A/N: From here on in, the fic's going to have some flashback scenes, recalling the prelude before the Deadly Alliance make their move on Earthrealm and killing Liu Kang. Deadly Alliance was a very tricky story to work with, even more overwhelming than my last epic, Shinnok's Uprising! So many things transpired here, and it's difficult enough when the lore's divided between each Kombatant. Luckily, I found a vid explaining it all, courtesy of MK Temple, the same source of intel I used for my previous epic. However, since I had no experience with MKV, it was still quite a challenge while piecing everything together.
Kung Lao still trains with Liu's soul inside him, while a special someone shall recruit their distant allies.
Con't II - Repressed Memories
Throughout the last few days, Raiden, Aiko, Nightwolf and Kiba had been monitoring Kung Lao's training while sharing Liu Kang's spirit inside him. HIs skills were impressive, even when the former Champion combined his pyrokinesis with his aerokinesis! However, Lao seemed to have missed those powerful combinations, like throwing Liu Kang after a few flips and the monk unleashing a tremendous Flying Kick! Also, the aftereffects were what kept hindering the retired Shaolin. Little by little, Lao gradually became stronger and more mobile with Liu's astral form, and they both became bolder on stopping the Deadly Alliance by sharing their common goal, pointed out by Nightwolf.
Since then, Lao had Liu as his ghastly guide; the responsibilities were undoubtedly onto him now in saving all realms and avenging his partner. He knew now this was his chance to prove himself as being the Shaolin's equal.
Late one evening, Lao's body became limp during one meditation session, something he hadn't done so in a while. If he could just ease his body and mind, then perhaps enduring Liu's intervention shouldn't be too painful. It seemed the calming waves and the gentle breeze soothed him down in conjunction with his deep, rhythmic breathing... His head soon began to get weighed down, and his heart rate was steadily decreasing.
He was enveloped in complete darkness, and soon woke up in the same lotus position with his eyes fluttering open. The light from the bright, overcast sky made him come to, yet there was no wind nor waves. He noticed it matched the colorless landscape all around him. Even on the distant precipices and floating islands...! This place was unfamiliar to him and not like the island beaches nor like the Wu Shi Academy at all!
"Where is this place...?" He thought aloud, his eyes scanning the bizarre terrain.
"Let me have a look, Kung Lao." He was certainly glad he can still hear Liu Kang's voice within the dragon head. He relieved it from his chest pocket and the monk observed. "Hmm... Just as I suspected."
"Where is it, Liu Kang?" He spoke into the decorative dragon.
"We seem to have merged minds, you and I with our unpleasantries sharing your body." Lao just sighed at Liu's jest, rolling his eyes. "I'd been thru this once. And if I remember correctly, this island we're standing in represents our subconscious."
"You mean...this is a dream?"
"It's...more like a surreal trial for the two of us."
"...Do we need to reach those cliffs?" He pointed at a long plateau.
"This is how we should progress thru it. I believe we are in limbo at the moment. And this plane shall represent our deepest memories, perhaps a few conflicts warring inside us."
"How can we resolve this...?"
"Well, we need to build a bridge somehow, and each island must have a different obstacle to overcome."
"A bridge...am I supposed to envision that in my mind?"
"Let me out of the amulet for a minute. I'll take a look."
Lao did just that as he outstretched an arm while allowing Liu's green spirit to be unleashed. His body looked the same, except it was all outlined in the lime hue. He floated over to the plateau in which he saw a depression. In it, there looked to be the same training grounds as in the Academy! Rows of monks were following an instructor, though they were in unison and were learning an unusual method...
"Of course...! They're learning how to fight in the Mantis style!"
"Mantis!? I-I hadn't done this technique in so long. This form of kombat was introduced by Wang Lang in the Ming Dynasty, back in 1600."
Liu nodded with a grin, "Yes. He mimicked a green praying mantis fighting a cicada. It was a very swift and effective technique!" His spirit descended back to the island in the epicenter of the endless void. "Kung Lao. You need to remember and master each technique. The Mantis fighting style is known for its quick and accurate attacks. This can help us against the Deadly Alliance. Strike me with your basic Mantis attacks."
He commandeered Lao to perform the Drilling Punch, which was a move impaling the chest. The Double Mantis Strike made Lao raise his tight fists and slam them both down onto his enemy, the Leg Sprouting Kick had Lao knee the neck and outstretch the same leg, and the Chest Piercing Kick was a direct blow toward the stomach. Lao at first felt skeptical on trying to hit a spirit, but he didn't have a choice to question Liu's logic, nor the time.
"Seems its coming back to you." He looked over the monks again and he gave his observation to his new disciple. "The Mantis Single Leg Soaring Kick is a pop-up hit that allows the attacker to repeatedly strike his opponent before he hits the ground. Attack me with the Mantis Single Leg Soaring Kick."
It was sort of like the uppercut, which aimed vertically to the neck, making Liu's spirit get tossed and dropped to the ground. Lao did it once as a warmup, then Liu urged him to juggle the opponent multiple times. Still, it didn't leave a blemish on the spirit.
"Excellent! You have done well. Now you must learn the Mantis low attacks and sweeps. Use them to keep your opponent on the defensive. You must perform the Seven Star Hit, Toppling Kick, Ward Off Punch, Low Thrusting Palm and Leg Squatting Kick. Try attacking your opponent with Mantis low attacks and sweeps."
The Seven Star Hit seemed to be two fingers in one hand poking the stomach, while the other hand used all five to hit it. The Toppling Kick was like a side kick making the opponent drop, the third technique was like a swift move to the sore gut, and the low thrust was just basically an open hand into the torso, followed by the sweeping trip!
As soon as he succeeded, a landform began to enlarge and connect to the other distant precipice! Kung Lao ran across it, and the spirit of Liu Kang followed close behind while he hovered. The training ground that the Shaolin saw was gone, yet still there was another cliff in the distance.
Liu Kang simply repeated the procedure, "Your next lessons will be to learn another one of your martial arts fighting styles. You do recall the Shaolin Fist. Right...?"
Lao nodded. His pose wasn't as basic as before. Instead, one arm was raised and curled back, while the other curled downward. His left leg seemed to be more forward than the right, with his knee bent.
"Around the year 539 AD, a holy man named Ta Mo developed an exercise program for his fellow monks. The program included several Indian fighting techniques. But over time, this exercise program grew into a Kung Fu fighting style. Now you must learn the Roundhouse Strike, Attack the Heart, Curved Hook Punch, Backfist Strike and Front Kick."
The slightly bent knee was raised, and the foot stuck thru the air. The raised right arm aimed for Liu's heart and made a direct vertical hit. With the same curved arm, he aimed and lunged a punch to the upper chest. It was obvious as Lao used his right hand as he struck with the rear, then he was able to grab the ghost which made the spirit lower enough to make his mark with a direct kick.
Liu backed away a tad, but he just shook off the clenching blows. "Like any great structure, fighting skill is built brick by brick. You must first learn these basic Shaolin attacks before continuing further."
Another landform was forged, and they reached the next plateau. Lao picked up a very familiar weapon. He recognized it as the Broadsword. He remembered training in the broadsword technique since his early teen years, though he was a tad rusty; ironically, the blade itself was still as shiny as ever.
Liu spoke, "The Broadsword is known as the arm of foot soldiers and Manchurian officials. It is categorized as a short weapon and is designed for slashing rather than thrusting."
With some fragments flashing in his mind performing all kinds of deadly techniques, Lao recalled the Cross Cutting Slash, Twisting Body Strike, Crushing Side Slash, Rising Slash, Half Moon Slash
Just like an uppercut, he sliced upward. Then, he sliced down, twirled as he jumped, and struck from airborne again. The side swipe was a piece of cake, the forceful ascension started from the bottom to the top which caused the body to rise and fall. And some quick swipes in a vertical arch were performed. He also remembered some low stabs toward the torso and legs, while making a spinning strike as well!
Kung Lao had also mastered the ability to Impale his Broadsword into an opponent to slowly drain his life force. Once lodged into an opponent, his blade cannot be removed.
In a flashback, he did the same thing with Baraka, twice, back in the Soul Tombs a few years back...
Lao just simply wound up like a pitcher preparing a strategic throw and tossed in the blade, making it stuck within Liu's ghostly chest! At first, he was terrified, but the monk just laughed it off!
"Heh! You really think that's going to hurt a spirit!? I don't feel a thing!" He tugged it out and threw it up for Lao to catch the handle.
Lao and Liu then heard some vehement, muffled voices. They seemed to grow and weaken in decibels, but it was just enough for Liu Kang to recognize. "That's Master Raiden! We must go!" His best friend took his hand, and then a white light illuminated the plane, blinding their vision.
Sure enough, it was him. And the first thing Lao noticed was firm grips on his shoulders while giving his body a shake. His sight cleared slowly, and indeed it was his mentor. "Unh...Raiden." He wiped his eyes clean, and Lao was surprised it was already daylight! Thankfully, the landscape was in color again, with a robin egg blue sky, the grey ocean and the amber rubble with the evergreen palms. He let out a slight grin, relieved for once he was back on the realms of the living instead of being in that dead plane of existence.
"It seems you've come to. You were out of it for several hours, and it was hard for me to awaken you. You're lucky I didn't have to use an electroshock onto you." The Thunder God smirked; Lao just shook his head.
Aiko was just as relieved, "Thank goodness you didn't have to...! I'd seen those horrid films in a psych ward before."
"It's about time you have awakened." Nightwolf added. "Raiden was explaining the Deadly Alliance had escaped from the Netherrealm while betraying Moloch and Drahmin."
"Who...?"
"Isn't Moloch like a demon, like a very skilled warlord of sorts...?" The name seemed vaguely familiar to the cardiokinetic...
"Moloch and Drahmin had also escaped. Into Outworld, near the Living Forest. I fear the worst for those vulnerable Zaterrans..." Some terrifying images flashed thru the electromancer's mind, from evacuating the endangered Saurians thru a portal to another world of swampy, abandoned ruins, to watching Earthrealm be hit by an asteroid which was a fallen God during the first insurrection of Shinnok... He soon regained his words, "Without Liu Kang's spirit like Shang Tsung desired, their plans had been grinded to a crawl... With the demon sorcerer's mastery in necromancy, it will not take long for him and Quan Chi to establish their evil plot in Outworld."
"It actually has been a decade in the Netherrealm, though it seems to be one year in Earthrealm." It didn't seem very perplexing to the shaman. This statement tugged a memory in Lao's head when Jax was discussing with him deep in the Foundry.
"How long have you been here?"
"I do not know. Time is different in this realm. Feels like weeks."
The Thunder God's words interrupted Lao's reverie, "As an Elder God, I was able to observe Outworld while also maintaining my abilities; however, I could not intervene... Therefore, I sensed the two sorcerers escape a portal from the Netherrealm, while also taking a vessel known as the Nethership in between realms." Remembering Shang's services to Kahn, the Palace became operational, and their purpose was to house many souls...
Kung Lao wondered if Shang was so desperate to become the next ruler and expand Outworld over Edenia with another fatal Mortal Kombat tournament, like the one that was housed here. But, Raiden stated, that wasn't his purpose. Instead, the duo desired to awaken the mummified members of the undead serving the ominous Dragon King, Onaga. This brutal serpent was foreign to each of the mortals.
The heroes took a minute to ponder all this creepy information. Aiko then chimed in that Nightwolf should volunteer for his pet, Kiba, to detect those who're real, like a sort of soul smelling detector.
Raiden remarked, "Excellent idea, Aiko!" Considering he smelt Lao's disguise which led the Matokan to the Deadly Alliance's ambush.
This made her eyes light up! As did a distant, neon shade which brightened the onlookers' faces. They braced for the worst until their eyes made out a skinny figure in a ponytail which was within five feet, and a broader figure beside her that was several inches taller with a flat head. As the rip closed, the quartet made out Sonya and Johnny! They greeted the duo, as did Kiba who ran up to them, sniffed, and licked the female Special Forces agent several times! He then smelt the male agent's feet, in which there was no disquietude. "Hey, wolfie. How you doing?" he said as he petted him.
Sonya and Johnny approached the quartet and briefly recapped the events leading up to Liu Kang's death... Both agents sympathized, though they were grateful, and shocked that the heroes had his spirit talking inside the dragon head Raiden created.
"As if things can't get any more stranger...!" Johnny commented.
"Not unless I am willing to possess your body!" That shut the foolish boy up!
"Johnny here took on as a Bollywood actor part-time, but he still stayed within the Special Forces. They were making an alias for him."
"Those bastards never believed in resurrection anyway."
"Right. Oh! I forgot to mention something!" Sonya took out a shiny diamond ring from her breast pocket! "We'd been engaged! And so was Jax with his girlfriend, Vera. Though the relationship's albeit distant with the OIA and all."
Aiko became giddy with the news! "You're engaged!? Guys that's great!"
Sonya rubbed the back of her neck, "Yeah...but, things just went awry as we lost contact with our men. I think Jax, Cyrax and Kenshi may be stranded in Outworld.
"And it all started, with a betrayal...!"
Sonya and Johnny with several officers were at their technological base, and the general was frustrated on calling Jax! She always wound up with no signal, after she received a mechanical interference which affected all of their equipment.
She suddenly received a call on her cellphone, though the tenor made her notice he wasn't her partner at all. "Sonya Blade here."
"Sonya...! Is that you? It's me, Stryker!"
She gasped, "Stryker? Kurtis Stryker!?"
"Yeah, it's been a while."
"I hadn't heard from you in years, what's up?"
"Not too good...!" He paused for a moment. "My best friend, Kabal...he's in pretty rough shape. He's already in critical condition, as if his incinerated face wasn't bad enough...!"
"What happened?"
"Someone stole his hook swords and ran off with them. He was only able to identify the suspect with an artificial heart."
"Artificial heart...? Agh-that's Hsu Hao!" A lightbulb shown, then broke inside her mind!
"Wait, you know this bastard!?"
"Yeah, Hsu Hao went missing for some time. We thought he'd be with Jax and Cyrax as an Outworld scout."
"He was a part of the Special Forces...? Jesus... This is heavy. Kabal also identified an encrusted mark of a red dragon on his arm."
"Red dragon... THE Red Dragons! I thought they were dead like the Black Dragons! The latter is a crime syndicate that broke off from the former organization. Rumor has it the Red Dragons were too cruel to its subordinates."
Stryker exasperated, "First Kano and now this...? We weren't able to catch the suspect. I had to stick with Kabal. But, if he has connections to the Special Forces, you best stay alert. He can be after you."
"I'll keep that in mind, Stryker. I hope for you and Kabal to make it thru this ordeal. I'll alert my squad members, Sonya out!"
Upon the incident of an agent turning rogue, Sonya and Johnny didn't hesitate. They were on the case as they flew to New York. Following the signal of Stryker's call from a distant hospital, they landed within the vicinity of the streets that were once occupied by the rise of Shao Kahn's Fortress. This area even tugged lost memories from Sonya herself. With that sudden flashback, she suspected Hsu to be close, "Where is Aiko when we need her...?" she muttered.
They scanned the area for the betrayer, only to notice a whirring noise.
Johnny's ears perked up and noticed a pair of twin-handled blades shaped like hooks! "Hook swords.? Incoming!"
Sonya almost instantly spotted the enemy! She backflipped which made the intruder tumble after his aerial dive. She made out a slender man wearing a green army hat and metallic straps that seem to connect to his...glowing heart implant! "Hsu Hao...?"
"Long time no see, princess!" She could've sworn he started to ogle her.
"Hey!" Johnny immediately came to the defensive. "You betrayed your own men! What the hell is wrong with you!?"
"I only allied myself with the Special Forces to rid of the Black Dragons! Virtually, you had succeeded since they died off with the likes of Kano and Jarek! It was just a favorable deed for my true allies, Mavado would be pleased!"
"Hsu Hao...? You were a trusted, honorable soldier. What're you doing...?" Sonya was still stupefied. Yet, Johnny countered with a Shadow Kick cancelling Hsu Hao's dash kick!
The shady antihero went into the fray with his emerald aura abilities, including his lunge, kicks, and green fireballs.
Hsu Hao kept firing a large, crimson laser a lot which was precise and also deadly! Johnny could've sworn it was capable on giving him a rush of heat! With the same gizmo pulsing, Hsu let out a warcry which he sworn was similar to Shao Kahn's and he soon noticed he became more reckless than before! He kept avoiding Hsu's physical prowess, assuming his chest plate was a power source. Cage seemed to almost be like a glass cannon, as his muscles became sore by each blow! Hsu's army boots were just as merciless, especially with spikes underneath. While keeping his distance, Cage evaded his claps which generated a spiral of wind toward him. One gust connected, making him lose his balance.
After what seemed like almost ten minutes, a skinny tornado touched down onto the former agent! This literally took him off his feet and tossed him into a nearby dumpster, in which the impact closed the lid and made it jiggle!
A tall elderly man with a long, white ponytail emerged and blew on his finger, "Still needs some more practice."
"Fujin!" Sonya met up with the pair.
"Long time no see. I was hoping circumstances would be less inconvenient with that roach crawling around."
"Hadn't seen you in a while," replied Johnny.
"Yes, you too. But we have no time for introductions. Your mission is about to change its trajectory."
"What is it..? Hsu Hao wounded Kabal and betrayed my team." Sonya recapped.
"It gets even more worse. Liu Kang..." He sulked as his shut his eyes. "He has been slaughtered by Shang Tsung."
The two could've sworn their hearts skipped a beat. "That scary son of a bitch is back!?" Johnny broke the silence.
"Indeed, but...Liu Kang is partially dead. At least for the moment. His soul was saved by my brother. Raiden was inspired by our arch enemy, Shinnok, thus he created a dragon amulet in case the inevitable should happen. As if it wasn't bad enough losing and resurrecting you already," he mentioned to Johnny, who wrinkled his face. "Took two years, after all. Not so easy when reconstructuring from a decapitation."
"Where is Raiden now?" Sonya chimed in.
"He, Liu, Kung Lao, Aiko and Nightwolf are at Shang Tsung's Island. I'd been assigned to recruit our distant allies there."
"Hold up. Wasn't that island destroyed after it sunk into the sea?" Cage queried.
"After the first tournament? Not really, though there's not much left excepting a humongous pile of rubble.
"My brother needed to relinquish his status as an Elder God while this was going on. They weren't very pleased with his sudden desertion."
"Yeah, even in the military, you can't relieve your line of duty unless you'd been honorably discharged." Sonya said.
"In any case, I'll conjure a portal taking you there. And if my assumptions are correct, I think your narc would be working for the Deadly Alliance anyway. After 500 years, it has been reforged. Quan Chi is aiding Shang too."
"That bald monster too!?" Cage stated in disbelief.
"This is bad...with them working together." Sonya shared with her fiancé's angsts.
"I still need to find the other Kombatants. We must hurry!" He built energy to create another funnel forming a rip several inches away. The beach was projecting thru it. "Go! Straight ahead is the rendezvous point. Our mission has dealt with a more greater threat. Run along!"
"Well, it's all or nothing. Another Mortal Kombat, I guess." Johnny faced Sonya.
"Our friends need us, as does Master Raiden. That's more than enough."
The couple nodded before they ran into the portal; it closed after it was breached.
"I hope it's not too late already..." He looked into the sky before he dissipated with a gust of wind.
"Fujin may be correct, Sonya. Hsu Hao can just be another crony for the sorcerers' machinations."
"We never heard from the Outworlder Investigation Agency since. I'm beginning to feel the worst for Jax, Kenshi and Cyrax."
"We will approach Outworld shortly, for now though, my brother has his hands full."
Nightwolf wished he would have his equipment ready to detect oncoming rips, since the shapeshifter was still at large and was willing to make another swift move disguised as another acquaintance.
"Kung Lao still needs to train himself housing Liu Kang's spirit."
"Housing it!? As in... possession!?" Cage was flabbergasted.
"Can it get any worse..." Sonya shook her head.
"He still has a long way to go." He faced Lao who was sparring in midair, holding a thick branch and wielding it like a sword. "If we see any more rips, more warriors will follow. Hanzo, Kuai and others shall join us soon."
"At least we still have Liu's soul, away from Shang Tsung, unlike what he did to Art." Johnny's mind flashed back to that incident when he lost against Goro, and the war became grim till Cage made that infamous nutcracker!
In his native tongue, Raiden prayed for Fujin to shake a leg even though only several hours had passed, and the sun climbed to a high noon.
A/N: Kontent Stage, just like in the Konquest mode will play first while Lao and Liu explore the subconscious. I couldn't find what I wanted for Lao going thru lesson by lesson with Liu's spirit, the Ice Sector from Code Lyoko: Fall of XANA. Instead, I kind of resorted from the second song in the OST; it played nearly the whole thing, yet some songs were missing! Long Flashback from DBZ would sound as Sonya recaps the unfortunate betrayal and Kabal and Stryker's assault. Lastly shall be Megaframe from the ReBoot Unofficial Soundtrack.
For this fic, Sonya has returned, as did Fujin and Johnny, but I'm going to use her actress and her attire from Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. Aside from Olivia from Defenders of the Realm, and Bridgette from the first film, I find Sandra to be just as iconic. Didn't like her 3D render in Alliance very much... I also wanted her to be engaged with Johnny, as they're one step closer to giving birth to Cassie, as is Jax involving Jacqui! They won't have much time to settle with the Deadly Alliance around, which I'd made a brief reference to Conquest. They may soon go thru a power struggle, who knows.
Kung Lao's training sessions were the most difficult scenes I needed to write! I didn't like doing it, especially when referring to his own Konquest Mode! There were so many moves to highlight amongst his 3 Fighting Styles! It was pure torture! Although, the scene inspired from Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series was more comforting; when Mantis merged with Peter's mind to find his broken team by exploring his emotions associated with them. Hey, since Liu kept merging with Lao, and since their minds must work in sync, why not?
I can agree with one of the creators, John Vogel, who really despises Hsu Hao despite him being a popular choice for Alliance. I don't blame you as he became a scrappy later on! I never found the Red Dragons to begin with, nor the Black Dragons, like Ian in 616Entertainment, but utilizing his artificial heart was fascinating!
So, Fujin is still on the hunt for more allies. Will he succeed and would the team be recruited in time?
