyborg, who stood still and simply glared at him.

Sektor turned his head to Kuai Liang.

"Grandmaster," he said respectfully. "If this man is your ally as you have claimed in the past, inform him that I am not his enemy… unless he gives me reason to defend myself."

"Hanzo, I gave Sektor a second chance, much as I did you," Kuai Liang explained. "In light of the threat posed by Oniro and his Tekunin, he has chosen to use that chance to aid the Lin Kuei."

"After seeing the error of my so-called father's enslavement tactics, I have little patience for oppressors." Sektor elaborated on his presence in this war.

"Given what you have told me of his past, I would not be so quick to trust him." Hanzo offered his opinion.

"When I was first told about you, I wasn't quick to be trusting," Frost pointed out, walking past a freshly frozen Chaosrealmer. "We both know how that turned out. I wasn't very sure about Sektor at first either, but he earned my trust during our fights with the Tekunin. He wants to be better just like you do. Just like we all do. And if you're not going to give him a chance, I'm not afraid to back him up in kicking your ass."

"Your unwavering bravery has always impressed me, Frost," Hanzo complimented. "Sub-Zero trained you well. And like you, I have seen the wisdom in his capacity for second chances," he turned his gaze back to the Lin Kuei cyborg. "Very well Sektor. I accept you as an ally."

"Appreciated," Sektor responded. "But you still need to prove yourself. This is not about old rivalries between our clans, I have seen enough of Kuai Liang's peacemaking skills to know that our ancient animosity is as dead as he claims. This is about your previous cooperation with the Tekunin in the interest of Raiden's crusade."

"Raiden's assurances were the only information I was provided on those cyborgs," Hanzo detailed. "He claimed they sought to bring Order as he did. I gather from what you, Sub-Zero, and Frost have told me so far, that you have had altercations with them. Oniro was mentioned. I had thought the Grandmaster of the old Lin Kuei was dead."

"So did we." Sektor explained angrily, clenching his fists.

"The Tekunin are Oniro's new ambition," Kuai Liang detailed. "The reason for their allegiance to Raiden eludes me, and evidently you. They have launched multiple attacks on the Lin Kuei and its guests in the past few days. They have enslaved Hydro and nearly succeeded in killing Jacqueline, though as you can see, her unconquerable spirit prevailed."

As the fighters continued to battle, discussing this matter while holding off their various foes, Kuai Liang motioned to Jacqui shortly before hitting a Red Dragon soldier in the gut and flipping him over his shoulder, where a swift kick to the head knocked them out.

Jacqui was putting to use her new cybernetic armaments as well as the enhanced strength afforded by the exoskeleton used to mend her wounds. Her new gauntlets were malleable devices, adapting Tekunin nanotechnology to achieve shapes from large metallic fists to familiar arm-mounted blasters, now firing concussive energy and cutting lasers for various purposes. In addition, she also found her gauntlets newly outfitted with pulse blade emitters, allowing for twin purple energy blades to extend and cut through the durable armor of her enemies and allow for an easier knockout blow.

Though having this exoskeleton bonded to her body was a rather new experience for the relatively young Special Forces soldier, Jacqui took it in stride, simply happy to be alive and back in the fight against evil.

Her armaments combine with her own skills and talent for improvisation meant that even expertly trained Seidan Guards and Red Dragons didn't last especially long against her, much less more hastily trained Osh-Tekk soldiers used to patrolling streets and bullying civilians, or self-taught Black Dragons and utterly discipline-less Chaosrealmers. Though the Chaosrealmers were tougher opponents to keep down.

As they had proven themselves to be many times and against many foes, the Centaurs were the most formidable threat on this battlefield save for some of the powerhouses the freedom fighters found themselves fortunate enough to be allied with, Daegon, the currently out-of-the-fight Tremor, and the Red Dragon's hybrid creations. Jacqui's new gauntlets allowed her to knock out even a particularly strong Centaur with a swift uppercut, a show of strength that surprised even her once she'd done it.

Her new abilities were not entirely offensive however, she was also now able to deploy forcefield emitters which created rectangular energy shields allowing for new cover positions for Jacqui's allies, and a quick way to save them from enemies who would otherwise strike them down.

Lastly among this new toolkit was the Specialist's evasive capabilities, namely jet boots retrofitted from similar technology afforded to Lin Kuei and Tekunin cyborgs, allowing Jacqui to fly above her enemies before channeling some violet energy through her gauntlets and unleashing a ground pound much akin to her very proud father's, which cleared out a sizable group of enemies she had found herself contending with.

This also allowed her to join the vampires and Aviens against the jetpack-equipped Red Dragons that Daegon had littered the battlefield with, something her eager-to-help nature left her quick to do.

This bird's-eye vantage point allowed Jacqui to spot the Black Dragon No Face raining fiery death from above with the assistance of the jetpack Daegon had provided to him.

Jacqui knew that she had to put a stop to him before he took more lives and jetted herself over to the Black Dragon's location. The forcefield emitters on her gauntlets allowed for protection against the inevitable stream of flame that came her way when No Face saw her coming, the same tactic having killed a few vampires and Aviens already, much to Jacqui's dismay.

Once she had closed the distance, Jacqui landed a strong punch to No Face's jaw and sent him flying back. The Black Dragon pyromaniac began hurling grenades at the ground to get his opponent to focus on saving lives, but Jacqui was able to intercept and shoot down each of the explosives before they made landfall.

"Ok, you're just asking for it Jax Junior!" No Face threatened before turning his flamethrower on Jacqui again. The maneuver was equally as ineffective as before, and No Face, something of a glass cannon in battle, began to resort to evasive tactics as Jacqui continued to come at him.

Takeda rooted for his fiancé as he witnessed their aerial battle, though quickly found himself focused on his own fights at the ground level.

Hanzo was impressed with her skill, but his newly found knowledge of the threat of the Tekunin worried him. Their nature had proven to be another deception by Raiden, and he found himself again questioning if the Thunder God could be saved from his own madness.

While cutting down foes with his Mugai Ryu, he found himself fighting with the similarly equipped Jataaka, her wife Kia naturally in tow.

"Thank you for telling me what became of the Brotherhood," Hanzo said when he got the chance. "I am better off knowing what happened. I am truly sorry for any comrades you lost in our attack."

"There were always people who could be saved, but Sareena and Ashrah are better at reaching out to those people," Jataaka reasoned. "They helped me and Kia change for the better, after all. My wife is safe, my friends are safe. That's what matters to me."

"I… I once had a wife…" Hanzo found himself saying.

"I would've killed Quan Chi damn the consequences just like you did if I lost Kia." Jataaka admitted.

"And I'd do the same thing if anything happened to you, my love." Kia added.

"I do not regret that he died," Hanzo clarified. "Only the moment in which I chose to end him… and the lives I made worse as a result."

"Can't say I have any answers for that." Jataaka stated truthfully.

"I am glad that others are free from that sorcerer's influence, at least. Hanzo reasoned.

"That's what we fought against the Brotherhood for." Ashrah chimes in, approving of the sentiment.

"There's always hope for people, in my eyes." Sareena explained.

"That's part of why I love you." Ashrah said with a warm smile.

"I envy your optimism," Hanzo confessed. "And your ability to be with the ones you love."

"I lost my family as well," Ashrah revealed to him. "I know that pain well. Try to find joy with those who are still with you."

"I will." Hanzo said determinedly, looking around at the Shirai Ryu who followed him.

Nearby to them, a pair of unorthodox allies also did their part in fighting off the advancing enemy forces.

Mokap was still limited in the proficiency of his telekinesis, but he had figured out pushing people back with it pretty quickly, and used that skill to hold enemies at bay while using his martial arts prowess to defeat those who got close, aided in this endeavor by Meat of all souls.

"Well, this is fun." Meat said in a playful sarcastic tone.

"To be honest, I feel like a guy with no skin should freak me out, but I'm trying to roll with these things at this point," Mokap reasoned. "Keeps the anxiety down… kinda…"

"I'm nervous too," Meat revealed. "I went from living in a cage to all this. This is bigger than anything guys like us were made for, I think. But we've got people who need our help."

"Yeah, my best friend, this girl who's like my niece, her new girlfriend…" Mokap reminisced.

"My sisters and my new mom and dad," Meat added. "So long as we can help them out, this'll all be worth it."

"Simple way of thinking about things," Mokap complimented. "I like it."

"Life has proven to be a little less complicated than most people seem to think." Meat replied.

"Well when you get down to it like that, sure," Mokap agreed. "For me, my life's gotten a whole lot… bigger, and weirder, and scarier."

"Take one look at me and you'll know I've never really had what other people call 'normal', so I can't offer much advice there," Meat said honestly. "So long as you follow your gut, it all becomes a lot easier to wrap your head around, I guess. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be able to go home after this."

"Thanks," Mokap responded gratefully. "Been trying to keep a hold of some of that optimism myself. You're a nice guy. Name's Carlos, but most people call me Mokap."

"All I've ever had to go by is 'Meat'," Meat explained. "Not my first choice, but its all I know and it doesn't bother me too much."

"Nice fightin' with ya, Meat." Mokap said kindly.

"You too, 'Mokap'." Meat said right back.

As new allies connected on the field of battle, Aqua, one of Hanzo's trainees, found herself shoulder-to-shoulder with Sub-Zero as they fought off enemy combatants.

The combination of Aqua's hydromancy and Sub-Zero's formidable cryomancy allowed them to keep many enemies at bay with freezing blasts and jets of water, and up close their martial arts skills meant that few enemies lasted especially long against them.

As they fought together, Aqua found herself compelled to question the Lin Kuei Grandmaster regarding the information he had provided about the Tekunin.

"Sir, there's something you mentioned that I wanted to ask you about," Aqua spoke up. "You said that the Tekunin… have taken my brother?"

Kuai Liang sighed as he directed a blast of freezing energy to halt a charging Centaur, before summoning Ice clones around himself in various positions matching snapshots of his martial arts techniques, their statue-esque punches and kicks flooring a closing in group of Osh-Tekk.

"Yes," he finally answered, regret and sadness in his voice. "Oniro, the man who was once Grandmaster to Hydro and myself, returned from the grave via his technology, and converted your brother into one of his cyborgs as the first of his Tekunin clan. He… manipulated your brother with promises of restoring the mobility he lost… then when your brother defied him by aiding Sektor and Frost in escaping his clutches… he enslaved him. I am truly sorry, Hydro, more so than words can convey. But I promise you, we will get him back."

"I…" Aqua was at a loss for words. She had not seen her brother in years… their relationship had been strained by her decision to join the ancient rival to his Lin Kuei. To learn now that he had been converted into a mind-controlled cyborg serving a madman who had attacked the very clan Hydro once held his fealty to… it was worrying, to say the least. Aqua feared for her brother's safety immensely. Were it not for the present crisis here in Outworld, she would have demanded that the Tekunin be sought out immediately in order to free her brother. She knew that her Grandmaster would certainly not hesitate in taking on such foes, especially considering Oniro's involvement in the demise of the original Shirai Ryu.

What she still did not know, What Kuai Liang could not even now bring himself to tell her, was of Hanzo's role in being responsible for the state Hydro had been in for years, inflicting the severe injuries that had driven Hydro into the Tekunin's clutches.

Perhaps when this was all over, Kuai considered, Aqua could be made aware of the truth. But they had a realm to liberate, and Hanzo had received plenty of berating already today for his past actions. For one of his students to lose faith in him so completely would be a pain that Kuai could not afford to bring about now.

Frost felt it was very important for Aqua to know the truth, but kept quiet on the matter as well. It was for Kuai and Hanzo to tell her, she reasoned. Their decision to maintain the secret, their decision to reveal it. And like her mentor and surrogate father, Frost felt that now was simply not the time.

There were others however, unexpected players on this field of battle, who had no intention of giving Hanzo any peace of mind. Not for a moment.

They had moved throughout the battlefield merely defending themselves against any who attempted to attack them. Their mission was to track down a group of demons they believed hiding themselves within the battle, awaiting a chance to snatch Shinnok's amulet from Raiden and use it towards their own ends, ends which threatened the realms enough to get the attention of the Elder Gods, or at least that was what they knew so far.

They had no idea of the larger situation and who was fighting for what. That didn't much bother the two Oni, Moloch and Drahmin, who were happy to just enjoy the fights. The Centaurs and Red Dragon hybrids in particular had proven to be enjoyable challenges. But their friend and pseudo-leader had urged them to act only in self-defense. He could sense heroes within this battle, and having once been a Lin Kuei assassin, then a minion of the Brotherhood of Shadow, he'd had his fill of taking innocent lives.

Those whom he judged to be guilty, however…

"SCORPION!"

Hanzo, Kuai Liang, Smoke, Cyrax, and Sektor were all taken by complete surprise when they heard that voice. It was all too familiar to each of them.

Hanzo looked around the battlefield, instinctively preparing himself for attack.

He was still caught entirely off guard when Bi-Han emerged from a portal beneath his feet and grabbed him by the throat with his right hand, his left clutching Hanzo's arm when he tried to raise his sword.

"Don't bother worrying about escape." Bi-Han recommended, the words echoing in Hanzo's mind and bringing back memories of decades prior.

Bi-Han began to freeze Hanzo's sword-wielding arm, bringing about a numbness that forced him to drop his Mugai Ryu. Hanzo tried to retaliate with his other hand curled into a fist, but Bi-Han summoned a shadow clone to grab it.

Another shadow clone appeared to hold Hanzo back alongside its twin, allowing Bi-Han to release the Shirai Ryu Grandmaster's throat only to deliver a strong punch to his face, followed by another, then another.

"H-How…" Hanzo said after spitting out blood, noticing Bi-Han's changed form and believing him dead after learning that he had been launched into Shao Kahn's Soulnado.

Bi-Han created two sickles, one from ice and the other from shadow, he dug them into Hanzo's shoulders as his foe screamed in pain, then kicked the former spectre onto the ground.

He stomped on Hanzo's chest when he tried to get up, and commanded his shadow clones to kick him repeatedly, including the occasional blow to the head to ensure that Hanzo could not concentrate enough to teleport.

"I am a dead man," Bi-Han cryptically explained. But you have somehow regained your mortality…"

Bi-Han reached down and grabbed Hanzo by the throat once more.

"Which means you are vulnerable to death."

He began to freeze Hanzo's neck, intent on tearing his head off once the process of doing so was complete. His shadow clones ceased their attack, allowing their master the kill.

In doing so, they left Hanzo better able to focus. He grabbed onto Bi-Han's arm but the former wraith only tightened his grip on Hanzo's throat.

Hanzo instead escaped the situation, by teleporting, his hellfire briefly burning Bi-Han, but his cryomancy putting out the flames almost instantly.

Hanzo reappeared behind Bi-Han and launched a punch, but Bi-Han spun around and caught it in hand with lightning-fast reflexes.

"You killed me in cold blood," Bi-Han said as he glared into Hanzo's eyes, exerting his strength enhanced by the power of the Earthrealm Jinsei to push his enemy down. "You could have let me live."

"I… I…" Hanzo tried to get out an apology.

"Do any of my words sound familiar yet, Scorpion?!" Bi-Han mockingly asked, before creating a dagger of ice and stabbing it into Hanzo's stomach.

He proceeded to headbutt the former spectre before grabbing onto his torso and flipping him over his shoulders, dropping Hanzo onto the ground below with considerable force.

Hanzo staggered to his feet, wearily raising his fists in an attempt to put up a fight against his foe.

Only to be bludgeoned from the side by Drahmin's iron club.

"Ya know, before Quan Chi killed me and sent me and my one-and-only down to I don't even remember which plane, he said he would trade a thousand of me, a thousand of us, for just one of you." Drahmin explained as he and Bi-Han stood over their foe, the latter crossing his arms while the former kept his club raised, using it briefly to point in Moloch's direction.

The Oni Destroyer was far less interested in the specific target of Hanzo, and instead kept other participants at the battle at bay, allowing for the exacting of revenge. He knew it would make Drahmin happy.

The Oni Tormentor grabbed Hanzo by the leg and threw him up into the air, where Bi-Han grabbed him by his other leg and threw him right at Drahmin, who bashed him to the ground with another powerful strike of his iron club.

"I don't see the hype." Drahmin taunted.

"Do you remember our first battle?" Bi-Han asked, before kicking Hanzo while he was down.

"You were an extraordinarily unremarkable opponent then," Bi-Han mocked before creating a scythe from shadow and digging the blade into Hanzo's back, taking a moment to hear his cries of pain. "Still, you managed to get your revenge. Speaking of which: Seeing as how you've robbed me of the satisfaction of killing Quan Chi, I assume you now realize that I did not kill your family, or your precious clan. In fact, I was as horrified as I imagine you were when Quan Chi reported that the deed had been done. That monster Oniro was endlessly pleased, but if the old bastard is still alive, I promise I'll kill him for you, Scorpion."

"That… is not… my name… anymore…" Hanzo managed to get out.

"Die by whichever name you prefer, I'm not picky," Bi-Han allowed, before pulling out the scythe. "But to me you're Scorpion, the man who murdered me. Who left the brother I swore to protect alone in this world. I'm back now, back to who I truly am, not the monster Shinnok and Quan Chi tried to warp me into… but you still have to pay."

He grabbed Hanzo by the back of his head and slammed it into the dirt, before summoning two shadow clones once again to hold him up, allowing Bi-Han to beat on his foe relentlessly.

"Mind if I get a few more whacks in?" Drahmin asked, waving his iron club idly.

"Your title is Oni Tormentor, yes?" Bi-Han questioned. "If the Netherrealm rebirths him again, you can torture him for an eternity. This time however…"

Bi-Han summoned an ax made of ice and raised it above his head, planning to decapitate Hanzo.

"He's mine."

"Bi-Han, wait…" Hanzo pleaded. "I… I'm sorry… Quan Chi… he misdirected my rege… turned me against you… your brother… he would not want you to do this…"

Bi-Han clenched his empty fist, tightened his grip around his ax, and summoned a few additional spikes and blades made of shadow onto the icy weapon as his eyes narrowed with contempt.

"Words will not save you, Shirai Ryu warrior."

"Bi-Han, STOP!"

In an instant the sound of his brother's voice shattered Bi-Han's concentration. The shadow clones he had summoned vanished, as did the modifications to his ice ax. Hanzo resultantly dropped to the ground, and Drahmin gave Bi-Han a confused look.

Bi-Han lowered his arm and turned around to see a concerned Kuai Liang approaching him, wearing… Grandfather's armor? He thought he'd never see it in person. But that didn't matter now. His brother was here, and for the first time in a long time, or a short time as Bi-Han had personally experienced, he was himself again, able to be an older brother once more.

Bi-Han dropped his weapon to the ground and approached Kuai Liang with excitement, an emotion he almost never visibly displayed. Death and rebirth change a person, one would suppose.

Kuai Liang had feared confrontation with his brother, and that still hadn't been ruled out as an outcome. But Bi-Han was so visibly happy to see him, that he allowed his concern regarding his brother's immediate previous actions to fade for just a moment.

Kuai Liang stopped and allowed Bi-Han to hug him, returning the embrace, knowing that even despite external circumstances, they both needed it.

When they separated, Bi-Han took off his mask and allowed Kuai to see him smile.

"Look at you, you've grown so much since the last time I saw you," Bi-Han complimented. "And Tomas was right, you're not a cyborg anymore. You have no idea how much I've missed you, little brother. I'm so sorry for everything I did when I wasn't myself. And that I left you for so long. I saw Lin Kuei among all the people fighting here. They fought well, and I heard a few of them call you their Grandmaster. One or two even thought I was you. My friends and I helped them out in their battles, rest assured. I… I'm so proud of you, Kuai."

"Bi-Han, I…" tears began to well up in Kuai Liang's eyes. "I waited so long for the day that I might see you again, hoped that you were out there somewhere and that one day I'd be able to bring you home and make everything right again. This is wonderful!" He hugged his older brother a second time. "But…"

"Kuai, what's wrong?" Bi-Han asked.

"Bi-Han," Kuai found the strength to look his brother dead in the eyes. "I understand your anger, but I'm sorry, I cannot allow you to kill Hanzo."

Bi-Han's eyes widened. He was taken by complete surprise to hear this from his brother. Not angry, just… surprised.

"But brother, he-" Bi-Han began.

"I know what he did," Kuai Liang cut in. "And I know that he was manipulated into doing it, just as you were once manipulated by Quan Chi. Bi-Han, I know this doesn't make any sense to you. There are times where I stop and think and it doesn't quite make sense to me. But please, believe me when I tell you this: in the years that you've been gone, I have seen him struggle to be better. There are times where he has failed, as have we all, but I know it is in his soul to try. And I know it is in yours to be better as well."

Drahmin meanwhile picked up Hanzo off the ground and raised his iron club.

"You enjoy the family reunion," he said to Bi-Han. "I'll get myself a little satisfaction."

"Drahmin, stop!" Bi-Han pleaded.

"Why?!" Drahmin asked. "He derailed your life, derailed mine. I thought getting even with this spectre trash was what you wanted? It's certainly what I want after having to hear about what a good pet Quan Chi always thought he was!"

"I understand your resentment, Drahmin, your anger," Bi-Han admitted. "I share it. But…. I trust my brother more than I hate Scorpion. I will abide Kuai Liang's wishes to give him a chance… or at least to spare his life. Even if it makes very little sense to me at this moment."

"That's nice and all, but he's not my brother, and after how my last situation with a boss turned out, I'm not really in the mood for taking orders from anyone anymore!" Drahmin responded spitefully. "The only one in charge of Drahmin is Drahmin. Well, and Moloch… on his birthday… but that's not the point! I do what I want from now on! And I want Mr. Get Over Here squashed right now!"

He held a tight grip on Hanzo's shoulder, the Shirai Ryu Grandmaster still too battered and cut to mount a defense against the Oni Tormentor.

"Hey!" Drahmin shook Hanzo violently. He wanted him conscious for this. "If you run into Quan Chi in the lower planes, tell 'im I'm coming for him next. Right after I get through helping my new friend out."

"Drahmin, would it be too much to ask of our friendship for you to spare his life?" Bi-Han asked.

"It might be," Drahmin answered honestly. "Seeing as I haven't done it yet, I suppose you could change my mind, but I doubt it."

Shirai Ryu ninjas including Peron, Aqua, and Takeda began to surround Drahmin, aided by some of their other allies in this battle, including Kitana after she finished taking down a particularly aggressive Centaur.

Moloch quickly rushed in to defend his partner, with Herald soaring in tow. He roared at anyone who tried to come near Drahmin, slamming his fists on the ground in an intimidation display.

"You're so cute when you get protective." Drahmin complimented.

Moloch smiled even without looking back at his partner, instead keeping a watchful gaze on the ninjas, monks, rebels, and various others.

As he scanned the area in front of him, he spotted the Edenian princess, and a certain painful memory came flooding back.

Moloch's eyes flashed red and after letting out a huff and a growl, all that were required to command Herald to watch over Drahmin, he barreled over to the very surprised Edenian princess, who readied her steel fans for the seemingly inevitable battle.

To Kitana's further surprise, Moloch stopped just short of her. A wary Jade, Mileena, Tanya, and Skarlet had formed up behind her, with Sindel, Meat, Ferra, and Torr, occupied with battle against the various enemies this battle had brought forth.

Moloch stared down Kitana, lurching forward to meet her eye to eye, growling angrily.

"You cut my head off!" Moloch shouted.

Kitana was quick to remember the action she had taken as a revenant.

"I… I am truly sorry for what I did to you, Moloch," Kitana apologized honestly. "While I was not myself, hurting you was still an action carried out by my hands, and that is something I will have to live with for the rest of my days… along with a myriad of other sins. While I am personally glad to be free of the Netherrealm, it is also good to see that it's ways have allowed you and Drahmin to return. Quan Chi was wrong about you both. You are both fearsome warriors."

"Thanks," Moloch responded simply. "And yeah, being a revenant stinks, even I know that. I'm not mad that you did it, I'm mad that it was sneaky. I want a real fight!"

Kitana was taken aback, surprised to say the least.

"If you would wish to do battle for sport, I can fulfill that request," she answered to the surprise of her allies. "I merely ask for two conditions: upon the occasion of this battle, neither of us kills the other. I think we've both had our fill of dying. And secondly, I ask that you allow me to complete my mission here: to bring an end to this war and see the peoples of Outworld, Edenia, and countless other realms liberated."

"You talk fancy," Moloch commented. "But uhh, sure. Dying is the worst, sure we always come back, but that doesn't mean we like it, yknow?"

"Indeed." Kitana agreed with a smile that Moloch surprisingly reciprocated.

"You get it," Moloch said approvingly. "And if you're busy with all this, I get it. We're busy too."

He pointed over to Drahmin and Bi-Han, the latter trying to figure out a way to convince the former to spare Hanzo.

"Yes…" Kitana responded. "That man your partner has prisoner is an ally of mine, I would appreciate it if he is not killed."

"That's a decision for Drahmin to make," Moloch explained. "I'm not gonna force him to do anything he doesn't want to do."

"I mean, didn't this guy kill you?" Drahmin asked his friend.

"Yes," Bi-Han confirmed. "But my brother wishes to take a chance at his redemption, and I will not fight him on that. We… have fought one another too much in the past. And I do not wish to fight you either, Drahmin."

"Then stay over there and let me do this!" Drahmin proposed.

"I cannot!" Bi-Han denied, before turning back to his brother. "Kuai Liang, while I trust you, I am running very short on reasons to keep Scorpion alive. I understand that this is important to you, but it is not the easiest case for me to argue."

Kuai Liang considered for a moment.

"Would it not be enough to explain to you that Hanzo was as much a victim of Quan Chi as you both were?" He asked.

"He… has a point," Bi-Han relented. "Scorpion was his enforcer as much as you and I ever were."

"Yeah, his favorite." Drahmin said bitterly.

"Everyone is just another tool for Quan Chi to use, any favoritism he shows is just another excuse to be cruel towards those who've given him their loyalty."

Having successfully broken away from the ferocious Red Dragon hybrids that had kept her previously occupied and still kept her fellow demons at bay, Sareena strode over to this developing situation with her Demon Fang sword in hand and not an ounce of fear in her face.

"Oh hey, it's you," Drahmin recognized. "One of the people smart enough to quit working for that pasty piece of slime."

"Indeed," Sareena confirmed. "And while I'm sorry for what it cost you, I'm glad you saw similarly. That bastard always thought particularly little of Oni, saw your people as mere mindless beasts. We both know he couldn't be more wrong."

"I'll say," Drahmin agreed. "I mean, Moloch can actually build fantastic ships-in-bottles! You should see 'em sometime! Eh… when there's less going on, I guess."

"I appreciate the offer," Sareena said kindly. "But well, you were right when you pointed out that I have other priorities. One of them is trying to protect as many lives as I can. A personal interest within that is people who suffered the Netherrealm's ills as I have."

"And I suppose that self-mandate relates to our current situation." Drahmin presumed.

"I cannot allow that man to die, but I have no wish to harm you either." Sareena explained.

"I'd say that we're at an impasse, but you sound like you're at an impasse with yourself." Drahmin commented.

"Doing what's right isn't always easy." Sareena responded.

"I'll have to take your word on that." Drahmin said nonchalantly.

"S… Sareena?!" Bi-Han asked, taken by surprise once again. "I thought you were…"

"Bi-Han," Sareena finally registered, being able to look at him again for the first time in a very long time. "Kharon was right. You really are… back. It's good to see you again."

"Thank you," Bi-Han replied kindly. "I am glad that you finally achieved the escape you sought so long ago. And… you are Lin Kuei now?"

"Yes, your brother was kind enough to accept me into his clan," Sareena explained. "Now I can help people while being a part of something good. I'd heard that you'd become a part of something too."

"Yes…" Bi-Han remembered. "I suppose I have."

"Jade and Kurtis told me parts of what happened to you, and I know none of it could have been easy," Sareena empathized. "But I also know that you're better than this."

Bi-Han looked away from her and contemplated.

"I don't know that I am," Bi-Han admitted. "I will spare him now, but I still want him dead. And I far from blame Drahmin for wanting to carry out our intended vengeance."

"Glad to have your vote!" Drahmin joked.

"Vengeance doesn't help anything, Bi-Han!" Sareena protested. "It just leads to more people getting hurt!"

"I could not have said it better myself," Kuai Liang said complimentarily. "Bi-Han, there was a time where I fought for revenge… it only left me unawares to be converted into one of Oniro's cyborgs."

"Do not be so harsh on yourself, brother," Bi-Han pleaded. "I am honored that you would fight to avenge me."

"Hanzo fought to avenge his family as well." Kuai Liang reminded him.

"But I was not their murderer!" Bi-Han shouted.

"And Hanzo did not murder your friend!" Kuai Liang motioned to Drahmin.

"Ya know, you've got a point there," Drahmin admitted. "Thing is…. He is the reason I can't figure out what plane Quan Chi ended up in so I can kill him myself!"

"Is that what you're prepared to kill a man over?!" Kuai Liang asked them both. "The loss of an opportunity to exact your preferred revenge!"

"I don't know how you can even defend him," Bi-Han said honestly. "I want to respect your wishes, Kuai. I truly do, but this is… if someone had taken your life, I would not stop for anything until they were dead!"

"Then the difference between us, brother, is that I have learned that revenge is hollow!" Kuai Liang shouted. "To end someone's life without giving them a chance to be better, especially when they were manipulated by someone far more deserving of the kind of Justice you seek. That is not a way of being that I cannot abide!"

"You always did love to give second chances," Bi-Han remembered fondly. "It was what made you… makes you… better than me."

"Brother, don't be so harsh on yourself." Kuai Liang pleaded in a much softer tone than before.

No, Kuai, it's true," Bi-Han insisted. "You never allowed our work in the old Lin Kuei to corrupt you. You deserve more than anyone to lead the new generation into the future. I believe that absolutely."

"I… appreciate that." Kuai Liang said in a somewhat uncertain tone, worried about his brother's evidently poor opinion of himself.

"Sub-Zero… Kuai Liang… is a better man than I am as well," Hanzo confessed through ragged breaths. "He gave me a second chance I did not deserve… if you cannot be dissuaded from your vengeance, my only regret is that my soul will not be pure enough to be with Harumi and Satoshi again… I hope you may better yourselves where I have failed."

"Hanzo, don't say that." Peron urged worriedly, close by enough to strike if need be, but avoided coming to blows with Drahmin just yet.

"As angry as I am that you killed me, I would never have wanted you to be separated from your family." Bi-Han said, some of his empathy breaking through his personal rage.

"You had a family?" Drahmin asked, the Oni Tormentor's voice taking a softer, more inquisitive tone than he ever had in the majority of his un-life.

Hanzo nodded. "Did you?"

"I… I don't know," Drahmin admitted. "I don't remember… I… might have? For me, my life started with five hundred years of torture. That's all I knew before…"

He looked over at his towering companion, the only one who would never leave him.

"Before Moloch." Drahmin finished.

"Do you… love him?" Hanzo asked.

"Yes." Drahmin said with absolute certainty.

Moloch smiled. Drahmin loved it when he smiled.

"There was once someone I loved that much…" Hanzo said sorrowfully.

"Yeah, I… kinda picked that up," Drahmin replied, almost bashful. "And I can guess why they're not around anymore."

"I am not proud of the moment I chose to avenge her," Hanzo admitted. "I prevented people who needed it from getting help."

"But at least Quan Chi's dead," Drahmin finished for us. "As dead as any of us can be."

"I suspect that the Netherrealm will hold evil such as his," Hanzo theorized. "It is its purpose."

"I hope so, but at the same time, wouldn't mind smashing his head to bits." Drahmin admitted.

"If he returns, I will help you get your chance." Hanzo promised.

Drahmin contemplated for a moment.

"You know what…"

He loosened his grip on the Shirai Ryu Grandmaster, and even helped Hanzo to his feet.

"I'll hold you to that, Sparky."

Hanzo nodded, before turning his gaze to Bi-Han.

"Can you help us save this realm from Raiden's insanity?"

Bi-Han sighed. "I have a more… specific task that I must complete. There is a small group of demons in this realm with ambitions that threaten the realms. I must find them. But… I exert no control over Moloch and Drahmin. You may both do as you wish."

"The lady who cut my head off is nice, actually," Moloch commented. "She even said sorry!"

"My name is Kitana." The Edenian Princess introduced herself as she used her wind magic to blast back a pair of Centaur warriors.

Moloch nodded.

"Scorpion here isn't as annoying as I remember," Drahmin reasoned. "I could help these guys with their thing."

"Then do so," Bi-Han requested. "I will find Baphomet and his allies."

"Good luck in your mission, brother." Kuai Liang said supportively.

"Good luck in your fight as well," Bi-Han responded in kind. "I hope we can fight alongside one another again soon."

"I would rather be done with fighting after everything I've been through lately," Kuai admitted. "But I appreciate the sentiment."

Bi-Han nodded. "Sub-Zero. The name suits you."

"That means a lot to me." Kuai said gratefully.

The two gave one another traditional Lin Kuei bows before Bi-Han set out to continue along his path of tracking Baphomet and his allies. The blessings of the Elder Gods gave him some limited capacity to sense the dark magic of the Elder Demon, but it was a vague sense of what direction he'd gone in more than anything. And while Bi-Han was the happiest he'd been in years to have reunited with his brother, part of him couldn't help but feel that he'd lost valuable time.

He just hoped that he wouldn't be too late.

"You didn't introduce me." Ashrah teased as she began fighting side by side with Sareena against the enemy forces.

"I will when we get the chance," Sareena promised. "Also, I love you."

"I love you too." Ashrah responded in kind, both sharing warm smiles shortly before encroaching enemies took their attention.

Moloch and Drahmin meanwhile took to aiding the Outworld freedom fighters in their battle, the combat prowess of two of the most ferocious Oni in the Netherrealm quickly turning back any and all enemy forces that tried to come against them. The Oni Destroyer in particular was a frightening enough sight to send most fighters fleeing.

There were exceptions of course. The prideful Centaurs, the animalistic Red Dragon hybrids, the duty-bound Seidan Guards, the insane Chaosrealmers.

All who challenged Moloch fell in battle rather promptly.

One Chaosrealmer, in an action that was more coincidence than strategy, did not attempt to do battle with Moloch and instead tackled an unaware Mileena, who had been holding back a pair of Seidan Guards.

When Mileena fell to the ground, Tanya and Jade were quick to jump to her defense, holding off the Seidan Guards.

The Chaosrealmer meanwhile attacked Mileena like a rabid animal, laughing maniacally as they saw how much they had broken the ordered focus of their struggling foe.

Mileena stabbed at the Chaosrealmer but there was no pain response to her sai digging into their flesh repeatedly. She realized she was going to have to improvise, but she ended up not having to, thanks to an unexpected source of aid.

Quite suddenly, a curved, arm-mounted blade stabbed through the Chaosrealmer's throat from behind, severing their vocal chords within disguised surgical precision, their wielder unwilling to allow the Chaosrealmer to say anything that might threaten his plans.

The blade was coming out through the Chaosrealmer's mouth, with some of their blood spilling onto Mileena, much to her chagrin.

The wielder of the blade then heaved their arm upwards and effectively launched the Chaosrealmer's decapitated head into the air, save for their lower jaw.

Darrius, now properly visible to Mileena, grabbed the body and threw it aside, before reaching out a hand to help Mileena to her feet.

"Thank you," Mileena said gratefully. "But I'm afraid I don't know who you are."

"The name is Darrius," the Resistance leader explained. "And it was the least I could do. I take pride in being able to help a fellow revolutionary."

"Oh, so you wish to aid our cause then." Mileena surmised.

"Indeed! And in doing so, you will aid mine," Darrius replied. "You see, I am the leader of the revolutionary force in Seido, or the Realm of Order as your people would call it. For centuries my people and I have been fighting to overthrow the oppression of the Seidan Guard, the very same oppression I might add, that those bastards are trying to bring to your realm as we speak. Our force is relatively small, we have nothing like the army you have managed to rally, Mileena. But my people are good fighters, determined fighters, who won't give up until these tyrants are stopped. Raiden, in his despotic zeal, has taken the Seidan Guard away from their home turf and into a realm with a force that, when united by a visionary like yourself, can finally deal a significant blow to their army, do what my movement's smaller scale attacks would take centuries more to accomplish. I want to help you stop the Seidan Guard, stop Raiden, because in freeing Outworld, the opportunity will arise to free Seido. Both our peoples can finally live without tyrants over their heads. In fact, if Kotal Kahn survives this war, I'll help you deal with him to."

Darrius outstretched his hand. "What do you say?"

Mileena contemplated for a few moments. She knew nothing of Darrius, but his cause sounded just. After facing the formidability of the Seidan Guard's army this past day, she was eager to accept any support she could, and on top of the recent arrivals from Earthrealm, her newly restored big sister and mother, and the two Oni who were now on her side, the Seidan Resistance definitely seemed like a worthy further ally. Plus it gave her hope that there were people within Orderrealm fighting against the authoritarianism of the Guard. And in many ways, Darrius's smaller force and the larger enemy they were trying to topple reminded her much of her own rebellion, at least what it had been until she rallied the Edenians, Vampires, and Tarkatans in defiance of both Kotal Kahn and Raiden.

"I accept your proposal." Mileena decided, shaking hands with Darrius.

Darrius smiled and nodded. "Happy to hear it. I think we'll do great work together."

As a further demonstration of what he had to offer, Darrius rushed towards Jade and Tanya, leapt over them, and then swiftly cut off the heads of the two Seidan Guards they were fighting with his arm blades.

"I'll contact my people and inform them of the new arrangement, Mileena," Darrius explained. "I brought a force here in the hopes that we could use the chaos of the battle to assassinate a few key figures in the Seidan Guard. Some Chaosrealmers followed us, caught us completely off guard. Sorry about that."

"I've dealt with Havik in the past," Mileena explained. "I know how troublesome those people can be."

Darrius nodded in agreement, moving away from the Outworld rebel leader in order to contact his forces.

"He seems like a good help." Jade said approvingly.

"I certainly hope so," Tanya added. "I can't imagine a whole realm where things are like they are in Lei Chen. His people are brave to do what they do, I'll say that for sure."

"You've been there?" Jade questioned.

Tanya smirked, before slamming down an Osh-Tekk soldier with the pole of her naginata.

"Where do you think I stole this from?" She asked rhetorically. "The Seidan Guard are good for one thing: crafting these."

As if speaking of the Devil, more Seidan Guards rushed in to challenge the Edenian rebels.

Jade and Tanya quickly raised their staff weapons while Mileena brandished her sai, and they were off into battle shortly.

Meanwhile, Darrius updated his rebel fighters on the development.

"We're now officially allied with Mileena's rebel movement," he explained, speaking quietly and letting the sounds of war drown out his voice. "Cut ties with Havik and the Chaosrealmers. We no longer need their kind of help. In addition to Guard targets, try to weaken Kotal Kahn's forces. It shouldn't be hard, other than the Centaurs, they're a joke of an army."

"Understood." Cassius, Dani, and Knox all responded in unison.

That matter of business complete, Darrius smirked to himself and then quickly entered the battle, intent on proving himself to his new allies while he waited for Dairou to report on Hotaru's location and an opportunity to attack him.

Their new allies further bolstered the progress the freedom fighters had been, their forces encroaching upon Kotal Kahn's palace where they hoped to intercept Raiden and end his invasion of Outworld however they could, and if they succeeded, their force was large enough that they could end Kotal's reign as well. Many people would share the credit if such a victory if it were achieved, and the Seidan Resistance would now be among that number.

Hanzo, having worked with Hotaru while he was still under Raiden's sway, was somewhat wary of Darrius due to Hotaru's descriptions of him as a terrorist. Then again, he had seen the Seidan Gaurd's true colors today, so perhaps their would should not be taken at face value.

Learning that lesson had broken a lifetime of conditioning for Aunor, who continued to fight against her former comrades in order to stand for what she believed in, finding herself suddenly aided by the very Resistance fighters she would just a day before have arrested for disturbing the peace.

Life brought many changes for many people, and for those who involved themselves in the crises of the realms, that was true to an even greater degree.

One such example was Nyah, once a reclusive retired Edenian guard disillusioned with the world to a proud warrior once more, and a proud mother, greatly impressed by the movement Tanya had built with Mileena, who Nyah suspected would become her daughter-in-law any day now.

Qali had been similarly disillusioned with her Edenian heritage and was for a long time disbelieving that the realm could ever be freed, but Mileena's Union and particularly some words Rain had shared with her had served as an inspiration and brought her into the fight despite her lack of preparedness as a civilian, a situation she shared with people like Braan, a proud citizen of Sun Do who answered Li Mei's call to action despite having little more than a wooden staff to fight with.

Using her own experience, Nyah tried to advise these civilians turned freedom fighters on the fly, intending to make sure that damn near all of them saw tomorrow, much as she knew that casualties were sadly a part of war.

Hornbuckle however refused to be a casualty.

Surviving the stab wound dealt to him by Hsu Hao, Daegon's arrogance and patience whittled down by Black Dragon bickering had prevented a more thorough confirmation of his death that the ever-efficient Hsu Hao would have otherwise performed.

Hornbuckle was quite happy with that all things considered, having no plans to see his life end before he could find a way to stop the evil intentions of the Red Dragon and Black Dragon, even if he was now alone with Cole dead and Nimbus imprisoned.

What had he been thinking? The three of them would never have been enough to stop what Daegon was planning. But some part of Hornbuckle screamed at him that he had to try, no matter how much of a fool's errand it might turn out to be.

He had not seen Outworld in a very long time. The fact that he hailed from the realm to begin with a secret he kept well. His past here was something he'd tried long to forget.

But now, his own foolhardiness had brought him back to Outworld, in the midst of a war he could only limp towards with his stab injury, one he had haphazardly bandaged using parts of his clothing, applying pressure with one hand to further prevent blood loss.

In spite of the demoralizing death of his friend and the capture of another, Hornbuckle pressed on towards the battle, determined to make some kind of difference however he could.

By contrast, Eyota was certain that she would make a difference today, as she pressed on through the battlefield.

Stopping to help anyone who needed it, she nonetheless moved forward unflinchingly in the direction where the Great Spirit's magic allowed her to sense the particular soul on this battlefield that she was determined to save.

Akicita, her predecessor in the title of Nightwolf. For the moment, he was the last revenant on this battlefield. None here anticipated his former comrades joining the fray.

Revenants emanated a unique type of dark magic that combined with the imprint of Akicita's soul, one strengthened by his prior connection to the Great Spirit, made tracking him mystically a much easier task for Eyota than it might otherwise have been.

Trying to find him through conventional means would have been all but impossible within the hellish battlefield. Eyota was thankful for the power she'd been granted, and how it might allow her to do good.

Akicita meanwhile had since his death felt as though the Great Spirit had forsaken him. His last use of its full power had been to stop Sindel during Shao Kahn's invasion of Earthrealm, though he had studied magics in his own time in case his connection to the Great Spirit was ever severed, something he feared might occur as a result of a realm merger like had almost happened to Earthrealm.

Upon his death and forceful rebirth into a revenant, Akicita had taken to using dark magic of the Netherrealm to supplement his abilities. Magic that had been put to use as an unwilling servant of Shinnok, then as an enforcer of Liu Kang and Kitana's would-be rule of the Netherrealm, an endeavor that would never truly have gone anywhere, then as an ally of Raiden's crusade, seeking redemption through defeating the Outworld menace.

And now, Akicita used his power to simply rampage senselessly, all but surrendering to the revenant anger and attacking anyone nearby, tearing through anyone who dared challenge him with crimson glowing tomahawks, matching the red of the blood around him from those he slayed.

This rampage continued without halt until a glowing green arrow past by his face and burst into a flashbang of mystical energy, causing no harm to Akicita, but temporarily stunning and blinding him.

In doing so, Eyota allowed an Outworld freedom fighter to escape as she approached Akicita, her energy crossbow raised in case she needed to stun Akicita again, determined to do no harm to him.

Akicita shook off the bright light and looked towards his attacker.

"Eyota?" He questioned, his rage almost evaporating when he saw, only for the second time in a few days since he had died.

"Hello Akicita," she responded with some sadness in her tone. "I'm here to help you."

"I…" Akicita started. "I don't deserve your help… I am a disgrace."

"Don't say that!" Eyota pleaded. "The darkness that stole your soul was not something you caused, nor something you could have prevented."

"That may be so," Akicita admitted. "But I failed to fight against this. I became a weapon against the very realm I swore to protect. And I have remained in this tainted form even without my so-called 'masters' pulling my strings. I have fallen into darkness like Ruutuu before me, only I am cursed to remember who I was."

"Not who you were," Eyota protested. "Who you are. I have known you for years, Akicita, you taught me everything I know. Such as the fact that we do not give up on people who need our help, especially those close to us. You have in many ways been like a father to me, I will not abandon you."

"I…" Akicita found himself trying to fight the corruption's influence in order to listen to her. "It's too late for me. I've been consumed by this darkness. I've killed people who fought in the defense of Earthrealm, my realm. I do not deserve to return to my life before these sins."

"That. Isn't. True," Eyota insisted. "Akicita, I promise that I am going to save you. I hope once I have, you might find a way to forgive yourself."

"I can't-"

Before Akicita could continue to insist that he was past the point of no return, Eyota's body began to glow and she outstretched her arms, dark magic starting to deep out of Akicita in the form of a black mist dotted with sparks and angry red light. He was taken aback by the suddenness of this, recalling the Sun Eater ritual, and becoming greatly concerned as a result.

"Eyota, no!" He pleaded. "I never prepared you for the Sin Eater, the darkness will overwhelm you! Stop this! Save yourself!"

"I have learned much since I had to take up the Nightwolf mantle," Eyota explained. "I promise you, I can do this. Just let the darkness leave you."

The dark magic continued to flow out of his body and into Eyota's, the successor Nightwolf struggling to control the darkness as she continued to drain her predecessor of it, but keeping control of herself even as the process continued, the power of the Great Spirit protecting her from being overtaken combination with her own strength of will.

The orange glow in Akicita's veins began to fade, the grey began to fly off of his skin and turn into the black mist, his eyes flickering between his living eyes and the angry orange orbs of a revenant. Dirt began to fly off of his clothes.

And in his mind, he felt the anger suddenly leaving him, the shame he felt… lessening. Self-control reasserting itself. A dark cloud lifting from his mind. Some faith in himself even beginning to return even in spite of the years he had spent consumed by self-loathing. He started to feel… a light within him. A renewed hope. Perhaps he could carry on. After all, as he thought of the conflict around him unclouded by the revenant madness, he began to realize that people needed him. Not to attack Outworld, but to defend it. These people were not responsible for the actions of Shao Kahn, or of the sacrifice Akicita himself had chosen to make.

And if there was one other thing Akicita knew as his mind became his own again, it was how proud he was of Eyota and how far she'd come.

Eventually, the process was complete and the darkness left Akicita in its entirety. Free from the revenant curse, he immediately turned his attention to his protege. He needed to ensure that Eyota saving him had not come at the ultimate price.

Eyota struggled against the darkness she absorbed, having been properly trained in the Sun Eater ritual but having never performed it before. Had she gone through with Raiden's original plan of using the ritual to cure all of the revenants, doing so within the Netherrealm, a place covered in darkness, she would most assuredly have lost herself.

And Raiden knew that, didn't he? He planned to sacrifice her to gain closure in his failure. He would most assuredly have killed the monster she would have become.

"That bastard." Eyota mumbled to herself.

Akicita approached her cautiously, the dark energies continuing to swirl around her and be fought back by a bright yellow glow and hints of green spirit energy, the power of the Great Spirit and the magics that the Matoka's mystics specialized in.

"Eyota, are you alright?" He asked worriedly. "Please, speak to me. I know of the struggle that comes from the Sin Eater ritual. I can help you."

"He… was going to kill me." Eyota continued to ramble.

"What?" Akicita asked, confused. "Who?"

"I…" Eyota began to realize the source of the paranoia. While it was true that absorbing the darkness of all the revenants would have destroyed her given how much trouble the darkness of one was giving her, and she could speculate on how Raiden intended to carry out his original plan for their restoration, the intensity of the anger she felt… was not her own.

The darkness was feeding said anger, and she had to complete the full extent of the Sin Eater ritual and contain that darkness before it affected her thoughts further.

She was angry with Raiden, yes. But she wasn't going to allow herself to go on a deranged vengeance quest to right a hypothetical injustice. And she knew he had lost way in a similar manner to that of the revenants. She had sensed the darkness emanating from him. Eyota knew, to her dismay, that the Sin Eater would not be enough to purge that darkness, certainly not if the power of one revenant risked her losing control, but she had to hold on to the hope that there was another way.

Hope.

That was what she had to fight back against the darkness. The uncertainty. The devastation of this war. Hope for the future, hope that they would see victory today. Hope that they could fulfill their duty of saving those lives they had sworn to protect.

Much had changed for Eyota. She had been disillusioned with Raiden, yes, but she had met many new friends. Made new connections and found it in herself to continue the fight. She had even helped others like Sektor and even Akicita, the man who inspired her, to find new paths.

The darkness would not win. Of that she was certain. Hope would prevail. Compassion and goodwill over hatred and rage.

And with that, the darkness ceased to swell, the corruption that once ravaged Akicita's mind was pushed down, a dark taint no longer able to hurt others, but instead to be used to enable entry into dark places like the Netherrealm in order to help others, to save others. That was the true role of the Sun Bearer. Of the Nightwolf.

The dark mist faded and the light subsided soon after. Eyota readjusted herself to the world around her and refocused on what truly mattered.

And the first thing her eyes focused on was her restored mentor, Akicita, who looked upon her with a smile and a hopeful gleam in his eyes for the first time in a long time.

"Eyota, can you hear me?" He asked in a concerned tone.

"Yes," Eyota confirmed. "I… will need further practice with the Sun Eater ritual when we return home."

Akicita nodded, placing a supportive hand on her shoulder.

"And we will return home, I promise you," he said. "And I will be happy to teach you."

"Thank you, Akicita," Eyota said kindly before giving him a strong hug. "I have missed you."

Akicita hugged her back. "I missed you too."

Eyota pulled back. "There are people who need our help."

Akicita nodded. "I cannot thank you enough for how you have helped me. I am more than happy to fight alongside you."

"Then let's go," Eyota encouraged. "There are many old friends who I'm sure will be happy to see you again."

Akicita nodded. "I look forward to that."

Akicita summoned two green energy tomahawks, calling upon Matokan-learned soul magic for the first time since before his death, as Eyota channeled the power of the Great Spirit itself, summoning an energy hatchet into one and an energy crossbow construct into the other.

They located nearby groups of Osh-Tekk and Seidan Guards fighting against one another as well as Outworlder, Edenian, and Tarkatan freedom fighters.

Eyota and Akicita, both holders of the name Nightwolf, rushed into battle against the forces of the oppressors, reinvigorated by the joy of their long-awaited reunion.

As they fought their way through the forces of oppression, self-interest, and pure Chaos, the two Matokan warriors moved across the battlefield, eventually reuniting with their allies who were elated to see Akicita restored to a living state, the group of heroes quickly continuing the fight, pushing through enemy lines and closer to Kotal Kahn's palace, hoping that they might be able to intercept Raiden.

But alas, as strikes of crimson lightning cut through the sky, many of them had a feeling that might be too late.

Raiden had eviscerated every enemy in his path, showing no further restraint as he made a direct beeline for the palace supported by Seidan Guard commander Konamosu and the contingent of troops under her command. Hotaru was making an effort to rendezvous with the Thunder God, but was held back by the enemies that challenged him.

Raiden on the other hand was challenged by no one.

Kotal Kahn had set up a defense of the capital city that would have been able to hold back an army for hours. Days, perhaps. Against the first wave of the Seidan Guard's attack force, they might have been able to hold them off. Had the Centaur army been held in reserve, they could have held off both waves of the Seidan Guard.

But against the Guard, Mileena's Union and their Earthrealm allies, including Fujin, the Seidan Resistance, a brigade of rampaging Chaosrealmers which Zagot had arrived alongside, the Red Dragon-Black Dragon alliance's forces, and the Seidan assault being headed by Raiden himself…

The defense of the capitol had absolutely crumbled and devolved into a widespread chaotic battle with the Emperor-for-now's forces simply fighting back as many of their enemies as they could with no greater strategy than trying to stop their opponents' from advancing…. And failing.

The defenses of the palace itself had been torn apart as well, from forces being redirected to battle the opposing armies, to the devastation brought about by Raiden's initial assault on the capitol.

Fortunately for the flailing Osh-Tekk army, they had the aid of the Centaur forces, who had fought brutal wars against the Shokan for centuries, and were one of the most formidable armies in all of Outworld.

King Myleus and Queen Irare had arranged to form a renewed defense of the palace, positioning themselves between all oncoming forces and the palace gates, flanked on either side by General Motaro, Lieutenants Taurus and Nikala, and the Osh-Tekk general Tenoch.

Additionally, a combined squadron of Centaurs and Osh-Tekk had formed in front of their commanders, including an extremely reluctant Cualli who had joined this formation solely out of her commitment to ensure that Outworld did not fall.

And as she watched Raiden and the Seidan Guards behind him approach, she was terrified that it would all be in vain, and that she was going to die.

Raiden stopped in front of the defensive force, signaling his Seidan allies to halt as well.

His furious red eyes settled on Irare and Myleus. The rulers of another kingdom that had formed one of the biggest parts of Shao Kahn's war machine. Enemies of Earthrealm.

And yet, he smirked at them.

"I admit, I am impressed," Raiden stated. "I did not expect to encounter any Outworld royalty who were actually brave enough to fight with their subjects."

Myleus snorted. "We are not cowards."

"And yet you stand here in defense of one." Raiden observed.

"We do not fight for him." Irare protested.

"What?!" Tenoch questioned.

"We fight for Outworld." Irare finished.

"And it will not fall to you, Earthrealm God." Myleus added.

"I killed your realm's last emperor," Raiden pointed out. "I killed your champion warrior. You greatly overestimate your odds."

Motaro marched forward. "I am not dead, Raiden."

"Ah, so it was you as part of Kotal Kahn's entourage when I was previously within his throne room," Raiden realized. "I am impressed that you actually survived. I will try not to repeat the mistake of sparing your life."

"Yes, try." Motaro responded.

"You will not set foot in the Emperor's throne room again!" Tenoch insisted.

Raiden chuckled. "Typical Outworlder bravado."

"And you have an arrogance we have come to expect from so-called 'gods'." Myleus shot back.

"Ah yes, Shao Kahn was one of my ilk," Raiden recalled. "You will find me to be far… worse than him."

Raiden unleashed a massive blast of lightning that eviscerated several members of the defensive squadron, those further back in the group moving away from the angry red energy.

Cualli in particular leaped out of the way and fell to the ground. As she got up, she looked back at the rageful Thunder God and lost nearly all hope, simply starting to run for her life.

Raiden's gaze fell on her.

"An excellent strategy," he commended, before turning his attention to the rest of the palace's outer defense. "Shall any of the rest of you be so wise?"

"We are not cowards!" Myleus shouted.

"All royalty are cowards," Raiden argued. "You hide behind armies and servants. You only come out onto the battlefield when you have no other choice. Spare me your arrogance. For if rulers like yourselves would deem it fit to show your faces to your enemy, then you must realize the undeniable truth:"

Raiden summoned crackling red lightning into each of his hands as a display of power as he began hovering to reach eye level with the Centaur rulers, the Seidan Guards behind him readying themselves for battle.

"The end is here." Raiden finished.

Myleus and Irare charged at the Thunder God while the remaining forces under their command engaged with Konamosu's contingent of Seidan Guards, Motaro leading the charge, Tenoch alongside him in a poor attempt by the Osh-Tekk general to maintain some showing of authority.

Raiden chuckled at the approaching Centaur rulers, showing no signs of fear whatsoever in the face of even such titanic foes.

The Thunder God summoned his warhammer and swung it as soon as they got close, slamming Myleus in the head and sending him stumbling over and crashing into a nearby Osh-Tekk barracks, temporarily unconscious.

This enraged Irare, who threw a punch at Raiden that succeeded in knocking him back some, but the Thunder God still remained airborne, charging towards her at terrifying speed, summoning his staff to stab her.

Irare was too slow to prevent her abdomen from being punctured, but that did little to stop her. She put both hands together and slammed Raiden into the ground, before stomping on him with her front legs.

She continued to trample the Thunder God until he teleported out from under her, striking her with lightning in the process.

Taking advantage of this disorientation, Raiden resappred behind Irare, the subsequent lightning strike hitting her straight in the spine of her horse-like lower body, weakening her even further.

Raiden then grabbed the Centaur Queen by her massive horns and began channeling lightning through them and into her head.

Her mind and focus so scrambled from the attack, Irare's retaliation might as well have been pure instinct, her horns glowing with her own innate energy and unleashing a wave of orange-pink mystical energy that sent Raiden flying back and crashing into the stone wall of the palace.

She then proceeded to grab the Thunder God by the neck with her tail and slam him to the ground as her focus returned to her.

"You are formidable," she admitted, slamming Raiden down again. "A worthy opponent. Killing you should be enough to show Outworld the weakness of Kotal Kahn's rule, and allow us to build Outworld back better after you have brought us to the brink."

"In all my time fighting Shinnok and Shao Kahn, a certain truth has never evaded me," Raiden revealed. "Tyrants can never resist the urge to boast of a dominion I will deny them."

Raiden teleported out of Irare's hold, shocking her tail in the process, the small distraction caused by this pain giving him enough time to rematerialize in front of her and uppercut her in the chin with a lightning-infused punch.

Irare stumbled backward and crushed underfoot encampments Kotal's forces had set up early in their defensive preparations.

"I will not allow you to seize control of this realm," Raiden said determinedly. "No tyrants shall govern Outworld ever again!"

He blasted Irare with lightning as the Centaur queen was helpless against the onslaught of his power.

Luckily for her, Myleus had reawoken and slammed Raiden with the spiked ball on the end of his tail, sending him crashing to the ground with such force as to create a small crater in the ground.

The Centaur king turned his attention to his wife after this.

"Are you alright, my love?" Myleus asked, helping her steady herself.

"I will be," she reassured him. "When this Thunder God is dead."

The two Centaur rulers moved to Raiden's landing spot and began viciously stomping him, hoping to trample the Thunder God into submission.

They failed.

Raiden teleported out of the crater, blasting them both with lightning from the sky in the process.

He reappeared a few feet away in the air, both melee weapons bared and Raiden ready to use them.

He was stopped only when a sudden hand was planted on his shoulder.

"Raiden, please," Fujin begged. "Stop this. You've done enough. I don't want to have to fight you anymore."

Irare and Myleus snickered with each other, taking advantage of the timely distraction Fujin had caused to charge at both gods.

Raiden shoved Fujin off.

"Then stay out of my way," Raiden advised. "I told you before that I will not cease until Earthrealm is secure."

"And I told you that this isn't securing Earthrealm!" Fujin shouted. "This is about your revenge!"

Raiden unleashed massive blasts of lightning upon the Centaur rulers that stopped both in their tracks, ceasing only when Fujin summoned a tornado around him and forced him higher into the air.

"I cannot let you conquer this realm, both for the people who live here and for the sake of your soul!" Fujin continued, summoning his mystical sword.

"You will not stop me!" Raiden shouted in retaliation, flying out of the tornado with his melee weapons bared and making a beeline for Fujin.

The Wind God skillfully deflected Raiden's numerous rage-filled strikes with his staff and warhammer, making no counterattack in the hope that his simple refusal to give up would at least give Raiden pause, push him towards recognizing the futility of all this.

Instead, to his horror, Fujin began to realize that there was something… pulling at him, bringing him closer to Raiden as he continued to block strikes. Fujin averted his eyes from his brother's own rageful gaze and focused on the war trophy attached to his armor.

His fears were confirmed, the power of Shinnok's amulet had been called upon and threatened to absorb him as the Fallen Elder God had once attempted to do to Raiden and Fujin themselves, much the same way Shinnok had once been contained as well.

"You can't be serious," Fujin said in utter disbelief. "Is this what you're willing to do for your crusade?"

"I do not wish to kill you, brother," Raiden explained. "But I cannot allow you to slow my progress any further. I will release you when it is over."

"I will not be a prisoner!" Fujin shouted defiantly as he struggled against the pull of the amulet.

"You cannot stop power such as this, brother!" Raiden insisted.

"Just think for a second, Raiden!" Fujin pleaded. "You are using the weapon of your greatest enemy against your family!"

"I do what needs to be done!" Raiden argued adamantly.

"And so do I." Fujin said before swinging at the amulet with his sword.

Raiden dematerialized his staff and caught the blade with his hand, blood dripping down from it.

"Why are you protecting Shinnok's weapon?!" Fujin questioned.

"You have failed to understand thus far," Raiden said dismissively. "You are not owed an explanation now."

Recalling the way it had affected Zagot, Fujin began to channel the Jinsei energy within his blade into Raiden through the open wound in his hand, hoping that a direct infusion of Jinsei essence might allow Raiden to overcome whatever dark power was influencing him, which Fujin suspected might be tied to Shinnok's amulet.

Raiden recoiled from the light energy, responding to that which he once used to replenish himself like it was an active hostile threat.

He almost pulled away from Fujin, before settling upon the idea to send lightning through the blade to then electrocuted Fujin, taking advantage of his brother's temporary daze to strike him with a lightning infused punch and send him flying back and tumbling across the ground.

Raiden landed in front of his dazed brother and unfastened the Amulet of Shinnok from his chestplate, holding it out towards Fujin in order to complete the process of absorbing him into it.

"You lack the will to do what needs to be done," Raiden chastised. "That is why you fail."

Fujin summoned a gust of wind powerful enough to throw Raiden back, sending him into his second collision with an outer wall of Kotal's palace.

As he climbed to his feet, Fujin looked around for the amulet, hoping the force of his wind had been sufficient enough to cause Raiden to drop it.

It wasn't there. His brother had held a firm grip on the dangerous artifact. His possessiveness over it further supported Fujin's suspicions.

Fujin soon found a more pressing worry when Raiden unleashed a massive bolt of lightning while maintaining his far distance.

Fujin raised his sword up, the flat side facing the lightning and blocking its power, though the force of the divine electricity was still enough to push Fujin back, threatening to overwhelm him with each passing second.

Luckily, or perhaps quite the opposite, Raiden was not patient enough to wait.

He cut off the bolt of lightning, let the last of it before its dissipation continue to distract Fujin while he teleported into the air in front of his brother and came down with a swing of his warhammer.

Fujin rolled out of the way just in time for Raiden to crash down and proceeded to block further rageful strikes from his brother's warhammer.

"You could summon a tornado powerful enough to wipe this city off the face of Outworld, to destroy all who stood in your way in one fell swoop," Raiden pointed out. "You could steal the very air from your enemies' lungs! And yet you continue to hold back! Even in spite of everything that it has cost us!"

"The losses we have suffered over the millennia pain me greatly," Fujin confessed. "But more bloodshed will not write those wrongs! You learned this in our first war with Shinnok! Is that what will put you at peace?! Another extinction event?!"

"What will put me at peace is the Annihilation of all threats to Earthrealm!" Raiden shouted. "And for those who are unwilling to truly secure its safety to cease interfering with my work!"

"Raiden, I can't let you do this!" Fujin insisted.

"I AM EARTHREALM'S PROTECTOR, NOT YOU!" Raiden screamed in rage, tired of this challenge his own brother was bringing against him.

His strikes with the warhammer became even more powerful and furious, Fujin barely able to hold his own against Raiden's onslaught. The Wind God was starting to wish he had brought another weapon to this battle, one claimed in battles with Outworld long ago.

But alas, thoughts of the past would have to wait as Fujin focused on defending himself. He tried to summon another blast of wind to throw Raiden back, but the Thunder God felt the change in the wind currents and instead teleported away.

Fujin tried to anticipate where he would reappear, summoning multiple small tornadoes around himself to cover Raiden's possible avenues of attack.

Even this would not be enough, as Fujin learned when a strike of lightning blasted him from on high with enough power to break his concentration entirely, dissipating the tornadoes.

Raiden then rematerialized behind Fujin and smashed his back with a lightning-infused warhammer, sending Fujin flying and landing face first on the ground.

Raiden then reappeared right next to Fujin, grabbing him by the head and slamming his head into the ground, shocking his brother with lightning for good measure.

"I warned you!" Raiden shouted in his brother's ear.

Fujin tried to get up, but Raiden just brought the warhammer down on him again.

The Wind God then teleported to create some distance, before reappearing next to Raiden and summoning a much larger tornado around them, holding them both in the cyclone in the hopes that it would prevent anyone else from coming to harm as they fought.

He swung at Raiden with his sword but the Thunder God reacted by slamming Fujin's hands with his warhammer, a move that would have shattered the bones of any mortal and caused Fujin to drop his sword. Raiden swooped down and grabbed it, receiving a flying kick to the back of the head from Fujin for his troubles.

Fujin then launched into a roundhouse kick, but Raiden ducked under it, flying upwards and coming back down with Fujin's own sword in hand, stabbing it into his chest just to the right of his left shoulder.

Fujin was taken completely aback by the sudden injury, his tornado dissipating and Raiden slamming him to the ground with his warhammer before he could do anything else to act.

Raiden teleported down to his brother's crash site and again raised Shinnok's amulet towards him.

Fujin began to physically drag along the ground as the amulet pulled him in.

"I did not want this, brother." Raiden said solemnly.

"Then you shouldn't have started a war." Fujin argued.

"Shao Kahn started this war," Raiden countered. "I am ending it."

"All I see is a mad god swinging around a warhammer," Fujin responded dismissively. "Sound familiar?"

In his rage, Raiden began to call on the amulet's power further, intent on hastening Fujin's absorption into it.

Strangely, as this happened, Fujin began to hear… voices coming from the artifact. Familiar ones…

But he had no time to concern himself with that mystery, and instead had to preserve himself in order to be the powerhouse his allies needed him to be in order to stand against Raiden.

So Fujin, channeling jinsei energy from the very sword that stabbed into his body, summoned a portal back to Earthrealm behind himself.

"I hope you find your way again, brother," Fujin said honestly. "And for what it's worth, Bo' Rai Cho never stopped believing in you."

With that, Fujin used the winds to carry himself into the portal in spite of the amulet's pull, closing the portal soon after to sever the connection.

The glowing magic of the amulet subsided, Raiden no longer requiring its power.

He refastened it to his chestplate, before turning to gaze towards the towering palace in front of him.

He couldn't wait to watch it collapse.

Having recovered from his last attack on them, Irare and Myleus instead stood to challenge the Thunder God.

A fight he might have enjoyed were he not at the limits of his patience.

Raiden dematerialized his warhammer and unleashed two large blasts of lightning that struck both Centaur rulers and then began to envelop around them, forming painful spheres of crackling energy that were like makeshift prisons.

Of course, the ever-stubborn Myleus and Irare struggled against these prisons in spite of the constant pain dealt out to them, but Raiden paid that no mind, instead throwing his hands out to the side and in doing so moving the spheres, launching the two Centaur royals across the battlefield and most key, out of his way.

Raiden then turned his attention to the rest of the defensive forces, who were locked in combat with Konamosu's contingent of Seidan Guards.

A blast of lightning sent them flying and killed most of their number.

Tenoch was swinging his sword against Konamosu's twin naginata, the Seidan Guard commander quickly disarming him by blocking the sword with one weapon and striking his hand with the other. Following that, Konamosu kicked the Osh-Tekk general to the ground and holstered her weapons temporarily, grabbed him by the throat and knocked him out with a single strong punch.

Motaro, Taurus, and Nikala were the last ones standing against the Seidan forces, desperately seeking an avenue to escape this confrontation in order to attend to their downed rulers.

Raiden hovered into the air and unleashed a relatively weaker bolt of lightning, shocking Motaro into unconsciousness and sending Taurus and Nikala flying. Ironically, as lethal as Raiden's rage had become, it clouded his judgement so much that he cared little for ensuring the deaths of his enemies at this juncture, a small mercy for them.

The last resistance dealt with, Raiden landed in front of the palace gates and blasted them to smithereens, Konamosu and her troops forming up behind him.

Raiden and his followers began marching into the palace, the guards behind the gates soon overwhelmed by the Seidan forces as Raiden marched forward with singular purpose.

To kill Kotal Kahn.

That purpose was not at all lost on Kotal Kahn himself, who had made the best possible effort to shield himself with armies and guards and locked doors.

He would describe it as denying Raiden his prize, a show of strength, that the "Emperor of Outworld" need not concern himself with such a threat, and not the cowardice that it was.

But even the armies of Outworld would not be enough to stop Raiden. Kotal knew this, as much as his pride prevented him from admitting it.

And so he sat still like a statue upon his throne, surrounded by eight Osh-Tekk guards and two Centaurs he had talked Motaro into allowing to guard him.

To his right also stood Ruby, silent at attention and ready for battle… or perhaps to die.

Her resentment towards Kotal had grown quickly in the past few days, but the current emperor still tried to maintain some hold of control over her by keeping her close by. She hated him for it, but figured some advantage might arise.

Four more Osh-Tekk stood at the doors to the throne room, with twelve stationed outside the room as the last last line of defense, commanded by a warrior named B'Ket, a decorated commander of the Osh-Tekk armies who had served under Kotal's father.

Kotal, Ruby, and the Centaurs made no showings of fear as they awaited the inevitability of their enemy descending upon them. The Osh-Tekk soldiers that populated the throne room were by contrast extremely shaky and wary.

All light in the throne room had been sniffed out to allow Ruby to make use of her native Hinparian powers. The only illumination was the blue glow of Osh-Tekk eyes and the small cracks of light through the boarded up windows.

"E-Emperor?" One Osh-Tekk soldier asked, breaking the silence of the room. "W-Will we win?"

"Commander T'Kol's reinforcements should arrive from Z'unkahrah within the hour," Kotal answered calmly. "Our enemies have not seen the full might of the Osh-Tekk armies."

In truth, Kotal had no information whatsoever on when those reinforcements would come. He had no information on the state of the battle. In sequestering himself within his throne room, he had sealed himself away from all battlefield intelligence. The rumbling and shaking and screaming and gunfire and blasts of lightning were the only indicators he had for how the battle was going.

He was commanding an army blind.

As a feeling of hopelessness challenged only by Kotal's arrogance set in, the forces the Emperor-for-the-time-being had surrounded himself in stood in darkness and silence for a solid hour as Raiden and the Seidans under his command pushed through the palace's defenses floor by floor, decimating all who came in their wake.

Eventually, the hall that led to the throne room was reached. B'Ket and his squad put up a valiant last stand, one which could be heard by those who resided within the throne room itself.

Metal clanging, people screaming, things breaking, armor shattering, and the terrifyingly close crack of Thunder.

The sounds of battle and death.

Eventually, the hallway beyond the throne room went dead silent.

"D-Do… Do you think our guys won?" One of the Osh-Tekk soldiers asked.

Kotal didn't respond. Ruby had to stop herself from laughing.

Soon after, the silence beyond the throne room was broken by a heavy banging on the doors.

The banging proceeded to become louder. And louder.

The nervousness in the room grew as the doors continued to be assaulted.

"Stow your fear!" Kotal commanded. "They shall not defeat us! We will clutch victory from the jaws of defeat. They have gotten this far, but they will not win. The sun will never set on my empire."

Ruby scoffed quietly to herself.

Kotal's words of "inspiration" did little to ease the fear in the room.

The guards closest to the doors visibly shivered in fear, trying to step away from the force that was about to be unleashed upon them.

It wouldn't help.

The doors exploded open and sent the Osh-Tekk guards flying, scraps of wood flying into them and stabbing two through the chest and head, leaving them to bleed out and die.

The third was dragged into the smoke by an armored Seidan hand, taken as a prisoner of war.

The fourth struggled to his feet and looked back at what was approaching.

A red glow began to emanate from the smoke as Raiden hovered through the doorway, lightning in each of his hands and his eyes shining an angry light into the room, crackling red orbs of rage.

The remaining door guard tried to run, but Raiden blasted them with a bolt of lightning, sustaining the bolt and staring Kotal Kahn dead in the eyes as the lightning eviscerated the poor soul and turned him into dust as his last screams of agony stopped.

Kotal remained silent and still in his throne, betraying no fear to his enemy, not willing to give him the satisfaction.

The Seidan Guards stormed into the room and quickly began engaging the Osh-Tekk and Centaurs present to defend their emperor, as futile as it was.

Waiting for her moment, Ruby did nothing.

Kotal would have punished this silent rebellion were he not focused on Raiden intensely.

The emperor-for-now stood up from his throne, his tattoos beginning to glow yellow beneath his battle armor.

He unveiled his secret weapon, the Portal Stone he had reclaimed from Kollector prior to the Naknadan's execution. The gem glowed a bright yellow, enhancing the power of his sun magic greatly, his eyes glowing to match.

Kotal held the Portal Stone up high and beams of focused light began blasting through the palace's ceiling, annihilating Seidan Guards that they managed to strike within seconds, reducing them to mere ash.

Konamosu was able to dodge out of the way of the beams, but many of her soldiers and even a few of the Osh-Tekk were not so lucky. Their deaths at the hands of the very emperor they pledged themselves to served only to disillusion the surviving soldiers.

"Emperor, you are killing your own soldiers!" One of the Centaurs decided to speak up.

Days ago, Ruby would have been the one calling this behavior out. Now, it was what she expected.

Raiden must be stopped!" Kotal insisted. "No matter the cost. Their sacrifices shall not be in vain!"

Raiden chuckled. "Is this how desperate you are?!"

After that mockery, one of the beams managed to land directly on Raiden himself, burning him intensely.

Even this power failed to slow the Thunder God, who flew out of the column of light completely ignoring the flames that coated his armor and cape.

Kotal pointed the Portal Stone directly at Raidenand it fired a beam of light that managed to slow Raiden, but in his rage he did not cease.

He teleported out of the beam's path and reappeared directly in front of Kotal, blasting him with lightning in the process.

Taking the brunt of the lightning, Kotal stumbled backward and fell back into his throne.

Raiden tore the skull mask made from Mileena's original body off of Kotal's helmet.

"I want to see your face as you die." He explained, summoning his staff and thrusting it forth.

Kotal managed to grab the weapon by its blade and barely hold it back from piercing his chest, his hand bleeding profusely as he held a firm grip on the blade.

Raiden began channeling lightning through his staff but did not shock Kotal for long before he was batted aside by the tail of one of the Centaur guards.

The other Centaur attempted to close in on Raiden with a battle axe raised, but the Thunder God summoned his warhammer and struck the warrior with such force that his head flew from his body and landed on the ground a few feet away.

The other Centaur, enraged by this, charged at Raiden, only to be blasted by a bolt of lightning that left a smoldering hole in their torso.

Kotal had at this point gotten back up out of his throne. Activating the power of his blood magic, he healed his wounded hand before reaching for his greatsword and tapping into the power of the Portal Stone again, teleporting in a cloud of smoke and sparks before reappearing behind Raiden and swinging his greatsword at him.

The Thunder God saw him just in time to dodge the swing, but Kotal seemed barely dejected.

"Ruby, now!" He ordered, commanding her to call upon her darkness-summoned powers.

If she had done so, she probably could've blasted Raide with her own brand of crimson mystical energy. Had he been stunned for long enough, the Thunder God might've been left open for Kotal to deal a killing blow.

But that would mean letting Kotal win. The Osh-Tekk "emperor" had destroyed Ruby's trust and faith in him with his callous actions and lack of actual progress in making Outworld significantly better than it had been under Shao Kahn.

On the other hand, Raiden was here to bring an end to Outworld's lineage of tyrants, something Ruby had initially signed on with Kotal to do. The Seidan Guard were known for maintaining Order, something which had been a large part of Ruby's duties up to this point in the civil war with Mileena's rebels. And their way of doing things would see the dismantling of Shao Kahn's empire without the optimistic delusion that lost realms could be freed, taking their focus away from doing so.

The sooner Kotal died, the less likely Raiden would raze Outworld to the ground. And if he and his army had breached the "Emperor's" throne room in a day, Ruby couldn't imagine that Mileena would last much longer if she insisted on causing trouble.

Ruby had made up her mind, she stared daggers at Kotal and narrowed her eyes at the madman who had manipulated her into being a part of his spectacular failure of an empire.

"No." She said simply.

Kotal was entirely shocked by this blatant refusal of his order and that gave Raiden enough time to swing the blade of his staff at the self-proclaimed Kahn's neck.

Kotal narrowly ducked under the swing, the makeshift crown of Tarkatan teeth he had attached to his helmet being destroyed in the process.

Pocketing the Portal Stone for now, he rushed at Raiden with both hands on the hilt of his greatsword, slashing at the Thunder God who simply teleported out of the way.

Kotal looked around in a rage for his enemy, his eyes instead finding Ruby.

"You traitor." He growled angrily.

"I'm not who you need to be worrying about right now." Ruby responded.

Raiden rematerialized behind Kotal and blasted him into a wall with a bolt of lightning.

"Wait." Ruby requested.

Raiden glared at her. He didn't need to say anything. She knew she'd have to make it quick.

"I'd like to offer my services in aiding you in the process of reforming Outworld," she explained. "I, like you, seek the complete dismantling of the old ways of this realm. I deluded myself into believing that Kotal was the key to that. I was wrong. My only condition for my service is that Outworld be spared further wide-scale destruction once he is dead."

"I cannot promise the safety of those who still defy me once I present his head to this entire realm." Raiden responded.

"I will help to ensure they fall in line." Ruby said coldly.

Raiden nodded.

And was then blasted into the wall behind him by another beam of light from the Portal Stone.

Kotal teleported himself in front of Raiden, determined to kill him before dealing with Ruby. He brought down his greatsword which dug into Raiden's shoulder rather painfully as the Thunder God pierced Kotal's armor with the blade of his staff, cutting into his rib cage.

The two injured warriors glared hatefully at each other, each digging their blades in further.

Kotal spat blood in Raiden's face. The Thunder God began laughing.

Raiden called down lightning from the sky and enveloped them both, the maelstrom of crimson crackling energy burning into Kotal as Raiden continued to laugh in his face like a madman, disappearing into the lightning itself.

Soon after, the maelstrom faded and Kotal nearly collapsed onto the ground, having to use his greatsword to keep himself up.

He started looking around him. His guards had been defeated by the Seidan Guards. Most were dead. Some were captured. Konamosu stood tall, awaiting the conclusion of Raiden's battle with the Osh-Tekk "emperor".

Ruby just stared at him with a red glow in her eyes. She would kill him herself if Raiden faltered.

But the Thunder God had no intention of faltering, and reappeared above Kotal, hitting him with another strike of lightning in the process, his staff raised above his head with the blade pointing down at Kotal.

Raiden plunged the blade down but Kotal managed to teleport himself out of the way at the last possible moment. Reappearing on the other side of the throne room and tapping into both his sun magic via the Portal Stone as well as his blood magic in order to rejuvenate himself.

Raiden had no intention of giving him the chance, summoning his warhammer and flying straight towards Kotal, the Osh-Tekk "emperor" barely ducking out of the way as Raiden destroyed part of the stone wall with his swing.

Kotal then kicked Raiden in the stomach, knocking him back some and giving Kotal the opportunity to blast him with a beam of light.

That done, he again pocketed the Portal Stone so he could grab his traditional Osh-Tekk sword as he stormed towards Raiden.

"You come into MY REALM, massacre MY soldiers of MY army, aim to remove ME from MY throne!" Kotal shouted at his enemy as he approached.

The Seidan Guards and Ruby rushed over to aid the Thunder God, but the survivors of Kotal's guards took the opportunity to attack, keeping them at bay.

Kotal dug the sawblade-like spikes coating his Osh-Tekk sword into Raiden's side and began sawing at his flesh.

"I am KOTAL KAHN, Outworld is MY DOMAIN," he boasted. "And I have fought too long, and too hard, to allow it to be taken from me!"

"I… cut off Shinnok's head," Raiden countered. "I killed Shao Kahn!"

Raiden summoned lightning into his hand and shaped it, formed it into a blade, with which he cut Kotal's sword in half like a hot knife through butter.

"And I do NOT. FEAR. YOU!" Raiden finished, unleashing a blast of lightning that threw Kotal back with such force that he crashed through the wall and tumbled through the hallway.

Raiden flew straight after Kotal and grabbed him as he tried to stagger back to his feet.

The Thunder God slammed Kotal's face into a way before throwing him across the hall, teleporting to intercept, catching the Osh-Tekk "emperor", throwing him into the ceiling, grabbing Kotal once more, and throwing him right into his own throne, Kotal crashing into it and destroying it.

Raiden teleported in front of Kotal as he struggled to get up. He summoned his staff and drove it into Kotal's torso, missing his heart and lungs only to prolong his suffering.

The remaining Osh-Tekk guards were now dead on the ground for their last attempt at resistance, Seidan Guards and the traitor Ruby standing over them.

"Guard the doorway," Raiden commanded to them. "I do not want to be interrupted."

"With all due respect, Lord Raiden, we have eliminated all other resistance in this palace." Konamosu pointed out.

"We have also left the door wide open." Raiden pointed out.

Konamosu simply nodded and directed her troops outside of the throne room.

Ruby stayed behind.

"I don't suppose I can convince you to let me finish him?" She asked.

"I… will not die…" Kotal insisted, even in spite of his injuries and broken armor. "The Elder Gods… watch over me…"

"That is all they do," Raiden said disgustedly. "Watch."

Kotal raised his greatsword but Raiden shot a blast of lightning that threw it out of his hand and caused it to embed itself into the nearest wall.

"I did not have the opportunity to savor Shao Kahn's death," Raiden said coldly, before grabbing Kotal's throat.

"I will not repeat that mistake with you."

"I'll take that as a no then." Ruby chimed in, stepping out of the room.

Kotal refused to surrender, pulling the Portal Stone out of his pocket and weakly lifting it up.

Raiden tried to grab it, but was too late. A beam of light came down and began scorching Raiden. Kotal kept up the beam, intent on burning Raiden to ashes.

The solar energy burned into Raiden, but even that was not enough to hold him back. Reaching out from the pillar of light, Raiden grabbed the same hand in which Kotal held the Portal Stone.

Raiden channeled lightning into the stone itself, red and yellow energy fighting one another for dominance. The stone seemed to gain even more power, burning Raiden further and the Thunder God ignoring the pain anyway.

Kotal tried to force him off, but it was all in vain. The Portal Stone began to crack, its glow began to intensify. And Kotal's eyes widened in horror as he realized what Raiden was doing.

He was overloading the Portal Stone.

Kotal was helpless to stop this as the stone suddenly exploded in a massive burst of energy, launching both warriors to opposite sides of the throne room.

Kotal found himself slouched against a wall, his armor breaking further by the moment. Pain hit him from every part of his body. But especially his arm, and his-

Kotal looked down down at the hand that once held the Portal Stone, and to his horror, found a burnt stump where his hand had once been.

The only saving grace was that the sheer heat had cauterized his wound.

Kotal struggled to his feet, holding his side with his only remaining hand and grunting from the effort. He looked around. Raiden slumped against the opposite wall, motionless.

Kotal knew better than to assume he was dead. He limped along the wall and found his greatsword, pulling it out of the stone. His blood magic was at work doing what it could to repair his body, but Kotal had never become an expert in that particular sorcery.

The holes in the ceiling would allow for some rejuvenation via sun magic, but Kotal decided that he had to focus on ending Raiden before he could worry about that.

If he succeeded, he could go out into the hall, kill Ruby and the Seidan Guards, and finally put an end to this madness when he showed Raiden's corpse to the masses.

Kotal staggered, struggled, moved his way slowly across the demolished throne room, he looked through the blown out doorway and found Raiden's reinforcements absent. That made things easier, but it also meant that they had likely set up defensive positions elsewhere in the palace. Any force that might come to his rescue would have difficulty with them, and after the Seidan Guard had summoned their second wave right on top of the capitol city, Kotal did not feel confident assuming their numbers.

His greatsword dragged along the ground as he limped closer and closer to Raiden, closer and closer to victory.

Yes, his victory. Definitive proof that he was the divinely chosen ruler of Outworld. That he could slay a protector god and face no repudiation from the Elder Gods, because they chose him to rule Outworld.

Yes, he would kill Raiden, the Seidan Guard would be demoralized, T'Kol's reinforcements would arrive and they would rout the invaders, as well as the forces his other enemies had brought to this conflict.

It was almost over. The battle was almost won.

But then, as Kotal continued to stagger through the room, he was finally able to get a look at Raiden's face, shrouded in shadow by his large hat.

Raiden was smiling.

A second later, Raiden teleported from his idle spot and reappeared in front of Kotal, shocking him with lightning as a result, the lightning weakening Kotal enough that he dropped his greatsword.

Raiden grabbed Kotal by the throat and glared into his eyes.

"Did you think you would be victorious?!" Raiden shouted, before grinning again. "Good."

Raiden tightened his grip around Kotal's neck and began shocking him with lightning from that hand, his dark grin fading into an angry glare.

Raiden's glare turned into a teeth gritted look of rage as he watched Kotal suffer under his wrath.

"They told me I was going 'too far', that I needed to be 'merciful'," Raiden ranted. "Mercy is wasted on those that defile Earthrealm! They turned their backs on me. Were not willing to do what needed to be done! I will show them! I will end the fighting! You, and all of our enemies shall die!"

Raiden began to lift Kotal up by the neck, making sure that the shocks of lightning did not cease for a moment. That Kotal's pain would not end.

"And there will be peace! There will be peace when all of Earthrealm's enemies are dead before me!" Raiden continued to rant. "Dead so that no one else, no one innocent, will ever need to give their lives ever again!"

Raiden lifted Kotal off his feet, holding him in the air as he continued to choke and electrocute him, snarling with rage as he watched his enemy die. And die slowly. Suffer the way all who challenged Earthrealm's sovereignty would suffer. Suffer the way Shao Kahn should have suffered. The way Shinnok did suffer, once he had been properly restrained within the Sky Temple. Oh yes, Raiden had so enjoyed torturing his age old nemesis. And he would savor Kotal's death as well.

The sound and fury of Raiden's lightning drowned out the rest of the battle, the rest of the war. Kotal, who had tried to show no fear up to this point, was helpless but to scream in agony. Raiden appreciated that the Osh-Tekk was finally being honest in his final moments.

The lightning crackled off of every inch of Raiden's body, making him look like a red storm as he channeled his power into Kotal's dying body.

The thunderous crackling drowned out even the sound of flapping wings overhead. Large wings. The wings of something grand and terrible.

Outside the palace, the combatants began to notice that the sky was suddenly darkening, grey clouds illuminating only by brief cracks of lighting… green lightning.

A few saw what was coming, but none knew what it was. Those who did could not get a good enough look at it.

Raiden's torture and execution of Kotal Kahn was cut abruptly short when a massive form crashed through the ceiling of the palace throne room, scattering debris everywhere and throwing up a large amount of smoke.

Raiden threw Kotal across the room like he was discarding a piece of trash and flew back to avoid being caught underneath the rather large being that was now taking up the center of the throne room.

Massive wings spread and threw the smoke aside.

Onaga, the Dragon King, rose to full height and took stock of his foes.

"You!" Raiden shouted, unleashing a torrent of lightning towards Onaga.

The Dragon King was struck by the blast across his chest, but found himself irritated more than harmed.

He flew across the room and grabbed Raiden in one of his large hands, throwing him to the other side with the Thunder God bouncing against the ceiling once before falling down again.

Onaga began to close in on Raiden, who's hands crackled with lightning as he stood back up and readied himself for battle.

In his heavily dazed state, Kotal was abjectly confused by the humanoid dragon who had now entered his throne room.

"Who… what are you?"

Onaga found himself distracted from continued battle with Raiden for a moment, as he averted his gaze to address the question.

"Ah yes, familiar words…" the Dragon King spoke, confusing Raiden.

"Perhaps this…" Onaga proposed. "Will help you to understand…"

Onaga outstretched his hand and in it appeared a glowing orange ball of light.

"Damashi!" Kotal instantly recognized, and Raiden, to his horror and frustration, realized what had happened.

"Ooh Kotal, please save me!" Damashi spoke in a mocking tone, before laughing maniacally with the orb's voice melding into Onaga's.

"FOOL!" mocked Onaga. "Damashi does not exist!"

Onaga continued to laugh at the joke only he understood. "You?! Chosen ruler of Outworld by the Elder Gods?!"

"What?!" Kotal questioned. "What are you-"

"I manipulated this astral puppet form beyond the boundaries of death," Onaga explained, before clenching his fist over the orb once known as Damashi, dissipating it, before twisting that same hand around to point a clawed finger at Kotal. "And in turn… manipulated you."

"You… Then…" Kotal's mind began spiraling, everything he had believed for the previous several years about his divine duty, his right to lead Outworld into the future crumbling in his mind. His entire reign… a ploy executed by… this creature.

Lies. He had been spurred into action by lies. He had fought Mileena, Earthrealm, Reiko, Orderrealm, and others because of lies.

No. No. He would have overthrown Mileena inevitably. Her rule was a farce, he needed to act. "Damashi" just confirmed what he already knew. And he didn't need the Elder Gods to confirm his right to rule. He had taken the throne for himself, and he had fought for it.

He was, is, the Emperor of Outworld.

At least, in his mind. Anything to convince himself that he was still right, that he would triumph.

And right now, his internal crisis would be soothed best by defeating the manipulator.

At least, he would try.

"You will pay with your life for daring to manipulate the Emperor of Outworld!" Kotal shouted boastfully. "You are truly a fool, 'Damashi', quickening my ascension to the throne of Outworld! You have created an enemy that will see your end!"

Onaga burst into laughter as if Kotal's proclamations were the funniest joke he had ever heard in his extremely long life.

"Such arrogance," Onaga said bemusedly. "How reminiscent of Shao Kahn."

"If you feared my predecessor enough to hide yourself until now," Kotal presumed. "You are a fool to challenge me."

"You truly have no idea who I am, do you boy?" Onaga realized. "Shao Kahn truly did make his best effort to bury my name," he looked at Raiden, who was visibly seething. "You, on the other hand, are more well-read."

"I have had enough of this!" Kotal complained. "Tell me who you really are, demon!"

Onaga laughed once more.

"I am ONAGA! Dragon King of Outworld and soon to be ruler of all that exists!"

Kotal began channeling his blood magic power, hoping it would enhance his strength to defeat Onaga as it had aided him against Goro and Gorback in the past. He hoped to end this threat before it could destroy his empire.

In reality, he stood no chance against the Dragon King. But that was not a lesson he was going to learn just yet.

"You IDIOT!" Raiden's voice boomed as he turned his attention towards Kotal to glare at the self-proclaimed emperor with the same fiery rage he'd had when he nearly killed him mere moments ago.

Raiden took flight and charged into Kotal while channeling lightning throughout his body, slamming Kotal into a wall before grabbing his neck for the second time and beginning to pummel him with lightning-infused punches.

"Your sheer gullibility distracted me and allowed a far greater threat to Earthrealm to emerge!" Raiden ranted. "A brute like you I could have easily dealt with! And now you bring this upon us?!"

Raiden grabbed Kotal by the head and slammed him into the wall.

"And I am willing to assume that you sacrificed your Zaterran minion to be the vessel of this monster!" Raiden continued. "It would certainly explain his recent absence. Your imitation of concern for your subjects always infuriated me."

Onaga continued to laugh maniacally, greatly amused by this turn of events.

"Actually, Syzoth joined me willingly, though he did not become my vessel," Onaga clarified, a devilish smirk crossing his face. "Apparently Kotal, you had nothing to offer him! Perhaps I might allow you to live long enough for him to explain it to you."

"I saved his life!" Kotal shouted, incensed by the betrayal of his former follower.

"And I can do much more," Onaga stated matter-of-factly. "And as for you, Thunder God."

Raiden angrily threw Kotal Kahn at Onaga, but his body simply bounced off the Dragon King's chest with no effect.

Kotal tried to get to his feet, but Onaga stomped down on him and held him underfoot. He would not be interrupted.

"Your sense of self-importance amuses me, Raiden," said Onaga. "I did not in fact, plant delusions of grandeur in this Osh-Tekk's feeble mind simply to distract you. You, I plan to crush along with the rest of my enemies. Mere gods cannot defeat me, that is why your colleague Shao Kahn required poison. A poison he thereafter destroyed all traces of so it could be used to overthrow him. Amusing how that fool only made my return easier. Alas, his heir or his general, whichever seized the throne in his name, would have been capable of maintaining a stable enough empire. That outcome would have made reclaiming my domain a more time-consuming affair. And while I am nothing if not patient, opportunities to hasten my plans could not be overlooked. A civil war would sow enough division that my army could overrun all who would challenge me while they were preoccupied fighting amongst themselves."

"You have no army," Raiden argued. "You have a mere handful of agents at your command. Ironic that you would call others delusional."

A smirk crossed Onaga's face again. "My return to this physical plane allowed me to reawaken my forces within seconds. All of the armies who fight here today are already doomed. However, I felt it prudent to send an advance force to begin the reclamation of Outworld: Me."

"You cannot win," Raiden dismissed. "I saw your return in my visions of the previous future. I have ensured that the Kamidogu are beyond your grasp. I used Shujinko to abate your return. You have still managed to become a threat that I will eliminate. Why, even theElder Gods were afraid of what you could do. I will take care of the problem for them, show those cowards how threats are to be dealt with."

Onaga chuckled. "This new you is a far more interesting enemy than I had expected to encounter, Raiden. I admit, your preparations slowed my ascent. But they were ultimately futile. Your Earthrealm allies do not defend my prizes as well as you presume, certainly not when there forces are divided trying to temper you. I must thank you, Raiden… for delivering nearly all of the Kamidogu into one convenient place, far easier to reach than the Nexus. And even better than that…"

The Dragon King pointed at the amulet fastened to Raiden's chestplate.

"You have brought to me the final piece I need."

Raiden put a hand over the Amulet of Shinnok and moved his upper body in a way that brought it centimeters further from Onaga's grasp, a small protective measure, but he would take no chances.

"You will not claim the weapons you seek!" Raiden declared. "And you will not claim this realm! Because I will put an end to your return from the grave… now!"

Raiden raised both hands and blasted Onaga with torrents of lightning, the force of the energy kicking up wind in the room and causing his tattered and burnt cape to flutter behind him.

Onaga took the lightning blasts directly in the chest. They caused a mild burning sensation, but he would not admit to suffering any kind of pain. Instead, the Dragon King laughed at the Thunder God's efforts, in doing so encouraging Raiden to pour more energy into his assault.

Now he had managed to annoy the Dragon King. Onaga looked down at his other foe, who no matter how much he struggled could not escape.

"This is precisely where you belong, Pawn," Onaga explained to Kotal. "Under my heel. I would suggest that you do not forget this lesson."

Onaga swept his foot back like he was wiping a stain off of it, in doing so scraping Kotal across the ground and launching him into the wall behind the Dragon King. Onaga then took flight and lunged at Raiden who continued to pour on the lightning despite its futility.

When Onaga came close to grabbing the Thunder God, he teleported at the last possible second and reappeared above his enemy, stabbing his staff into Onaga's back before grabbing onto the Dragon King's horns in an attempt to steer him into a wall, shocking him with lightning in the process.

Instead, Onaga turned himself and smashed Raiden into the same wall before swooping around the room and landing back in the center.

Again, the Dragon King could not help but chuckle to himself as his sorcery healed his wound rather immediately.

"I admit, that was clever, Thunder God!" Onaga praised. "I did not expect you to be able to puncture my flesh. Shao Kahn certainly never managed such a thing. Perhaps you might provide me with some challenge before the end. I would enjoy facing an enemy that will actually put up a fight as I reclaim my dominion."

Raiden meanwhile picked himself back up off the ground, further infuriated by the Dragon King's words.

He teleported in front of Onaga, reappearing with his warhammer in hand and smashing the weapon against the Dragon King's face.

Onaga reacted to the blow as though it were a mere slap, his gaze temporarily forced away from Raiden before he returned his head to its former position.

"Fighting like Shao Kahn will not save you." Onaga advised.

Raiden ignored him and pressed on the attack, summoning his staff and stabbing it into Onaga's collarbone.

The Dragon King grunted from the pain, but showed little reaction otherwise.

"You are beginning to irritate me." Onaga admitted.

Raiden kept his hand on his staff, about to slide it further to slit Onaga's throat or even cut off his head.

Onaga didn't give him the chance, grabbing the Thunder God and slamming him onto the ground, following it up with a powerful stomp, then kicking Raiden away like he was a tin can.

Raiden hit the wall before teleporting and reappearing above Onaga, bringing his warhammer down on the Dragon King's head along with the lightning.

Onaga looked up and took a hammer strike to the face, but did not react. Instead, the orange glow of his eyes brightened and a similar glow became visible through the metal of Raiden's warhammer.

A blast of flame erupted from the Dragon King's maw and enveloped Raiden's warhammer, melting the metal and then vaporizing the metallic sludge as Onaga kept up the beam of draconian fire.

Raiden pulled back and gritted his teeth in frustration. He then jabbed the superheated end of the metal rod that was left of his warhammer into Onaga's chest.

The beam of fire was cut off as the Dragon King snarled in annoyance more than pain as Raiden tried to drive the rod further into his enemy, before Onaga backhanded the Thunder God away. Onaga then leapt forth, the flap of his massive wings throwing Raiden further back as he went airborne.

Onaga grabbed Raiden and slammed into the nearest wall repeatedly with enough force to make the bricks buckle from the impact, before clenching his hand and digging his claws into Raiden's torso from both sides, two going into his back and one into his ribcage.

Raiden struggled against the Dragon King's grasp but to no avail. Onaga reached forth to rip the Thunder God's head off, but Raiden was able to teleport at the last second, shocking Onaga's hand in the process but causing little in the way of pain.

Raiden reappeared behind Onaga and constructed two blades of lightning, flying too fast for the Dragon King to react and stabbing the blades into his back, using them as conduits to channel lightning inside of Onaga's body, hoping to destroy him.

Onaga stumbled helplessly for a few moments as the lightning coursed through him, before reaching behind himself and managing to grab Raiden, the claws of both of his hands into the Thunder God's flesh as he pulled him off and threw him to the ground.

"You should feel honored," Onaga told his foe, before slamming both fists against Raiden's back. "That was as close to my defeat as any being who challenges me will manage."

Onaga's eyes and maw began glowing as he spewed flame in a wider, less concentrated wave to torch Raiden, intent on burning the Thunder God to ash. The wounds on his back healed in the meantime, the Dragon King embodying his undead army's reputation as unkillable.

Onaga continued as he heard the faint crackle of some foreign energy. The next thing he heard was a war cry, ceasing his flaming onslaught and averting his gaze to find Kotal charging at him with his greatsword, the Osh-Tekk warrior's tattoos and eyes glowing with blood magic that restored his strength.

Onaga didn't even turn around to face him, instead slamming his long tail into Kotal once he got close enough. Kotal hit the nearest wall as Onaga spun around with frightening speed and brought his fist against the Osh-Tekk warrior, punching Kotal in his torso with enough force that his greatsword dropped from his grasp.

Kotal began to fall to the ground but Onaga instead grabbed him and slammed him against the same wall. Kotal looked down at his weapon, trying to strategize a way to reach it.

Onaga noticed this and with one powerful stomp broke the greatsword in half like it was a twig underfoot.

Kotal managed to get a hand on one of his small sickles and tried to dig it into Onaga's flash, but his scales were too durable.

"Give up." Onaga advised, before slamming Kotal into the wall again, beginning to tighten his grip, his claws breaking through the Osh-Tekk's armor.

"N-Never…" Kotal denied his enemy and manipulator.

Onaga smirked and chuckled to himself.

"Perhaps you have more of a spine than I have observed in my time watching you play king," Onaga almost admitted. "If you wish to die with your pride, then very well."

Kotal tried to summon every bit of strength his blood magic could give him to escape from the Dragon King's hold, successfully managing to grab onto Onaga's thumb and begin to pull it away from himself.

Surely, Kotal thought, his strength should have broken the appendage.

Even now, he had no idea what enemy he was facing.

Onaga was about to squeeze his prey with enough strength to shatter Kotal's ribs, until he heard a crack of thunder and felt a burning sensation irritating his back.

Onaga looked over to see Raiden sending two continuous streams of lightning his way, blasts powerful enough that they could kill even Oni Warlords in seconds.

Onaga turned around and threw Kotal aside like a piece of trash. With one flap of his massive wings he threw Raiden back some, but that failed to stop the lightning streams. That hardly mattered as Onaga leaped towards Raiden and went into full flight speed, coming inches from grabbing the annoying Thunder God before Raiden teleported away from his grasp.

The Dragon King landed and began to search for his enemy, knowing that Raiden would strike soon. The one drawback to regaining physical form was that his gaze was far less omnipresent, Onaga could not watch the realms from afar as he did as a bodiless spirit.

Raiden reappeared outside the palace, looking down on its tallest spire from the air, where he knew his enemies still were. He then looked up at the darkened skies.

Onaga knew that Raiden was no coward, and would not retreat. He heard a crackle of lightning beyond the throne room and looked through the destroyed ceiling.

Kotal was barely a concern on his mind as Onaga spotted the hovering Thunder God and spread his massive wings to intercept him.

Kotal had grabbed a spear from one of his fallen guards and was about to strike Onaga from behind.

The Dragon King began to take flight just a massive blast of lightning came crashing down from the sky, the beam of angry red energy wide enough to envelop Onaga entirely and blast through the floor that he stood on, cutting through the entire palace like a precise laser.

Kotal looked on in shock at this display of power. Even when Raiden was seconds away from taking his life, he had not put on such a display.

The lightning blasted through every floor from the throne room to the dungeon, sending Onaga down with its sheer force.

Eventually, the lightning subsided, and there was a burnt hole where the Dragon King once stood.

Kotal cautiously approached the hole, looking down and finding it to be mirrored across every floor of the palace. He could see Seidan Guards equally stunned by the display of power, as well as Hinparians turned into allies of the Orderrealmers by the influence of Ruby, some reluctant in that regard.

He could also see dead Osh-Tekk soldiers who had stood very little chance against the Seidan siege of the palace. Reinforcements seemed to have arrived to aid Konamosu's squadron as Kotal had predicted.

Kotal was then caught off guard when Raiden teleported in front of him, hovering above the hole and glaring at the Osh-Tekk warrior with a shadow covering all but the red glow of his eyes, his arms crossed like a disappointed parent.

Kotal quickly tried to throw a punch, but Raiden effortlessly blocked it with one arm, before striking Kotal with a lightning infused underhand punch to the stomach that sent him flying back and slamming into the wall.

Raiden hovered towards Kotal like the Reaper approaching a damned soul, summoning his staff, completing the effect as it might as well have been a scythe.

Kotal was "saved" when Onaga burst through the floor and grabbed both of his enemies.

The Dragon King had flown his way up from the bottom floor of the palace and was… irritated.

He squeezed Raiden and Kotal tightly, his claws ripping at their flesh, before slamming them into each other in a forced headbutt.

He then threw both into the nearest wall and landed, the force of which created a small shockwave that was sufficient to knock his enemies back further.

The floor was beginning to buckle from the abuse, but Onaga didn't need it to be able to hold up his weight much longer, charging another blast of fire which he hoped would incinerate his two foes in one fell swoop.

Raiden however had other ideas, teleporting and reappearing behind and above Onaga, his staff raised like a mighty spear to slay the dragon.

Onaga turned his head quickly and unleashed a concentrated beam of fire, the draconian flame having enough force to blast Raiden through the ceiling and several city blocks clear of the palace, the beam dissipating as Raiden began his unplanned descent.

The Thunder God flew across the air helplessly before falling to the ground and tumbling across the war torn streets followed by a trail of black smoke and sparks.

Raiden slowly climbed to his feet, disoriented and needless to say, injured from his several previous battles, now including a fight against the Dragon King himself.

Raiden would have teleported back to the throne room to resume his fight with Onaga had he not taken a moment to take stock of his surroundings.

By coincidence, a kind of randomness that would delight Havik, he found himself surrounded by several of his former allies in his struggles against the forces of evil. They were joined by their newly gained allies: the Outworld freedom fighters, redemptive or simply reasonable demons and Oni of the Netherrealm, and Seidan Resistance revolutionaries.

The fighters were taken by complete surprise regarding the Thunder God's fall from the sky. They were concerned, knowing that only something rather powerful could have launched Raiden like that, but also wary, familiar in each in their own way with Raiden's radically altered temperament.

Raiden himself looked upon them not with rage, for once, but with… a tinge of guilt. Sadness, even. So many people he had once fought proudly alongside, for years or even centuries, all ready to stand against him now. All because he had betrayed the very same principles he had preached to many of them before.

Even in his previous goal of seeing the revenants restored to life, he had hardly even registered Kitana's return from that damned state, instead he had fought her as an enemy. Fought her family for wanting to help her and help Sindel. Fought Kabal, who he had chastised for seizing the chance to feel life once again, the very thing Raiden had promised to him, to all of them.

Fought Hanzo, who had stood with him the entire way until now.

As he looked around at this crowd of former allies, he noticed three more old friends freed from their curse.

"Sindel… Akicita… Tomas…" Raiden registered. "It is… good, to see that you have found renewed life."

"Yeah, no thanks to you asshole!" Johnny shouted.

Raiden glared at the actor with rage, before his attention was quickly pulled elsewhere.

"Yes, and it is fortunate that we all found our own ways to be free from our curse," Akicita interjected. "Your original plan could have destroyed Eyota's soul!"

Anger came back to Raiden like a bad habit.

"You did not voice such concerns before," he noted. "Interesting how that fact only concerns you now."

"I was a revenant before!" Akicita pointed out. "My mind was not my own."

"It was enough 'your own' to defy me." Raiden argued.

"You wanted to free us, Raiden," Kitana pointed out. "Even after all you've done, I can't believe that was a simple deception."

"Your rage was to have served me in the interim." Raiden explained coldly.

"That sounds very much like how Quan Chi manipulated my rage!" Hanzo interjected.

"It does blind you so easily." Raiden argued.

"And it was thanks to you that I could see," Hanzo admitted. "This heartlessness is unbecoming of you, Raiden."

"Lord Raiden."

"In all the years I have known you, you have never cared for that title." Master Shen suddenly chimed in. "You only ever begrudgingly allowed us to refer to you with it out of respect."

"And where was the White Lotus Society's 'respect' when I began my work to bring true peace to Earthrealm!" Raiden snapped.

"You were betraying principles that you taught us in the first place!" Kung Jin pointed out.

"I do not remember teaching any of you to be weak-willed cowards!" Raiden countered.

"Not wanting to fight a war that doesn't need to be fought makes you a coward?!" Jax asked. "People said the same shit about my mom and pop in the 70s. They didn't stop marching for what they believed in."

"Is that what this is?" Raiden asked. "Your march of protest? You are too late for that. Too late to stop what I have begun!"

"The Seidan Guard conquest of Outworld," Darrius spoke aloud. "I'm guessing you didn't tell any of these people that when you plotted this behind their backs."

"You?!" Raiden questioned. "Ah yes, Hotaru's nemesis. I thought I eliminated a few of your forces on my path to the palace,"

He motioned to his former allies. "You judge me, and this is what you have fallen to?! Collaborating with terrorists?!"

He pointed at Mileena.

"And with heirs of Shao Kahn?!"

Tanya stepped out in front of her girlfriend, flanked by Kitana, Sindel, Skarlet, and Meat, soon joined by Rain, Emerald, Nitara, Ferra, and Torr.

"You won't touch her again." Tanya hissed angrily.

"You could hardly stop me before." Raiden argued.

"I could." Sindel pointed out.

"A brief distraction at best," Raiden dismissed. "In fact, that is precisely what this is. While you fools stand here and sanctimoniously chastise me, a threat to all the realms is-"

"You don't get to call anyone else sanctimonious Mr. My Way Or The Lightning Storm!" Cassie shouted.

"I had hoped that your temper tantrum would have concluded by now, child," Raiden mocked. "Though I suppose I should not be surprised, considering the fact that you were raised without discipline!"

"Hey!" Sonya yelled. "Look, I know I've never been mom of the year, but I'm not about to get grief about it from you!"

"Ah, General Blade," Raiden said almost fondly. "You were once my greatest ally. I believed that you saw the totality of what was required to protect Earthrealm. It is disappointing to learn that I was wrong."

"I was barely on board with that assassination op an this is insane." Sonya said firmly.

"I offered you peace in your time, Kotal Kahn's head on a silver platter, and you call it madness!" Raiden yelled frustratedly. "You Earthrealmers spend so many centuries killing each other, but when I step in to eliminate your enemies, I've gone too far. Ridiculous!"

"I know all too well the sound of a madman demanding that I be grateful for his cruelty," Sektor interjected. "It is a tactic that disgusts me."

"Agreed." Kitana, Mileena, and Skarlet found themselves saying in unison.

"You, alive?!" Raiden questioned, before his gaze fell on Kuai Liang. "I knew you had become a coward, Sub-Zero. I did not think that you had gone insane."

"You would say that while allying yourself with the Tekunin?!" Kuai questioned.

Raiden observed the relatively minor cybernetics applied to Frost.

"Of course Oniro could not resist the temptation to attack you," Raiden said disdainfully. "I should never have allowed that monster such a long leash."

"Then he was not manipulating you." Sektor determined.

"I allowed him to believe such when he came to me," Raiden explained. "In order to keep him close until Earthrealm's major enemies were dealt with and I could afford to divert my attention to exterminating his clan."

"Even the victims of his brainwashing?!" Frost questioned.

"Acceptable losses." Raiden said coldly.

"You bastard." Jacqui chastised.

Raiden looked at her. "Your injury at the Tekunin's hands will be repaid a hundredfold when I enact my wrath upon Oniro."

"Was I to be an 'acceptable loss'?" Eyota spoke up.

"Your sacrifice would not have been in vain." Raiden tried to argue.

"Who are you anymore?!"

Raiden's gaze fell on Cassie and for a brief instant he saw that little girl who had looked up to him as one of her heroes.

Before anger overtook him again.

"I am the Protector of Earthrealm." He told her.

"This isn't protecting us!" Takeda shouted. "It's starting a war we didn't ask for!"

"A war in which Earthrealm will suffer minimal losses." Raiden argued.

"And how is that fair to the peoples of Outworld and Seido?" Shujinko questioned. "Are they to suffer in our place?"

Raiden glared at him. "Do not presume to lecture me, Pawn of Onaga."

"Is that why you tried to have me killed?" Shujinko questioned.

"I had assumed you had fallen under the Dragon King's sway," Raiden explained. "Even as I am proven wrong, you still stand against me."

"Hold on," Sonya requested. "Dragon King?"

"He who ruled Outworld before Shao Kahn." Ermac explained.

"And he who's return I will end before it has even begun." Raiden promised.

"Woah," Kai blurted out. "You're saying you wanna keep us safe, but you didn't tell us about that?"

"I have become rather accustomed to Raiden's lies," Hanzo stated. "And broken promises."

"I tried to gift you a clear conscience," Raiden argued. "However you discerned the fate of the Brotherhood is your own burden to bear. I do not regret giving enemies of Earthrealm exactly what they deserve."

"You massacred people that could have found another way," Sareena tried to explain. "Failed to give them a chance when-"

"Weep over minions of Shinnok?!" Raiden questioned. "I cannot fathom such misplaced compassion!"

"Compassion was something that we swore to do our duty with, brother," said Fujin as he floated out of a portal. "It saddens me greatly that you have forgotten that."

The Wind God had healed his wounds and recharged himself using the energy of Earthrealm's Jinsei chamber, a soft blue glow now emanating from his body due to the recency of this. He als now wielded a massive sword known as the Devastator, a weapon claimed in an old conflict with Outworld that Fujin had sworn only to use in the most dire of situations.

"I was naive then, brother," Raiden claimed. "It is a pity that you still are."

"Wanting to help others is not naivety." Fujin argued.

"What have I ever done except work to help Earthrealm?!" Raiden shouted. "How many battles have I fought for you!" He motioned to his former allies. "How many times have I saved you from Annihilation! You should be grateful for all that I have done! Never have I asked for anything in return, but for you to accept my protection! And you cannot even do that, and all the realms will suffer for your stubbornness!"

"You sound like Shinnok!" Jataaka shouted out, tired of the Thunder God's ranting.

"DO NOT DARE COMPARE ME TO THAT WRETCHED WELP," Raiden demanded. "SHINNOK IS NOTHING! SHINNOK IS BENEATH ME! I CUT OFF HIS HEAD AND IN DOING SO FREED BOTH EARTHREALM AND THE NETHERREALM FROM HIS TYRANNY! A PITY THAT YOU DEMONS DO NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH FREEDOM!"

"You WHAT?!" Cassie blurted out.

"You told us that Shinnok would be held prisoner in the Sky Temple indefinitely!" Kenshi shouted. "Another lie!"

"I'm not saying the bastard should've been kept alive, but that should have been a decision for us all to make," Sonya argued. "A proper trial at the least."

"Just as Outworld should be allowed to decide who rules it." Mileena added.

"Ah yes, because you mortals have proven to be such fine decision makers!" Raiden mocked, a frightening grin having crossed his face. "All your history of death and slavery, holocaust and genocide, tyrants and murderers. Clearly you should be guiding your own fates." He scoffed. "Ridiculous."

"What… are you saying…" Kitana asked in a worried tone.

"I think I can tell," Nitara told her. "And I don't like it."

"We're not slaves." Cyrax said firmly.

"Nor will we ever be." Ashrah added.

"I am saying it is foolish to question decisions made for your own good!" Raiden answered Kitana's query, ignoring the other two.

"My government's choice to let people suffer here was 'for our own good' ," Sonya pointed out. "They kicked people out of the sanctuary we promised them 'for our own good', and they've done a lot worse in my country's history. So that argument isn't gonna be holding a lot of water with me."

The reminder of the refugee camp caused Raiden to scan the crowd until he found Li Mei.

"Bo' Rai Cho wanted you and your people to be safe from the war of this realm," Raiden recalled. "Go home, Li Mei. You are safer in Sun Do."

"I would love to do nothing more," Li Mei admitted. "We all want to go home. But we also want to be free, and I won't stop fighting until every single person in this realm is."

"Freedom leads to anarchy, anarchy leads to Chaos. Chaos leads to suffering."

Hotaru and a garrison of Seidan Guard approached to provide support for Raiden.

"I… it breaks my heart the kind of life you must have led to truly believe that." Li Mei responded.

"Don't shed tears for him," Darrius advised. "He's not just a cog. He helps run the machine."

"Find more agents of chaos to side with, Darrius?" Hotaru asked. "Were Havik and his kind too unruly for even you?"

"Havik?" Skarlet questioned.

"Wait, you-" Mileena started.

"I made a tactical error," Darrius admitted. "I needed allies. Chaosrealmers made for a good distraction. Your movement makes for real help. I apologize for letting them loose into this battlefield, and for not telling you sooner."

"We're going to need to have a discussion about transparency if we're going to trust you." Tanya pointed out.

"I understand completely," Darrius agreed. "But Uhh, table it for another time?"

"Agreed," said Mileena. "I've made alliances I wasn't proud of in the past. Mistakes we revolutionaries have to learn, I suppose."

"You two terrorists will hardly live long enough to learn much else." Raiden threatened.

"I gave you a warning." Tanya reminded him.

"And I have chosen to ignore it." Raiden mocked.

"Just like you ignored Bo' Rai Cho when he tried to talk you down!" Kai shouted.

"You DARE?!" Raiden's voice boomed.

"No one else we care about is going to die in your presence, Raiden!" Liu Chan declared, his fists bursting into blue flame.

"Is that why you are so fond of hiding?" Raiden asked.

Liu Chan succumbed to his rage and charged at the Thunder God, who sent him flying and crashing through a house with a single bolt of lightning.

"Do not make me do worse." He advised.

"I'll go help him!" Kia offered, rushing over. Jataaka kept her gaze focused on Raiden in the event he tried to attack her.

"I know what it's like to be full of anger, to feel like you can't rely on anyone," Frost admitted. "But believe me, trusting people, letting people in, it only helps make things better, not worse."

"I worry that your kindness will not sway him." Sektor confessed.

"I have relied on others for far too long," Raiden explained. "It has led only to their deaths, and my holding back. Though the Elder Gods are cowards, I now see their wisdom in there being only one Protector of Earthrealm. I alone possess the will to do what must be done."

"A protector god sounds a lot like an officer of the law to me," Stryker chimed in. "I've seen too many cops consider themselves judge, jury, and executioner. All that thinking does is get people killed and ruin lives.

"The lives of enemies of Earthrealm are a small price to pay for those I will save." Raiden said firmly.

"But where does it stop?!" Mokap asked, having summoned the courage to speak up, even as much as the Thunder God still scared him.

"It stops when there are no enemies left to threaten Earthrealm!" Raiden shouted. "It stops when I bring out a peace unlike any the realms have never known! It stops when I have brought Order and Chaos is nothing but a distant memory! It stops-"

"When you are dead."

The familiar voice drew the attention of several in the crowd, especially Shaolin and former revenants.

All eyes fell on a swirling orange portal that had suddenly opened seconds before the voice was heard.

The worries shared between those that knew the voice were confirmed when Liu Kang and Kung Lao emerged from the portal.

Liu Kang held Shinnok's head up like a trophy, a shocking sight to especially those who had helped to stop him the previous year.

"Look at you Raiden," Shinnok taunted. "Finally realizing his troublesome mortals really are?"

"Be QUIET!" Liu Kang demanded, throwing the fallen Elder God's head onto the ground before setting his foot ablaze and stomping it into pieces.

"I think you would agree, at the very least, that we have both suffered him long enough, eh Raiden?" Liu Kang asked.

Raiden nodded. "A pity however, that you have chosen such a poor time to crawl out from the Netherrealm. Once again I am on the verge of ending a threat to Earthrealm, and once again you step. In. The way."

"That nonsense didn't convince me before and it won't convince me now," Liu Kang countered. "You've gone insane. You can't be trusted to protect Earthrealm. So I'm going to make sure that you'll no longer be anyone's problem. Maybe the Elder Gods will even give me your job when I kill you."

"You have become even more deluded than I imagined." Raiden responded.

"Delusional?" Liu Kang questioned, coating his own silhouette in red flame. "I'm just following your teachings: Cast aside those who become a hindrance to you and defeat. Your. Enemy. No matter the cost."

"Liu Kang, Kung Lao, stop this!" Fujin cautioned. "There's nothing to be gained from vengeance!"

"Lao…" Kung Jin said in a heartbroken tone when he saw his cousin for the first time in… too long.

"Jin?" Kung Lao questioned, the sight of his younger cousin pulling him away from his crusade of vengeance in an instant.

Liu Kang on the other hand would not be deterred no matter who pleaded with him. He blocked out the voices that tried to tell him to stop, didn't even register that so many of his comrades, even itana, were now free of being revenants, this tunnel vision no doubt the result of he himself still being a revenant.

None of that mattered when Raiden was in his line of sight, and vengeance was his to claim.

The Thunder God similarly sheathed himself in a red glow as crimson lightning crackled throughout his body. With trails of lightning and fire following behind them, the two warriors who were once like father and son charged at one another and clashed in an explosion of lethal red rage.

Hotaru commanded his Seidan Guards to engage with the collection of freedom fighters that had chastised Raiden, the group quickly taking up arms to defend themselves. Dairou teleported down from his vantage point to attack Hotaru, finding the situation to be a perfect ambush opportunity. The freedom fighters had no qualms about accepting his help. Darrius and his Resistance fighters were particularly eager to resume battle with their sworn enemies, and Darrius was additionally pleased that his alliance with Mileena's Union had survived knowledge of his previous alliance with Chaosrealm being uncovered.

In truth, his new allies were somewhat uncertain about him, but willing to give him a chance. After all, the various stages of this conflict had caused all of them to forge new bonds, at the same time bringing them closer to old friends.

And in its own way, mending families.

Kung Jin and Kung Lao stood alone in their lack of engagement with the battle around them. Instead Jin approached his older cousin, hoping after all these years to save his soul.

"Jin…" Kung Lao acknowledged. "It's… been so long since I've seen you… before I was this, and even then it was only fleeting glances. I am glad we never met in battle," he chuckled. "You probably would've beaten me. Look at you, you've grown so much. I… I'm so proud of you."

Jin was almost taken aback. He sounded… like himself. Like the older cousin he once knew. It brought a warmth to Jin's heart.

"Thank you," Jin managed to say. "You don't know how much that means to me. I… I've missed you a lot, Lao."

Jin tried to hug his cousin but Lao suddenly stepped back, grabbing his head and seeming to recoil from some unknown force.

"No… NO! Stay away from me!" Lao shouted.

"Lao, I want to help you!" Jin tried to reassure him.

"I know you want to," Lao acknowledged. "But I don't know if you can! I… I can't control this! The rage… the misery… I want to kill Raiden! I want to help Liu Kang kill him for what he did! But… but you're here now, and I'm worried that I'm going to hurt you. I don't want to hurt you, Jin! I could never do that to you, nor could I ever forgive myself. Please, just stay away!"

"You know I can't do that," Jin told him. "I won't give up on you! You're my family! I can't leave you behind."

"You… might have to." Lao argued as he continued to struggle against the corruption.

"You're stronger than you think you are," Jin affirmed to his cousin. The words seemed to resonate with Kung Lao as familiar. "You always used to tell me that, whenever I was feeling like I wasn't good enough, like I couldn't measure up. You always encouraged me to believe in myself, no matter what anyone said. No matter what my parents said… you always knew how to help me believe in myself. I want to help you now. It's the least I can do… for everything."

"I'm so proud of you," Kung Lao complimented. "Carry on… it's… it's too late for me."

"The fact that you're fighting it right now proves that that isn't true!" Kung Jin argued.

Kung Lao paused, considering his cousin's words. Even with Raiden so near, he was not succumbing to rage. He was not lashing out or attacking anyone. He was… in control, at least partially.

"Maybe… maybe there is a chance…." Lao admitted.

"I know there is," Jin reassured him. "Sit down with me, I want to try something."

Jin nodded, both Shaolin monks beginning to meditate. It had been a very long time since Kung Lao had attempted this calming technique, he wondered if it would still work.

Lao's attempt to find peace even while a revenant was strongly contrasted by Liu Kang's blind rage.

The self-proclaimed "Emperor of Darkness" had entered an all-out slugging match against Raiden, crackling lightning and burning flame shooting off of their bodies with every blow landed like a deadly storm of intense red.

Both combatants were consumed by their anger, all other priorities falling by the wayside as their battle continued.

Unbeknownst to both of them, the energies unleashed by their battle began to funnel into Shinnok's amulet, the artifact glowing in response.

Raiden knew that engaging in a prolonged confrontation with Liu Kang was a waste of time that could be spent eliminating the threat of Onaga before the Dragon King's plans could go further into motion. The only advantage of this distraction was that Onaga could deal with Kotal Kahn for him.

And despite his larger priorities, Raiden felt the need to settle this enmity with Liu Kang once and for all. He would not kill the man he had once loved like a son, even now Raiden could not bring himself to do that. But in his rage, the Thunder God planned to defeat Liu Kang, to show him the futility of challenging him, and, he hoped, put an end to this nonsense that way.

Liu Kang himself had no strategy. His "plan" was just "kill Raiden". He attacked like a rabid animal to achieve that goal. Never letting up, never ceasing for a moment.

"The dead do not tire," Liu Kang hissed. "But the living do… you will falter, eventually, Raiden."

"Your assumption might hold truth, if I were mortal." Raiden responded.

"I crushed the head of a god," Liu Kang pointed out. "And I punched a hole through another. I am anathema to you 'higher beings'."

"This arrogance does not suit you." Raiden said simply.

Liu Kang angrily pulled back and charged his fist with a flame that glowed like a miniature red star, launching a punch with the same force he had used years ago to nearly fell Shao Kahn.

Though he could have teleported to dodge the attack, Raiden opted instead to catch the punch, a small shockwave of flame going off from it. The force of it would have shattered the hand of most other opponents, and even Raiden felt vibrations through his bones.

"And besides," Raiden continued. "You have only harmed lesser gods."

With his free hand, the Thunder God let loose a blast of lightning that sent Liu Kang flying back and crashing into the remains of a besieged Osh-Tekk barracks.

The jeopardy Liu Kang was now in quickly broke Kung Lao's concentration, something he had been struggling with from the moment he began attempting to meditate.

In spite of Kung Jin's pleas, Lao rushed to engage Raiden, throwing his razor hat at the Thunder God only for Raiden to catch it without even a second glance as he hovered towards Liu Kang.

Kung Lao then teleported to the hat's location, thus appearing right next to Raiden, striking him in the side with several quick jabs enhanced by the blue mystical energy of his manifested chi that powered his teleportation abilities.

Raiden staggered back from the rapid assault, but recovered quickly and unleashed a bolt of lightning which Kung Lao narrowly avoided with another teleport. He reappeared behind Raiden and swung his razor hat to decapitate the Thunder God, but Raiden himself teleported in the second the blade cut into his neck.

Raiden reappeared to Lao's right and grabbed his arm before flipping him onto the ground and stomping on his chest to keep him down.

He then found himself being hit in the back by repeated flaming bicycle kicks from Liu Kang, knocking him forward and eventually onto the ground, with Liu Kang standing directly on top of him.

Liu Kang stomped his foot against Raiden's neck.

"You've hurt my family enough," Liu Kang growled. "Manipulated generations of us into fighting your battles. It all ends now."

Kung Lao got back up and approached with the intent of aiding his cousin, Kung Jin rushing after him.

"Lao, stop!" He pleaded.

"Stay back!" Kung Lao warned.

Raiden teleported out from beneath Liu Kang, this time exerting the self control that made his teleport-lightning harmless, reappearing behind both revenants and shocking them with lightning.

"No!" Jin shouted, pulling out two arrows and readying them into his bow, before launching them straight at Raiden.

The Thunder God annihilated both arrows with a burst of lightning and glared at Kung Jin, hoping to intimidate him into making no further attack.

He failed to anticipate another member of this Shaolin family lineage reentering the situation.

Liu Chan shot out a large blue fireball that struck Raiden before he could make a move against Kung Jin.

"Chan…?" Liu Kang asked, his rage leaving him for the moment in which he saw his little brother.

"Stay away from my family!" Liu Chan shouted, running towards Raiden and launching into a flame-charged flying kick.

Raiden blocked the kick with his arm but was pushed back by Liu Chan's momentum, the Shaolin's balance so precise that he was able to keep himself airborne despite the physical impact.

Raiden responded to this by teleporting and allowing Liu Chan to land, before appearing behind him and grabbing him by his shirt.

Kung Jin ran in and slammed his staff on top of Raiden, only for the Thunder God to catch it before or could make contact. He shocked both Jin and Chan with enough electricity to incapacitate them both temporarily dropping them both before he was sent flying by a large fireball from Liu Kang.

Raiden crashed onto the ground and was barely able to get back up before Kung Lao teleported in front of him and roundhouse kicked him in the head, Liu Kang following after by using his fire to propel himself forward and slam both fists into Raiden's chest, knocking him down again.

The two revenants approached and prepared to continue their attack, starting to beat on Raiden until he unleashed a pulse of lightning around himself, throwing them both back.

Raiden climbed to his feet and looked at his former pupils ragefully.

"Still you insist on this bad joke of believing yourselves to be a threat to me!" Raiden chastised. "Continuing to challenge me comes only at your peril."

His focus on Liu Kang and Kung Lao left him distracted from any other concerns.

The perfect opportunity.

"Raiden, look out!" Yelled Bi-Han before he was set upon by Siann, Mika, Sora, and Cilene, who quickly proved up to the task of keeping him at bay.

Raiden looked over in the direction of the cryomancer's voice and was caught completely unawares when Baphomet materialized right on top of him, grabbing onto Shinnok's amulet with both hands.

Raiden tried to shake him off as the Elder Demon recited an ancient incantation and poured a sizable amount of his dark magic into the amulet itself.

Raiden succeeded in knocking him off with a blast of lightning, sending Baphomet flying.

But the Elder Demon's work was already done.

Kai had rushed over to check up on Kung Jin and Liu Chan, aided by Lori and Jen. Succeeding in pushing back the Seidan Guards, the freedom fighters made a path for Shujinko, Fujin, Sindel, and a collection of Raiden's former allies from Shao Kahn's invasion of Earthrealm to come through and stand in defiance of the Thunder God.

"Raiden, this has to end here!" Shujinko declared.

"We can't let you do this anymore," Sonya added. "This war is only going to hurt more people."

"Do not DARE to command me, mortals!" Raiden's voice boomed.

"Do you hear the things you're saying?" Fujin questioned. "You are not yourself, brother!"

"Perhaps," Raiden entertained the notion, walking back and forth across the line of his former allies like a prowling tiger. "Or perhaps I am more of myself than I have ever been. Perhaps my eyes have finally been opened."

"You're not making any sense," Akicita pointed out. "Darkness is clouding your mind!"

Raiden ignored him.

"You know brother, I think I've been looking at this all wrong until now," Raiden rambled. "Mortals cannot guide themselves. They evolved with free will, but they can't be trusted to do anything with it other than make messes for their betters to clean up. Of course, sometimes we have to clean up after our fellow 'gods'. Like that infernal pest Shinnok…"

"You are talking completely crazy." Jax stated frankly.

"Don't you understand?" Raiden asked. "I can put an end to all your wars. All your struggles. I will rule Earthrealm, teach you ignorant mortals how to exist with one another without blasting each other to atoms with your bombs. I shall finally put an end to all your Chaos, give you the guidance you have always needed."

"You can't even be Raiden anymore," Johnny dismissed. "Even at your worst, you wouldn't go full take over the world."

"Amusing," Raiden responded. "You speak with such authority yet you know so little."

"We will not allow you to conquer Outworld, much less Earthrealm," Kuai Liang stated firmly. "This madness must end. Now."

"Oh the madness will end," Raiden reassured him. "It will end when I have taught you rabid mortals how to properly order a society! It will end when I have rid you of every burden of your precious 'freedom'. And THEN, I will finally return to the Netherrealm, and reclaim what was taken from me! Sit once more upon the throne that bastard Shinnok stol—-"

Raiden suddenly stopped his mad ranting like he'd broken out of a trance, stumbling backwards as a look that was both confusion and horror crossed his face.

"Raiden?" Sindel asked in spite of her better judgment.

"He's completely lost it." Kabal concluded.

"BE SILENT!" Raiden shouted. "I WILL SEND YOU BACK TO MY KINGDOM IN CHAINS! ALL WILL SUFFER WHO INTERFERE WITH MY GLORIOUS RETURN. I—-"

Raiden suddenly put his head in his hands and began struggling against… himself?

"What am I saying?!" He shouted aloud.

He clutched Shinnok's amulet, the talisman seeming to pull dark energy from Raiden into itself. He pulled it off of his chestplate.

"What is happening to me?!" Raiden questioned. "Who… what are you doing?!"

Raiden continued to struggle, his hand shaking, his own arm seeming to fight against him before he finally managed to throw the amulet away, casting it out like it was some omen of doom.

The Amulet of Shinnok clanged onto the ground and landed flat.

Free from direct contact with it, Raiden felt a relief wash over him. He even felt… calm? He hadn't felt like that in a year. Not since purifying the Earthrealm Jinsei.

His allies approached cautiously while Liu Kang and Kung Lao started to get back up in order to continue the fight.

The attention of all present in the vicinity would quickly be drawn elsewhere as they focused on the same thing Raiden's gaze was trained on:

Shinnok's amulet.

The talisman began to crackle with dark energy, shaking violently as if it were coming to life.

Or as if it were struggling to contain something.

People started closing on it out of transfixed curiosity, regardless of faction.

The amulet continued to shake on the ground, before it began to hover, ascending higher into the air until a massive amount of dark energy suddenly exploded from it.

In the smoke that emerged, the silhouette of a being could be seen:

Humanoid, thin. Desacate even. With noticeable horns emerging from its head.

It was down one on one knee, faced away from Raiden.

An unlucky Osh-Tekk soldier moved closer to the being.

"Is that… Shinnok?"

The being reached out a clawed, thin, red, hand, and grabbed the poor soul by the throat.

"No."

Torn wings splayed out and a thin tail began to move about.

"Not. Him. Never. Him." The being said angrily.

It squeezed its hand around the Osh-Tekk's throat, nails digging into their flesh.

Dark flame came from the hand and burnt the poor witless fool to a crisp, leaving only charred bones.

Then, an ethereal glow surrounded the bones, reshaping them. Limbs and spine became a long handle, ribs became a crown of spikes at the top of the staff, and hands became an open holder for the Amulet of Shinnok, which the being placed the artifact into as he rose to his feet.

"You…" Raiden finally began to realize with horrifying certainty who this entity was.

"It cannot be…" Fujin said, coming to the same realization.

"Lucifer?!" Raiden said aloud.

The Lord of Hell looked behind himself to gaze at Raiden with a grin made of evil itself across his face, his mouth and eyes glowing like hellfire.

Lucifer snickered to himself, amused by a joke only he understood.

"They say the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world that he didn't exist."