On the walls of Z'unkarah, men beat drums to herald the Earthrealmers' coming while others blew curious horns that encircled their bodies like great ivory snakes. In moments, a column of iwana riders emerged from the city to greet them. Those Osh-tekk warriors were painted the usual blue and wore masks made from humanoid skulls, and they sat high on saddles inlaid with citrine gemstones. Bones dangled from those saddles like wind chimes. Their iwanas were dressed in dusty blankets woven in hues of red and blue.
"I am Zuma," their leader said after he trotted up and stopped them. "Emperor Koa'tal recognizes Lady Olivia, slayer of the General Reiko, and Prince Xinyi, Lord of Mòhé, and bids thee welcome."
The young Cryomancer tilted her head back and shielded her eyes from the sun. "You honor me, Commander Zuma," she said politely as she inwardly cringed at the mention of Reiko's death.
"You honor me as well," Xinyi agreed before he flashed a reassuring smile at Olivia.
"We shall escort you to the palace," he said. "We have brought mounts to make the passing faster, for the Emperor doubts you are here unless you are in great need." He clicked his tongue and immediately, several of the riders brought six of the creatures forward. Their saddles were empty.
"The Emperor is very wise," she replied before she took the reins from one of the Osh-tekk and pulled herself onto it. Her family, Kabal, and Xinyi followed suit and mounted their own iwanas as well.
"Wow, these people are a lot nicer than I expected," Jamie quietly remarked to his group as they walked in between the deadly riders.
"Only because the Emperor likes your sister," Kabal whispered back. "I expect scouts reported to him that she was coming and sent the welcoming party when he heard."
"You didn't sleep with him too, did you?" her brother asked her in hushed tones.
"No!" she yelped, exasperated. She glared at him. "And shut up. The last thing I need is for you to piss him off."
"What did you say?" Zuma now asked, raising his eyebrow behind his mask and gazing at them like a hawk. His hand drifted to the tecaptl fastened to his belt.
It prompted Miyuki to speak up, and she said, "My nephew was just remarking at how big Z'Unkarah is." She cleared her throat and then shot a dirty look at Tommy.
"Z'Unkarah is the greatest city that ever was or will be," the Osh-tekk proudly declared. "It is at the heart of Outworld, the gate between the north and the south, the east and the west. It is said that Shao Kahn could not make this his home because it blinded him with its glory."
Olivia knew Zuma was exaggerating, but the magnificence of Z'Unkarah could not be denied. Three thick walls encircled the city, each thirty feet high, each made from bricks of golden sandstone, each dividing it by class. The outer wall was painted in giant murals depicting animals running from Osh-tekk hunters riding atop iwanas. She'd last seen this wall on the southern side, when Erron had carried her broken body the final stretch of the journey into the city and to safety. She surveyed the poorest section of town as they rode through, and she saw that they had rebuilt much of the damage from Reiko's siege. Good, she thought. These people were hit the hardest by the attack.
The second wall was largely plain, though she did spot some graffiti painted in spots in a language she couldn't recognize if she tried. The last wall was carved in bas reliefs in scenes of war: the clash of macuahuitl and shield and spear, arrows in flight, heroes at battle and enemies being butchered, pyres of the dead. The gates through each wall opened easily at their approach. But as Olivia rode her iwana into the deepest parts of the city, children rushed up to give her flowers. They wore sandals and sometimes the bright body paint donned by the Osh-tekk, but little else.
"You have fans," Tommy teased as he waved to some of the onlookers.
"Doubtful," she scoffed. "Their parents probably made them come up to us. These children are too young to remember me."
"But their parents remember how you stopped the siege on Z'Unkarah from being much, much worse," Xinyi pointed out. He winked at her, prompting her cheeks to bloom with fire.
Zuma led their little group down the center of a bazaar in a cavernous building whose latticework ceiling was home to countless birds of all shapes, sizes, and colors. Trees and flowers bloomed on the terraced walls above the stalls, while below it seemed as if everything in Outworld was for sale. She fondly remembered this place from her visit before, the only bit of color in an otherwise golden city.
It wasn't long before the caravan arrived at the palace, and Olivia, along with her brothers, sucked in an awestruck breath at the sight of it. She had forgotten the sheer size of this place, larger than a small market town. It makes Arctika look like a hovel, she marvelled. Zuma dismounted, helped her down but left the others to get out of their saddles themselves, and then guided her inside. The palace swallowed them.
"The Emperor is giving your company this entire wing to use," the Osh-tekk explained as he gently took her hand and led her towards the throne room.
"That is very generous of him," she said, "but I don't think we'll be staying very long."
"That is a pity," he replied. "If you see here anything or...anyone...that you desire, most beautiful of women, you have only to speak it and it is yours."
Olivia blushed, embarrassed that the man seemed to be hitting on her. Apparently, she wasn't the only one who thought that because immediately, Tommy said, "Back off, pal, that's my sister!" at the same time Xinyi said, "Take care to remember that she is a Lady, and she is spoken for, Commander Zuma."
He nodded his head in understanding, but said no more.
Finally, they arrived in the throne room, and the young Cryomancer saw Kotal Kahn sitting on his throne, wearing a golden helmet inlaid with jade and long blue plumes trailing out the back. A blood-red sash encircled his waist, and over it, a belt studded with garnets and yellow topaz. Otherwise, he wore little clothing as was the Osh-tekk fashion save for his studded leather gauntlets, worn boots, and an intricately beaded loincloth that dangled between his knees. Behind him hung standards of blazing yellow and orange suns on a field of white.
"Lady Olivia," he greeted with warm courtesy and then bowed his head ever-so-slightly.
"My Lord," she returned.
"I had not heard of your return to Z'Unkarah," he said. "Had I been forewarned, I would've commanded the entire city to greet you and pay their respects."
"I did not expect to be here," she admitted. "We came to ask for your help." And then she regaled him with the tale of Reiko's return, and the attacks on Mòhé, Arctika, and the Fire Gardens. She informed him of their theories about the General's motivations, and his next possible targets. He sat there silently as she spoke, patiently absorbing the information she gave to him.
When at last she was done, his deep-set eyes regarded her sympathetically. This was not a man forgiving of failure. "I am sorry for your father's fate," he finally said. "He was a good man."
"He is a good man," she corrected.
He said nothing to that, but now looked at Xinyi fiercely. "It seems that my trust in the Lords of Mòhé, however, was ill-given."
"We are not your enemy, Lord Koa'tal," he protested. "If you will recall, when Onaga threatened to destroy all of Outworld, it was the Cryomancers who answered your call to battle and ensured our alliance's victory that day."
"At Himavat's command, not for love of me or Outworld," he shot back. "And you, young Prince, were not even there," he reminded him. "You, as I recall, were sheltering in Seido while the Seidans came in your stead."
Anger flashed across Xinyi's face. "That is not how it happened-" he started but was promptly cut off.
"I should never have entrusted the Cryomancers with the safekeeping of Outworld's kamidogu," Kotal Kahn muttered as he clenched his fists around the armrests of his throne.
"It was by your will that my brother took it," the Prince retorted. "He never wanted it in our homeland. He knew the danger it would bring upon our heads someday."
"And yet, he took it anyway," he scoffed.
"Emperor, Prince, if I may," Kabal now spoke as he stepped forward and took a spot by Olivia, "this bickering isn't helping anything."
"I promise you, we will have revenge on Reiko," the Emperor waved him off.
"To be honest, I would much rather get the kamidogu back and stop Reiko from killing everyone, and leave his justice to God," he replied.
"And when shall that be, Earthrealmer?" he spat. "If your words are true, he is in Netherrealm and you are here, troubling me instead."
Kabal shrugged at that. "That's fair. You've always been straightforward, Emperor, so let me be straightforward with you. "Like Olivia said, we need your help. Our friends that went to Netherrealm are probably going to get their asses handed to them unless you can send your army as well."
Kotal shook his head no. "I will not leave Outworld vulnerable to attack should Reiko succeed in releasing Shinnok from his chains. We must use this time to consolidate our power."
"That doesn't even make sense!" Tommy now protested, stepping forward, prompting the Emperor to bristle in annoyance. "We can stop Reiko now before he even gets the chance to raise Shinnok, but you'd rather wait for Shinnok to be raised before you'll fight?" The Hydromancer scowled at him. "That is the dumbest thing I've ever heard in my life!"
"Hush!" Olivia barked at him, glaring at him until he backed down. Also annoyed, Miyuki gripped him by his elbow and yanked him back hard.
"There is much you do not understand, son of the Dragonslayer," Kotal replied lowly, dangerously. "If Netherrealm and Reiko have combined their forces, it is quite unlikely that any alliance we could forge would win the battle. Not in Netherrealm. Without a General of our own equal to Reiko in cleverness and unpredictability, it is a fool's errand. I would prefer to orchestrate a resistance in my homeland, which I know much better than him or Shinnok."
"What about a smaller squadron?" Olivia now asked. "Can't you spare even ten guys?"
Kotal shook his head no. "I will allow you to have one-"
"Let us have Erron Black," Kabal blurted out, rudely interrupting the Emperor.
He considered it for a moment. Finally, he asked, "Why Erron? Why not Ermac or D'Vorah? They are much more powerful than he."
"Because he and I have history," the detective replied.
"Me too," Olivia agreed, a little surprised by Kabal's choice. Kotal was right. Ermac would make more sense to pick given his supernatural powers. But, she found she was relieved by his choice and quickly agreed. "Also, he knows Reiko like I do," she added. "Better, even. Much better. He knows his tricks and his mind-games and his strategies. Just...he knows it all. And on top of that, I know he's going to want to help me put that bastard down again. Please, my Lord. Let us have Erron."
The Emperor bowed his head. "Very well, you may take Erron with you, and only because there is wisdom in your logic," he told her. "You will find him in a tavern in the middle ring of the city."
"I thought he quit drinking," the Cryomancer said, puzzled. She lifted an eyebrow.
"He does not go there for the spirits, Lady Olivia," Kotal replied with a veiled smile. "He goes there for...other pleasures." He motioned for Zuma to step forward. "But you will need money."
XXXXX
"I can't believe I'm in Outworld right now, and I'm standing in an old-timey Wild West saloon," Olivia remarked as they looked around, waiting for the barkeep to notice them.
The common room was long and drafty, with a row of huge wooden kegs at one end and a fireplace at the other. The afternoon sunshine blared in through large window panes, casting a brilliant light around the bar it shined upon. The warmth of it, coupled with the fire, made this place just a tad too hot for Olivia's comfort, and perhaps Miyuki's as well, but the others didn't seem to notice. She watched as serving girls ran back and forth with platters of food while a scantily clad woman, dressed in the Edenian fashion, drew beer from the kegs.
The tables and benches were crowded, townsfolk mingling with all sorts of travelers. This tavern made for odd companions; farmers with worn hands like leather shared a bench with Osh-tekk riders stinking of iwana sweat, a blacksmith with thick muscles squeezed in beside some sort of a cleric, and hardened mercenaries and plump merchants traded news and stories like old friends.
"Just stay close," Kabal warned her and the others. "I don't trust these people." He motioned for them to follow him to a round table close to the stairs, and as they all started to take a seat, an aging waitress with feathers in her black hair swept over to them.
"Welcome, Earthrealmers," she asked.
"How'd you know we were from Earthrealm?" Jamie asked as he looked up at her ample cleavage. She was showing it off by wearing a tight blouse with a giant panel cut across the front, almost from nipple to nipple.
"No Outworlder nor Seidan dresses in your unusual fashion," she replied matter-of-factly.
"Well, we could be from Netherrealm or Chaosrealm," he protested, earning a small smirk from her.
"Oh, you dear, sweet little lamb," she said as she crossed her arms in amusement.
"We're looking for Erron Black," Kabal told her. He, unlike the others, hadn't taken his chair yet. He quickly slid one of Kotal's gold coins into her palm. "The Emperor told us we could find him here."
She looked at the treasure he'd slipped to her and then bowed her head at his request. "Indeed," she spoke. "He's upstairs in one of our rooms." She now peered at the detective with bold gray eyes. "However, he's currently...preoccupied."
Behind his mask, Kabal narrowed his eyes, immediately discerning what she meant. He sighed heavily and looked at Frost and the kids. "Stay here," he told them. "I'll go get him."
"Maybe I should come with you," Olivia obliviously offered and started to get to her feet, but he promptly pushed her back onto her butt.
"Nope, you're staying put," he barked at her. "Order some food. God knows how much we'll get to eat on this trip. I'll be back down in a minute." He turned and started to head towards the stairs.
The waitress promptly stopped him at the bottom. "My Lord, if you interrupt Minister Black's activities, there could be problems. I don't want problems." Now Kabal frowned and passed her another gold coin, but she shook her head no. "Minister Black creates...big...problems when he's angry."
"You drive a hard bargain, lady," he remarked and gave her two more coins.
"He is in the last room on the left, at the end of the hallway," she told him with a mischievous smile plastered on her face. Then she pocketed her newfound money and walked away.
Kabal ventured up the stairs and down the hallway to the last door on the left where Erron was supposed to be, and, not surprisingly, he heard the gunslinger's muffled voice mingling with that of a young female. He pressed his ear to the door to hear better, just to be sure. Yes, he heard his old partner in crime mention something about ordering room service. There was laughter for a moment, and then the woman let out a delighted squeal. The detective rolled his eyes. He didn't take Erron for a wine 'em and dine 'em sort. Maybe the woman was super hot. He shrugged to himself at the thought.
"Well, here's hoping he doesn't shoot me where I stand," he muttered to himself, only mildly reassured in the knowledge that he could outrun one of Erron's bullets.
With that, he gripped the doorknob and shoved his way into the room unannounced, barely registering Erron's sudden cussing or the woman's screaming. His eyes found the bed right away, with both of them tangled in a mess of sheets, the woman scrabbling to get away as the gunslinger fumbled for his guns. Kabal refrained from laughing as he watched the man grab the ancient revolvers from the bedside table closest to him and point them at him. He quickly slammed the door shut behind him.
"Hola, Erron," he said, unimpressed by the weapons, or by the naked woman scurrying across the room with her arms crossed over her chest in a futile effort to cover her breasts and genitals. It wasn't nothing he hadn't seen before, especially when he was running with the Black Dragon and indulged himself in Kano's prostitutes fairly often. Kabal indifferently glanced at her. "Sorry for barging in like this, honey, but it's important. Here's a gold coin for your trouble." He calmly flipped it and watched her catch it. She then gazed at him with wild, bewildered eyes before she scooped her clothes from the floor and hustled from the room.
"I hope your conscience is clear because you're about to meet God," Erron spat at him then.
"I need your help," he said plainly, ignoring the hateful threat.
"I ain't interested," he stubbornly hissed. "I don't help nobody, especially no Yankee, tenderfoot little sissies like yourself." Now he climbed out of his bed, also naked, still holding his guns. The detective couldn't help but notice all the tiny little hashmarks criss-crossing his arms, back, and chest. He knew he'd done it to himself. He was keeping track of all the men he'd killed. But by the looks of it, he was rapidly running out of space.
"Tenderfoot little sissies?" he indignantly replied. "That's just hurtful, Erron."
"Go to Hell, you bastard," he snapped. "And get the hell out of here. I ain't helpin' you."
"Not even for old times' sake?"
"Especially not for old times' sake," he spat as he found his breeches on the floor and yanked them onto his legs. "We ain't friends. And I don't recall invitin' you here."
"I don't believe you did, amigo," he agreed, inwardly chuckling.
Erron scowled at him. "Goddamn you," he swore as he now fastened his belt around his waist. "I don't need you here dragging your goddamn Black Dragon problems here with you, makin' 'em my problems too. Just who in the hell do you think you are?"
Kabal smirked. "I'm the guy who stuck out my neck to save you. I'm the guy you owe your life to."
Erron paused for a moment and looked at the detective thoughtfully. "I'm sure I don't know what you're talkin' about."
"Bull-shit," he scoffed. "Twenty-five years ago, you'd had your fill of the Black Dragon bullshit, and you were sick to death of Kano. You just wanted to return to Outworld. So you deserted us." Now Kabal took a dangerous step towards the gunslinger. "Kano didn't take too kindly to that and sent someone to track you down and kill you. Who was that again?" he demanded to know. Erron, ever stubborn, refused to answer, so the detective continued. "Oh, yes, he sent me to come get you. And I did my job. Found you. Beat you half to death. Coulda killed you easily. But I didn't. I knew exactly what you were feeling because I was feeling it too. Just sick of the whole goddamn thing. Kano always kicking the hornet's nest and getting us in the shit, then hoarding all the rewards while we did all the work, only throwing us a bone here and there. It was bullshit. So I let you go, didn't I, Erron? I let you go, and I went back and told Kano I took care of you so that he'd stop hunting you down so you could live here all high and mighty, acting like someone important in the Kahn's court. Didn't I?"
For a long moment, Erron said nothing. Then finally, he inhaled deeply, impatiently, clearly agitated with the detective. But he was a prideful man, and he'd never let himself stay in anyone's debt. "What do you want from me, Kabal?" he quietly asked.
"There's some serious shit going down, Erron," he began, "and I need your help since you're probably the most-qualified person I know to help."
"And why is that?"
"Because your old buddy, Reiko, is back from the dead," he said, and now the gunslinger whipped his head around, his green eyes bulging in surprise. "And if you're still the Erron Black I remember, you're not gonna let that one go. You're gonna want to put that rabid dog down, aren't you?" The man didn't answer, so Kabal said, "So what I want from you is to come downstairs with me, let me buy you some dinner, and hear me out."
"If I do this," he finally began, "then you and I are square again."
"Understood," he said. Then he nodded to the bedpost. "By the way, that was a nice way to greet someone, aiming a gun at my face."
"I think you'll get over it just fine," he grumbled.
"Nah, I need a warm and tender embrace to feel better," he joked.
Erron coldly looked at him, his face expressionless, his jaw like iron. "Consider the fact that I ain't put a bullet in your head a warm embrace, Kabal," he retorted in his most deadpan voice.
"Don't forget your hat," he told him, chuckling.
When the gunslinger was dressed, he followed Kabal down the stairs and was immediately met by Olivia, who threw her arms around him. "Oh, Erron, I'm so glad to see you," she breathed and then let him go.
"Well, I ain't happy to see you, kid," he replied, patting her on the back. "If you're involved in whatever this pencil-dick has gotten himself into, then the shit really has hit the fan."
"We need a fox to outsmart a fox," she retorted. She pointed to her family. "Erron, you remember my brothers, Tommy and Jamie?" she asked.
"I reckon so," he replied as the twins both half-heartedly raised their hands and said, "Yo" and "'Sup?"
"And that's my...aunt," she dragged the word out, reluctant to say it. Kabal couldn't blame her. Frost was a cuntasaurus rex. She'd personally overseen many of his most traumatizing experiences in Outworld, and he could barely stand the sight of her.
"Yeah, I remember her too, though it's been a sight longer since I seen her caged up after the battle against Onaga." He narrowed his eyes at her.
"I saw you at the battle too," she coldly replied. "Weren't you the one running from Mileena?"
"And this is Prince Xinyi," she quickly introduced before an argument got started. "He's a Cryomancer from Mòhé."
Xinyi got to his feet and bowed respectfully, but Erron merely crossed his arms and eyed him up and down suspiciously. "Great, another tenderfoot sissy," he muttered.
"I beg your pardon?" the Prince replied as he raised his eyebrow.
"You brought a Prince, eh?" he scoffed. "Well I guess it ain't nothing but silk sheets and Parisian whores from now on."
"Erron," Olivia tensed as she looked at him. "This is serious."
"Oh, I can't wait to hear about it, either," he replied as he and Kabal took a seat at the table with them. And then, as she had in Kotal Kahn's throne room, she regaled the outlaw about Reiko's return. Halfway through her story, he pinched his fingers to the bridge of his nose, gently rubbing away what Kabal surmised was a growing headache.
"So you can see," Olivia began when she was finished telling her story, "we need your help."
"I don't rightfully know what you expect me to do about it," he said. "I ain't a one-man army."
"Well, you kind of are," she muttered as a faint smile crossed her face.
"Look, Erron," Kabal impatiently began, "Kotal gave you to us. And we have money to pay you for your services."
"This is ridiculous," Xinyi snapped. "Why would you pay this criminal to help our cause and to fight beside Olivia as he once did? He's a sell-sword. He has no allegiance to anyone or anything but a bit of gold. Men such as this have no honor." He scowled at the man. "I will freely fight alongside Lady Olivia, and I will protect her from harm."
Everyone at the table tensed at the Prince's bold declaration, wondering how the gunslinger would take it. But Erron merely narrowed his eyes at him for the longest time before he crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. "I bet you will," he replied in his usual drawl, his voice hinting at suspiciousness. He sighed and then took a drink of water. "Alright, kid, what's your plan?"
Olivia smiled. "We're gonna meet up with the others in Netherrealm and try to stop him at the source. My uncles went there. Bi-han will know what to do."
XXXXX
MKDemigodZ-Warrior, yeah, they're revenants, but their motivations are going to have to change a little. Liu Kang was killed by the Deadly Alliance in my timeline, so being bitter about being killed by Shang Tsung is a good reason to hate Raiden. Especially since the revenants get their blame all twisted.
alwaysdoubted, yeah, the revenants have to know he's up to something. But maybe they know something he doesn't? ;) And yeah, I'm sorry about Jade. But I'll try not to be too mean to her. No promises, though LOL
ROCuevas, thanks!
guest, I've always said from day one, and I believe it's in the description of my work in the "About Me" section on my profile, that my stories loosely follow the timeline of the games (from the very first game) while interweaving ideas from the movies and TV shows. So will this story look anything like what happened in MKX or MK11? Not really, save for a smidge. For example, the fight between Bi-han and Fujin in Curse of the Dragon Medallion happened in the Mythologies: Sub-Zero game that came out 20-something years ago. Sub-Zero and Smoke's tight friendship was touched on in Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm. I do that because I want to keep my stories tethered to those stories that inspired me. So that's why you'll see little nuggets here and there from the original source material. But ultimately, my stories follow the adventures of Sub-Zero and his timeline as I've imagined it.