Disclaimer: I don't own any of the mortal kombat characters.

Author's Note: I would like to thank Neale (again) for helping me write this fanfic.

Mortal Kombat: Behind Enemy Lines

The first second of light is always painful when you open your eyes. It cuts into you like a needle that goes straight to the back of your skull. Sonya winced. Her head was pounding.

"J… Ja.. Jax.."

She attempted to continue the interrupted distress signal she had started before
her world went black.

"Not quite baby"

That voice was unmistakable, even to Sonya's half unconscious brain. Her eyes snapped open. A dull blur with a pinpoint red glow stood before her. As her vision came back to her, the blur solidified. Kano, standing feet away from her: arms crossed, legs akimbo. In a feat of almost instinctual momentum, Sonya pushed up onto her knees, put her weight on her feet, and lunged. A sudden sharp pain in her left ankle, which echoed into her knee and hip joint, alerted her to the shackles that held her to the wall. The sudden stop in movement allowed gravity to take hold of her body and bring it crashing down onto the dirty stone floor.

"Ouch. That looked liked it might have hurt a little" He smirked.

Sonya groaned slightly as she attempted to slowly push herself up back onto her hands and knees. The crash had knocked the wind out of her, so her breathing was off. He eyes closed again. Dizziness had leeched into her head, sharing it with her migraine. The clanking of chains shot through her ears like a freight train. She looked up. Kano was looking off. The wicked smile he always wore was replaced by a somber, yet nasty looking expression. His clothes were dirtied and damaged. The plate in his head sported a new deep looking scratch and some scuffs. She could have sworn his red eye had dulled. He lowered himself onto a bench, which creaked with the introduction of his weight. At her current height she could see a tough looking shackle attached to a heavy chain which was connected to the stone behind him, wrapped around his thick ankle. Sonya looked over her shoulder. A similar arrangement was behind her. Her ankle throbbed. A thought raced through her brain, it barely registered before it came out of her mouth.

"Where are we?"

"My guess is a dungeon, Blade." He answered, leaning against the stone
wall.

Sonya slowly picked herself off of the ground, leaning her weight against the wall as she dragged herself to her own wooden 'bed'. The cold, stone cell wall was wasn't much better than the floor, but its coolness was a small relief for her aching head.

"I figured that much," Sonya replied, wincing as her own voice seemed to increase the pounding in her head, "where exactly?"

Kano didn't answer her, but he shrugged in reply. Kano knew Sonya well enough to tell when she wasn't in the mood for a good argument. She guessed he was probably thinking of ways to get her riled up. Sonya slowly opened her eyes as she got used to the light, or lack there of. Only the burning torches from dungeon corridor reached the interior of the cell, though any more light could hardly improve it. Big as it was, she figured it was only because it was meant to hold two people. The iron bars left the inside visible for whoever stood guard and meant that ambushing was out of the question. Looking at Kano, she smiled inwardly. If she was stuck in this hellhole, it gave her a small amount of twisted pleasure to know that he was experiencing it along with her.

"Anyone ever tell you," Kano started, trying to get a reaction, "that you look kinda sexy chained up like that."

The rattling of keys and a creak of a door caught their attention. Three masked guards entered the room. One of them walked over and began unlocking the cell door, another held a pair of arm shackles; all three were armed with iron tipped staves.

"Ms. Blade," one of them said, "you will come with us."

She tried to stand, but two of the guards seized her by the shoulders and forced her to remain sitting while the third unlocked the chain from her ankle. Her wrists were then chained together before she could react.

"Hey!" Kano sat up. "What about me?"

All he got in answer was a strike against the head from one of the guard's weapons. It was strong enough to send his head smashing into the wall behind and nearly render him unconscious. Sonya grinned at him groaning and slumped over his bench as they took her out of the cell. With a guard on each side and the third following close behind Sonya was led out of the dungeon, and up a wide, stone, spiral staircase. At the top of the stairs was a luxurious richly decorated hallway. The carpets were a plush red and gold, the windows were beautiful stained glass and the furniture was all made from a dark wood. The majesty was interrupted every few feet by fully preserved skeletons hung from iron brackets. Some were human, others were most definitely not. A sharp left turn stood Sonya in front of a large wooden door. The guard to the right reached forward and gave it a mighty push, causing it to slowly creak open. A quick but firm shove by the rear guard pushed Sonya over the threshold and into the room beyond. It was a banquet hall of sorts. Similar décor to the hallway, but it was much grander. The main table was loosely set with a bowl of strange fruit, a bottle of wine and a few candlesticks. A lone figure stood at the head of the table, back turned. She heard the door close behind her. Sonya paused; she wasn't sure how to react. The only logical words came to the tip of her tongue.

"Who are you?"

The man chortled, and turned around. He walked out from behind the table into full view of Sonya.

"Who am I?" He smirked. "Why my dear Sonya, don't you recognize me?"

Sonya blinked a few times. Her head still had fuzz in it. The voice was familiar in a warped way, but the face wasn't one that was known to her. He was of the appearance of man approaching or in his thirties, dressed in black and yellow robes, and wore his hair in a long plait. Not even the faintest hint of recognition sparked in Sonya's memory. She shook her head slowly. The man chuckled again.

"It's aright my dear. I have altered a great deal since our last encounter. I remember that fateful meeting clear as one of the Earth Realm days. Please, sit down. I do apologize for the chains, but otherwise make yourself comfortable."

Sonya attempted a frown, but for some reason it never appeared. She was intrigued by this man, how he spoke was strong but strangely dark. She glanced at the nearest chair, then at the man for confirmation of his offer. He nodded and gestured with one hand. Sonya sat, being careful not to damage the table with the heavy chains hanging from her wrists, but never taking her questioning stare off of the man.

"I don't remember you. What day are you on about? I mean… Who are you?" Sonya asked again in a confused manner, as nothing was registering still.

"You know me better slightly different in appearance. My youth had been restored by the mighty Shao Kahn." He sat opposite Sonya. "A few days ago I was an old man, but no more."

An unimaginable answer shot through Sonya's mind like a shadow in the dark. Her logic couldn't piece together the clues, facts or theories. She needed to hear it in his words before she allowed herself to believe what she was thinking.

"I am the great Shang Tsung."

That was what she needed to hear. Inside Sonya was shocked and panicking. They only give away was a twitch of shock that formed in her eyelids. The man, now known to be Shang Tsung, didn't move. Sonya shook her head.

"It's not true!" She knew it was: she recognized his evil. "You're lying!" The panic in Sonya's voice made it louder than usual speech, which was of great surprise to her.

Shang Tsung stood up. He walked over to the side wall. "It is true. My Lord Kahn's powerful magic has enabled me to regain all the power I had lost with age. The old man you met at the Mortal Kombat tournament is no more."

Sonya stood and moved herself a few steps away from the table. "Lie Kang beat you at the tournament fair and square. Why am I here!" She wanted no mind games.

Sonya's outburst had stopped Shang in his tracks. He gazed up at a painting of a hunt and exhaled sharply in annoyance.

"Do not concern yourself with Liu Kang." He turned to face her. "As for why you are here, I can offer you two answers."

Concern flooded through Sonya. She felt vulnerable. The unfamiliarity of her surroundings affected her bravery.

"I don't bargain with creatures like you! What ever you've got planned you can cancel, I'll never go along with anything you want me to do!" Sonya barked back. Although slightly scared she would never show it intentionally.

"I'm not offering you anything that requires a decision from you. I'm telling you. I speak, you listen" Shang was losing his cool. "Thanks to your Liu Kang, I was brought before Lord Kahn in disgrace and nearly sentenced to an eternity of torment. However, I convinced my master to hold a second tournament, here in Outworld. Your Earth Realm friends are to face the great Shao Kahn's mighty army."

"You can't do that! Even though you and your boss are sore losers, the rules say..."

"Do not concern yourself with petty rules my dear Sonya. Concern yourself with the reality that you stand and breathe in. It has already begun." Shang's words were sharp and clear. "Your friends will come charging to your rescue, thus entering the tournament and making it official."

Sonya remained silent. Her brain was unable to think quickly, the pain in her had not yet resided. It was an unwanted distraction. Shang was starting to creep her out. He smiled slyly.

"My dear Sonya, you are of Earth Realm's finest. You are strong, determined, intelligent, beautiful…"

"I've heard this before, and you can just forget it you scumbag! If you think I'll ever do anything but want to hurt you, you better guess again!" Sonya was appalled.

"And full of fire as well! You will make a fine bride."

"Are you listening to me? I said not even in your dreams!"

Shang chuckled and took a few steps in her direction. Sonya's eyes darted around the room looking for an escape. She couldn't stomach the thought of being too close to this snake whose eyes would not leave her alone.

"We'll see. Once I defeat your great champion, Shao Kahn is sure to give me what ever prize I desire. He has an interesting power of manipulation, but I won't spoil the surprise."

Sonya set her eyebrows in a stern manner and folded her arms to the best of her ability with the chains. "You have some nerve. First you want me and everyone else dead, now you're telling me I will become your slave wife. Well, what if I just say no and that you can go fuck yourself?"

The sorcerer seemed to unexpectedly relax. "Your manners are something to be desired, but that can be fixed later." He motioned again at the chair she had risen from. "Please, be seated. There's no need to be so tense."

Sonya didn't move, so Shang moved towards her instead. When he was close enough he lifted his right hand to her blonde hair, slowly fingering the ends before she moved her head away. Rather than have him molest her, Sonya stepped away and sat down. Shang smiled and returned to his seat.

"You can either agree and have things be easy for you or be your hard-headed self and make things harder for you than necessary. However, I can assure you that no matter how bad you may imagine life with me could be it is nothing compared to the everlasting torment Liu Kang and the other Earth warriors will feel once their souls are taken. It would be such a waste to have you destroyed with the rest of them."

He paused and looked at the table as if reminded of something. He leaned forwards and plucked one of the strange fruits out of the bowl and tossed it towards Sonya. She caught it out of reflex.

"Before I allow you to leave, eat something." He said as she looked from the fruit to him. "Prisoners here don't get fed on a daily basis and what is allowed wouldn't be touched by a Tarkatan."

Sonya looked back at the fruit in her hands. Round, the skin was dark red and waxy to the touch. She realized she was quite hungry and cautiously took a bite: Shang wouldn't poison her if he was so intent on marrying her. She started to eat and found it to be slightly bitter-sweet. The flesh inside was dark, dull pink and full of juice. As she didn't have a napkin, Sonya used the back of her hand to clean the juice from her mouth. Shang stood and walked to her side. He produced a white silk handkerchief and presented it to her.

"Use this." He offered.

Sonya couldn't help but grin at the disgust in his face, but she accepted it nonetheless. As he watched her eat, Sonya frowned at the pleasure he seemed to be getting. He waited till she had finished eating.

"Guards!" He yelled out.

The door opened and the three guards stepped in. Shang Tsung turned to face Sonya and bowed.

"Until I'm in your company again Miss Blade," he attempted a sweet smile, "adieu."

Sonya stood up when the guards came to get her, not wanting to give them the pleasure of man-handling her. She didn't answer Shang, but glared at him as she was led out of the room.

Shang watched her leave. With a click of his fingers he summoned a servant who, up until now, was unseen in the corner shadows of the room as they were trained to do.

"I want her to be given a bath, before she's brought before me again." He said, still looking at the door through which she was taken. "Only one day and already the stench from the dungeon is clinging to her."

He motioned for them to leave the room. He looked back to the table and smiled. In front of where Sonya was sitting was his handkerchief, crumpled and slightly stained from the fruit. He took the cloth square and lifted it to his lips. He wished to taste her for real. Her flesh was unlike any beauty of Outworld, and he yearned for it.

"Soon," he murmured to himself, "Earth will be taken and my revenge against Liu Kang will be complete. I will finally have the power I have fought so long to obtain, and than even the mighty Shao Kahn will be no match for me. And my dear Sonya will be by my side."

To Be Continued...