Jax stood just as the sun was beginning to rise.
"RISE AND SHIIIIINE!" he yelled. Sonya jumped startled. Sarah stood up, she wouldn't have been surprised if everyone in the Netherealm had heard him.
They made their way south again. Sarah was walking slightly behind the others, when suddenly a hand was clamped over her mouth. She struggled to get away, but her captor was too strong. Finally, she managed to kick him in the knee. The others spun around to see a black clad man.
"Aw hell naw!" Jax said.
"Noob Saibot," Sarah said, "What are you doing here?"
"I am sorry I had to do that," Noob said, "I did not want you to attack me on sight. I am here to help you."
"Ha!" Sonya snorted.
"I say we kill him," Jax said, crossing his arms.
"Please,' Noob continued, "I am not lying. I can lead you to the base."
"Ashlynn told us you worked for Scorpion," Johnny said.
"No," Noob replied, "Quan Chi is my master, he will always have my loyalty."
"Looks like somebody don't have much of a life..." Jax mumbled.
"Whatever," Sonya said, "If you're going to show us where the base is them hurry up and get moving."
"It is hidden underground," Noob told them, "You would never have found it without my help."
Jax shook his head, watching as the man in black took the lead.
Near the Netherealm mountains...
Sub-Zero was the first to wake.
"Come," Quan Chi said, after they had all risen, "We must hurry. Scorpion is undoubtably near the cavern by now."
"I'm starving," Amilee said to Ashlynn, who shrugged.
They sighed, and once again followed behind the sorcerer. After a while they had reached the base of the mountains, and were now facing a narrow pass. It was dark, as if the light couldn't touch it.
"The cavern is beyond this pass," Quan Chi told them.
They were walking toward the opening, when the sorcerer stopped. Amilee nearly ran into him.
"What? Why are you stopping?" she asked.
"Something is coming," he answered, keeping his eyes glued to the dark gap in front of them.
Just then, they heard a spine chilling growl, and then more coming from the pass.
"What is-
Ashlynn started to ask, but suddenly she was tackled to the ground.
Quickly, Quan Chi pulled out his sword, impaling the creature and kicking it off of her. She stood, startled. The creature that had tackled her looked like a wolf, only bigger, with long yellow fangs that jutted over its bottom lip.
"I have never seen anything like this," Sub-Zero said.
Quan Chi was looking at the pass again.
"You are about to," he said, "There are more coming."
They all staggered backward as eight more dogs dashed out of the darkness. Cherin dodged one, kicking it and snapping its head backward. Meanwhile, Ashlynn was taking on two of them. They circled around her, waiting to strike. Amilee was staring hard at another. It exploded, drenching Cherin in blackish blood.
"You did that on purpose!" she yelled. She was so busy trying to get the blood off that she didn't see the dog sneaking up behind her. Maria nailed it with a boot to the head, and it landed on the ground with a thud.
"Five more," Amilee said.
"Four," Quan Chi corrected, pulling his sword out of the creature he'd just killed. Ashlynn pulled her dagger from her boot. One of the dogs leapt, but Ashlynn was quicker, stabbing it in the eye. It screeched, stumbling blindly until Sub-Zero froze it. Ashlynn had already killed the other. The remaining two ran for Amilee, who jumped to the side. She spun around and trust her knife into the head of one, while Maria snapped the neck of the other. Cherin was still trying desperately to get the blood off. Quan Chi was already heading into the pass, the others followed. It was narrow, and their visibility was low. Amilee stayed close to Sub-Zero, Ashlynn stuck with Maria, but Cherin was left alone in the back, feeling scared and alone. Eventually the temperature began to rise, until it was almost unbearable.
"We are close," Quan Chi told them. Up ahead they could make out an opening, there was an orange glow coming from somewhere inside. They made their way through the opening, and down a short flight of steps. Beyond the steps they found themselves in a narrow, winding passageway. They had to walk in single file in order to fit. They turned a corner and suddenly the passage stopped. They were now facing a solid wall of rock.
"Great," Amilee said, "So now what?"
Sub-Zero pointed to a small hold near the bottom of the wall, then looked at Quan Chi.
"It's too small for either of us to fit," he said, "One of the women will have to crawl through and find a way around."
Ashlynn glanced at Maria.
"You're the skinniest," she said.
Maria raised an eyebrow.
"What are you talking about?" she asked, "I'm not any smaller than you, and you're the shortest. Why can't you go?"
Ashlynn sighed.
"I...I just can't...I have this thing about small spaces okay?"
Maria shook her head.
"Fine," she said, "Move."
She started to crawl through the hole. It was a tight fit, but she made it. Once on the other side, she gasped. She was standing on a cliff, overlooking a lake of boiling lava. There was nothing else but a short bridge leading to the other side. She looked around, but there was no other way through. She crouched back down in front of the hole.
"There's no way through," she called.
Sub-Zero looked at the other three women.
"You have to go through," he said, "And find Scorpion."
Ashlynn's eyes widened.
"I'm not crawling through that!"
Amilee ignored her, crawling through the hole.
"What if I get stuck?" Ashlynn asked.
Cherin walked past her and followed Amilee through the hole.
"I can't..."
"Come on Ashlynn," Sub-Zero said, "We're running out of time."
"No," Ashlynn said, "You don't understand."
The Lin Kuei glared at her.
"I'm sorry," she said, "I can't."
Sub-Zero bit his lip, "Fine, stay here."
One the other side...
Amilee, Cherin, and Maria stood facing the bridge.
"You go first," Amilee said to Cherin.
"No, you."
Maria pushed both of them aside and made her way across. Amilee followed next, stopping every time the bridge creaked. Cherin just stood on the other end, staring at them.
"Come on!" Amilee said.
Cherin took a breath, then carefully put one foot onto the bridge, and then the other.
"We don't have forever!" Maria yelled.
"I'm coming, don't-
Suddenly there was a snapping sound. Cherin froze.
"What was that?" she breathed.
The snapping continued, and the bridge swung forward. Cherin held on for dear life, dangling off of the cliff. Amilee and Maria rushed to help her, hoisting her up onto the cliff. Maria looked at the broken bridge.
"Now how are we supposed to get back across?"
"We'll worry about that later," Amilee said, "Come on."
They helped Cherin to her feet, then rushed through the set of brass doors before them.
Meanwhile...
Ashlynn was sitting with her back to the wall, no one had said a word since the others had left. Sub-Zero wrung his hands, worried about Amilee.
"By the way," Quan Chi said, "Where is Jay Yung?"
"He stayed behind with the girls," Ashlynn told him.
He was about to say something else, when he noticed the ring on her finger.
"You are married now?" he asked.
Ashlynn looked at the ring, but avoided looking at him.
"Yeah," she said.
Out of nowhere, the ground began to shake violently, they heard a loud crash, and then everything was silent again.
Sub-Zero looked frantic, "What was that!"
The other side...
Amilee was the first to rush through the doors. Once on the other side, she stopped, a look of pure terror on her face. They were standing at the end of a long, wide hall. Along the sides were multiple fire pits, and hooked chains dangled from the ceiling. But it got worse. Littering the floor were thousands of bones, human bones. The whole hall was completely covered, all the way to the other end. Maria covered her nose to fend off the smell of burnt flesh, but Cherin couldn't take it. She blindly ran back out the doors, they could hear her vomiting. After a while she stumbled back inside. Amilee stared at the carpet of charred bones.
Slowly, Maria lifted one foot and stepped forward. They all shuddered at the crackling sound.
"Come on," she said.
She started across, and the others followed reluctantly. Amilee made it to the other side first, Cherin last. At the end of the hall was a flight of steps leading upward. They jogged up to find themselves standing on a balcony, with steps leading down on both sides. The balcony overlooked an enormous vat of boiling red liquid. They could only guess what that liquid was...
"Where do you think-
Amilee's question was cut off. Something had wrapped around her ankle and she was pulled down the left set of steps, hitting her head on each one. Scorpion stood at the bottom near her unconcious body, smiling hideously. Amilee lay sprawled their, unmoving. Scorpion removed his spear and looked up at the other two.
"How nice of you to visit me Maria," he said, "I've missed you, I really have. Cherin, you are still alive? I'm surprised your friends haven't decided to kill you yet. It is too bad for this one though, I'm sure Sub-Zero will be devastated. Where is the other one? Did my wolves manage to kill Ashlynn?"
Cherin shook her head, afraid to even move.
"Before I kill you," Scorpion continued, "Would you like to know what my plan is? That is why you're here, is it not? All right, I'll tell you. You see that vat? I've been collecting souls for months now, I should have enough by now. Soon, the One Being will awaken, and I will rebuild this world, start over, bring my family back."
"That's why you're doing this?" Cherin asked, "No matter what you do, you can't bring them back. You may recreate the world, but it would be artificial. You family is gone, you have to accept-
Cherin flew backward, hit with a blast of fire, down the other steps. Now Maria stood, alone and unsure of what she was supposed to do.
I really do apologize for what I did Maria," Scorpion said, still standing at the bottom of the steps, "It had to be done I'm afraid, but it doesn't matter now. You know, I think I'll keep you alive long enough for you to witness the Awakening."
He sprinted up the stairs. There was nothing she could do, she had nowhere to run. Roughly, he snatched her by the hair and dragged her toward the vat. He threw her to the ground, and she was preparing to run, when thick, vine like ropes sprung from the ground beneath her, holding her down. Scorpion stood over the vat, speaking a strange language. The liquid bubbled violently, and the ground began to shake. Maria struggled against the ropes, but it was no use. There was a flash of light, and the liquid shot upward, splattering against the roof of the cavern. The light intensified until Maria couldn't see anything. It felt like the earth itself was exploding. As quickly as it had started, it was over. Scorpion was gone, and the ropes binding her had vanished. Confused, Maria rushed to Amilee's side. She still wasn't moving.
"Emma wake up," she begged, "Please."
Amilee didn't respond. Cherin was running down the steps now.
"Is she-
"She's alive," Maria said, "She's just unconcious. Come on, we have to get back to th others. Help me carry her."
Maria took hold of Amilee's arms, and Cherin grabbed her feet. They rushed as fast as they could carrying Amilee, back through the hall and onto the cliff. Then they stopped, they had forgotten about the bridge.
"What now?' Cherin asked.
"It's not that far," Maria said, "Maybe we could-
"Oh hell no," Cherin interrupted, "I'm not jumping over that!"
"Okay," Maria said, "Just come up with another way of getting across, and we'll do it."
Cherin sighed, "What about Amilee?"
Maria looked at her unconcious friend.
"We'll throw her..."
Cherin raised an eyebrow, but she knew they had no other choice. On the count of three, they heaved Amilee across the gap. She landed with a thud.
"You first," Maria said.
Cherin didn't argue this time. She took a few steps back, then ran forward and leapt across the gap. She barely made it. Maria did the same, landing on her knees. She stood up, staring hopelessly at the hole in the wall.
"Okay," she said to Cherin, "I'll crawl through first. I'll pull Amilee through, and then you come from behind and make sure she doesn't get stuck."
Cherin nodded. Maria crawled through the hole. The others crowd around her, all asking her question about what had happened.
"Hold on," she said, "I have to pull Amilee through."
"Pull Amilee through!" Sub-Zero gasped.
Maria ignored him, reaching through the hole for Amilee arms. She tugged with all of her strength until finally she came through, followed by Cherin. Sub-Zero snatched her, cradling heri n his arms.
"What happened!" he demanded.
"She fell down some steps," Cherin told him.
Amilee's eyes fluttered, and she looked around.
"What happened?" she asked softly.
"Scorpion pulled you down those steps," Maria told her, "And you blacked out."
"You found Scorpion?" Ashlynn asked.
"Yeah," Maria replied, "I'm not sure what happened exactly. There was a vat of blood, and he said these weird words, then it got really bright and he was gone."
Quan Chi's eyes widened. Ashlynn looked at him.
"What's wrong?"
"It has begun," he said.
"What has begun?" Ashlynn asked.
"The Awakening," he replied, "Scorpion has started it which means-
"We failed," Ashlynn finished for him.
Everyone was silent. Amilee stood, rubbing the back of her head.
"The whole world is going to disappear," she said, "And it's our fault. We should have been faster."
Ashlynn closed her eyes, leaning against the wall.
"What do we do now?" she asked, turning to the sorcerer.
"We do nothing," he said simply, "There is nothing that can be done. The destruction of the realms has already begun."
"We should go back to Earthrealm," Maria said quietly.
"Why?" Ashlynn asked, "It'll probably be gone before we can get there."
"Uh, I don't know about you," Amilee said, "But I don't want to die here. If we die here, our souls are condemned to the Void. I don't want that..."
Quan Chi shook his head.
"Don't you understand? The One Being has been awakened, our souls are condemned to the Void anyway. The world is being erased, it will be as if we had never existed."
Ashlynn sat down, letting her head fall into her hands.