The cyborg's grip begin to tighten around Sub-Zero's throat, in a few minutes, Sub-Zero's neck would've been shattered, thinking quickly, the ninja managed to strike the cyborg squarely in the chest. This managed to loosen it's grip on his neck just enough for Sub-Zero to slip away.

Taking this incentive, the ninja attempted to move in and strike the cyborg down while it was still stunned, he managed to knock it to the ground with a quick knee attack. But he knew that it would not stun the robot for long.

Taking this opportunity, Sub-Zero resumed his desperate escape from his soulless assassins. Before he could cinch his escape, the smoke began to swirl around him. This was not natural for fog, now Sub-Zero knew that something was not right. Holding his breath, Sub-Zero managed to avoid possible smoke inhalation.

As the smoke around him cleared, Sub-Zero noticed that the new cyborg was back on his feet, and for the first time, he saw that puffs of smoke surrounded his body. Only one other person had that "ability." As he faced the cyborg, he couldn't help but feel a certain amount of dread filling his mind, for this cyborg was beginning to remind him of his best friend, Smoke, who had been missing for several months now.

As much as he would like not to believe it, deep down, Sub-Zero knew that it was true… although he had succeeded in eluding capture, Smoke did not, he was forced to undergo the automation process. Smoke had become a cyborg, one without a soul, and a being with only one purpose: to destroy his best friend.

O-O-O

Liu Kang's group had decided to rest for the night, not affording to start a fire out of fear of possibly being spotted, they merely sat on a circle of rocks as Kung Lao took out the small backpack that contained several small supplies, most notably, food.

"What did you pack?" Liu Kang asked.

"Well, let's see here…" Kung Lao spoke, as he ran his hand through the bag. "Well, here we are."

"Is your food any similar to what we eat on Outworld?" asked Kitana, some curiosity in her voice.

"Well, you'd have to answer that one. I made special notice not to eat anything that came from Outworld while we there a few months ago." answered Kung Lao. "Anyway, here we are. We've got some Kung Pao chicken here… and I'm aware of the names similarity, so don't bother pointing that out." He said to Kitana.

"Actually, I wasn't going to."

"Oh."

Liu Kang took a bite into his chicken, but after that, he set it back down. Despite all the long journeys he had been taking recently, he wasn't really all that hungry. Kitana examined her chicken for a moment and with a shrug started to eat.

"So Kitana, what do you know about your mother aside from her death?" Liu Kang asked.

"Oh, I don't really know much. I just know that she died when I was still a baby. All I know of my parents is that they died because of that monster, Shao Kahn."

"Yes, I know that.' Liu Kang decided to change the subject upon noticing how uncomfortable Kitana seemed to be when talking about it. "What happened after we separated?"

"I managed to avoid capture for a short while, but I couldn't outrun forever. I was taken back, where I was held prisoner in the dungeons and tried for killing Mileena."

"You killed your own sister?" Kung Lao broke in.

"Well, more clone than sister, really.' answered Kitana. "Anyway, shortly after, I managed to get away and that's when you found me."

"I see…" Liu Kang said.

"So what you two been up to since I last saw you?"

"Well, it's a long story but… since our Shaolin Temples had been destroyed thanks to Baraka and his men, we've set about rebuilding the Shaolin Temples and recruiting a new generation Shaolin Monks. But this invasion by Shao Kahn has put our plans on hold for the time being."

Liu Kang stood up and walked over towards the edge of the hill, merely staring at the blank, empty sky. Kitana briefly got up to follow him and walked over to Liu Kang.

"What's the matter?' she asked.

"N-nothing."

Kitana flashed a slight smile. "Is that so? Are you being sh-?"

Before Kitana could finish her sentence, Kung Lao clasped his hand over her mouth and whispered to her ear.

"Now's not the time to be flirting, Kitana."

Kung Lao led Kitana away, before removing his hand from her mouth.

"You see… He blames himself for the attack in the first place."

"Why? He had nothing to do with it."

"Well… seeing as how he is the Mortal Kombat Champion. The Shaolin Temples were targeted mainly for this reason."

"Yes, I know that was their way of "persuading" him into coming to Outworld. But I didn't know that he held himself so accountable for.."

"He wasn't really responsible, and while he tried to deny it at first, he eventually couldn't help but feel guilt."

"Now, now. I don't think Liu Kang would like it if he knew you two were talking about him behind his back."

Kung Lao and Kitana suddenly looked up to see that someone had apparently been standing next to them the whole time.

"I see you three have been just sitting around while the Extermination Squads are out there trying to kill you. Good strategy."

"Raiden?"

"Yes. Considering our past encounters, I would think you'd recognize me by now, Kung Lao."

"Well…" Kung Lao started, somewhat embarrassed.

"Raiden. It's good to see you." said Liu Kang, before hesitating for a moment upon remembering Raiden's message from earlier. "I thought that you said you couldn't interfere…"

"Yes, I did say that. But… let's just say there's been a change of plans."

"What do you mean?" asked Kitana.

"I'll explain everything later. Right now we must get to Nightwolf's Indian camp."

"Speaking of which, Raiden, we're having some trouble trying to get there." said Kung Lao.

"Let me guess. Lack of portals, right?"

"Yes… And you definitely can't reach North America from China by just walking on your own two feet. It's impossible."

"Well, hold on, Kung Lao. Before you stress that any further. Try to remember, you're currently in the presence of a god that can teleport anywhere and wherever he chooses."

Kung Lao could only stare blankly. "Well, I was just…"

"You're rather forgetful today, Kung Lao." said Raiden with a slight smile.

Kung Lao replied with an annoyed look, to which Kitana smirked.

"Raiden. Have the others already arrived at this Indian camp already?" Liu Kang asked.

"That I am afraid, I do not know."

O-O-O

Shao Kahn's Palace

"Jade. Step forward." Kahn ordered, sitting on his throne.

Jade gave a modest bow, before kneeling down. "Yes, my Emperor?"

"I'm sure you know full well by now that Kitana has escaped."

Jade did her best to sound as casual as possible. "Yes, I have."

"And do you know why I have summoned you?"

"No, sir."

"I have summoned you here because I am assigning you the task of capturing her."

A feeling of dread and horror filled Jade's senses, she was so stunned that she forgot to respond to Kahn's order.

"Jade? Did you not hear what I said?"

"Oh- no, I heard you perfectly, my Lord. I shall do as you ask."

"Good. Bring her back alive, if you would."

"Yes, I shall."

Kahn gave Jade the permission to rise and she silently left Kahn's chambers.

As Jade walked out, she stopped for a moment to notice that Reptile had now been summoned into Kahn's chambers. Deciding that it wasn't her business to intrude, she departed.

O-O-O

Nightwolf's Homeland

Nightwolf had long since worked to preserve his Indian heritage, but he was not unaccustomed to the technology of today. After receiving a vision from Raiden, Nightwolf immediately worked to protect his homeland from Shao Kahn's invasion. Now this was the only land that was not claimed by the evil emperor.

Working to set up tents for the chosen warriors to settle in, Nightwolf was interrupted by the sound of lightning hitting the ground.

"You have prepared exactly as I had instructed. Good work, Nightwolf." said Raiden.

Nightwolf turned his attention away from the tent that he was currently working on, and approached the Thunder God. "Thank you, Raiden.' He then noticed the three warriors that Raiden had brought along with them. "Are they-?"

"Yes, they are. And I'm immediately going to pick the others up." Raiden said, holding up his staff.

"Wait, Raiden. I want to know about-."

"Patience, Liu Kang. I shall inform all of you as soon as I've rescued all of the other Earth warriors. Until then."

Once again, Raiden vanished.

Liu Kang turned to Nightwolf. "I am Liu Kang. I come from the Shaolin Temples. This is Kung Lao. He's also a Shaolin Monk."

"And I am Princess Kitana. Well, that is to say, I was princess."

"I see. Welcome to my tribe's scared homeland. I admit, it is not up to the standards of a traditional American household but it should provide enough shelter for all of us separately."

Liu Kang and Kung Lao both nodded while Kitana examined the tents that Nightwolf had set up.

"So far, your realm does not seem much different from Outworld in terms of culture."

"Oh, well, if you had been here before Earth was invaded, you might've seen the big cities in North America. They're a lot different than what you see in Outworld." said Kung Lao.

"Oh, so which one of you would like to tell me more about Earthrealm's culture?"

They didn't look so eager to do that.

O-O-O

Shang Tsung's chambers

Ever since his defeat in the Mortal Kombat at the hands of Liu Kang, Shang Tsung has been consumed by thoughts of revenge.

"I've surpassed Lao in skill and power by now, he's just an insect to me now, but there's also Kang."

No other warrior was able to defeat him like that, except for the original Kung Lao, whose soul now resided within Shang Tsung. His descendant may have triumphed in the Outworld Tournament, but in their next encounter, Shang Tsung had made clear that Kung Lao was now no match, but he still couldn't defeat Liu Kang. Why?

"He's everything you want in a hero. He's strong, kind, and courageous. He's absolutely perfect. Perfectly INFURIATING! He makes me crazy!" screamed the sorcerer as he pounded on the table several times.

"Now what could possibly make the great Shang Tsung throw a tantrum like a child?"

Shang Tsung turned around, to see none other than Sindel standing in his doorway, a sly smile across her face.

With a sigh, Shang Tsung turned around. "What do you want?"

"I've noticed that you've been insulting my husband behind his back recently."

"Yes, it's just unfortunate that your husband is so incompetent."

"Is that so? Well, I suppose you think you could lead Outworld better?"

"Indeed, I do." Shang Tsung said with a smile.

"Really? From what I've heard, you couldn't even beat a simple boy."

"And Kahn could?"

"He's gained much more power since then."

"So have I."

Sindel approached the sorcerer, who tried to distance himself from the Outworld queen as much as possible. "So tell me about this Liu Kang. What makes him so special in the eyes of Shao Kahn?"

"He's robbed Outworld of victory twice, he simply must be dealt with."

"I expect there's more to Liu Kang than that. You two both seem to have a certain obsession with him."

"If you mean that all I've wanted since my original defeat was my revenge against him. Then yes, I would say that I'm obsessed."

"I see. From what I can tell by watching you and how you foolishly went off on your own to defeat him without Shao Kahn's orders says to me that if we are going to lose this war, it's going to be because of your obsession with defeating him."

Tsung turned to face her in anger. "If we're going to lose this war, it's going to be because of your husband's ego driven stupidity!"

Sindel could only offer a soft laugh. "You know nothing, little man."

"Little!"

Still smiling, Sindel left the room; apparently the only thing she wanted to get out of this visit was Shang Tsung's frustration. Shang Tsung decided to follow her in secret, something strange was going on, that much he knew. Sindel's visit was most peculiar.

As Sindel turned down the right hallway, Shang Tsung perched himself up against the wall.

"So, you spoke with Shang Tsung?" He heard Kahn's voice say.

"Yes, he's very obsessed with defeating Liu Kang. Which makes me wonder, how can one mortal be giving Outworld so much trouble?"

"Kang is a formidable warrior to be sure, but he's no match for me now." Kahn said.

"But what about Shang Tsung? I've noticed that he's been insulting you for quite some time now."

"Yes. I have noticed that myself, but do not worry, for as soon as his purpose is served, I shall take his own soul for myself."

Shang Tsung just barely avoided pounding his fist into the wall, for he knew it would alert the emperor to his presence, he knew Kahn was not to be trusted, but he was no other choice than to serve him for these past centuries.

Now that Shang Tsung knew that Kahn's betrayel was inevitable, he knew that he would have to take action soon. With an evil smile on his face, Shang Tsung retired back to his chambers, preparing to plot Shao Kahn's downfall.