Con't VI: Moloch and Drahmin

The gang arrived in what seemed to be a massive mausoleum, an aged-old, pyramidal tomb. Aiko and Sonya couldn't help but feel some Egyptian and Aztec vibes as they beheld the volume and archaic decor of this place, even though they knew this colossal settlement was erected way before their own ancient times...

Everyone was startled when they saw the large engraving that looked like Shinnok's Amulet, complete with the elaborate designs, the eerie emerald center and the golden exterior! Only the elemental ninjas found their words.

"That's..." Kuai couldn't finish his sentence.

"The Amulet of Shinnok!" Hanzo exclaimed.

Events from bringing it to the Temple of Elements, and Bi-Han letting Quan Chi attain it several years prior flashed into their minds.

Hanzo was the first to break out of his reverie. "I know the real amulet is safe within the Temple of Elements. Kuai and I helped Raiden to hide it away, thus trapping the fallen Elder God into the Netherrealm. I doubt Quan Chi has it.

But apparently...even the duplicate can do so much..."

They figured it was the key to unlocking immense, ominous power, even when it came to awakening Onaga and his undead army! In which they saw many mummified statues! Everyone was agog as they observed those inanimate abominations! A few stood on the center stage while several columns and rows of them were aligned surrounding the center set piece.

"It's possible they contained the remains, and souls, of the Dragon King's army, loyal warriors locked in their stony prison after they ritualistically committed mass suicide since his death by Shao Kahn." Kitana muttered, remembering her mother's warnings.

Kung Lao said, "Good thing I've the fists of ruin! I shall destroy those pitiful puppets before they would be reanimated again!" The former monk put his dukes up.

The two Edenians spotted the writing on the walls of this tomb as well as on the king's enormous, burgundy sarcophagus. Kitana was the first to decipher it, "It is an ancient Edenian language, I think it was inscribed by Onaga's holy men, to bring back Outworld's long lost ruler from beyond the grave by returning his spirit to his original body." Jade shuttered at the thought.

While the determined leader was shattering the numerous sarcophaguses, along with Hanzo, Kuai and Jax, the women couldn't help but slap their arms and other limbs as flies kept landing on them!

"Where the hell did all these flies come from!?" Aiko said irritatingly!? "Is the Pyramid supposed to be like this!?"

"Ergh, no." Jade answered. "Ironically this place is cooler and right next to the barren Sarna Ruins, which is like my desert's neglected, deadlier next door neighbor!"

"I still don't understand why you own a whole badland!" The shady former celebrity stated in confusion as he was swatting the pests away.

"Kahn granted me this territory for my services as his spy. I don't have much use for it now."

While Kuai was freezing a statue, Hanzo assisted as he swiped with his broadsword or if they used a kick! Even Jax pitched in to destroy the ashen statues to prevent Onaga and his army from resurfacing, while the weaker Kombatants stood guard, only to constantly slap away flies temporarily.

Aiko's heart started to beat more rapidly, and she felt nervous. She frantically looked around to see if anything changed, or if an enemy was approaching. Then, her arms became frigid. She thought it was from the icy air by Sub-Zero's ice blasts, but thru the darkness of the entryway, she noticed the same turquoise eyes pierce thru, the ones that she suspected that followed her thru the empty Forest! She could've sworn she saw a metallic glimmer just a foot above them...

"What the hell-Kung Lao, head's up!" She screeched.

Following her cry, he straightened as he gazed toward the dark entry. He made a reflex tossing his razor-rimmed hat toward that oncoming threat! The beast wasn't suspecting it as the impact cut its face. It recovered and let out a menacing growl as if belonging to a grizzly's... The hat retracted before Lao made out the enemy. It was a brawny, blue-skinned Oni of sorts, but it looked larger and more muscular than the ones they're used to! It was swinging a ball and chain within its left hand! When he emerged, he let out a roar that was louder than a lion's! To Aiko's surprise, his eyes, which turned out to be three after he removed a patch, and fore horns illuminated golden; perhaps the turquoise was the default shade before glowing while he's on the bloody prowl.

After that an array of flies swarmed in! The heroes shielded their eyes and faces; it wasn't painful though irritating! By the time it cleared, they encountered a skinnier demon wearing what seemed like a teal mask with yellow markings and punctures, and he had an iron club mounted on his right hand with a sword protruding from the right backside. The rest of his burnt body nearly matched with his outfit, even his bare feet.

"Those two are no ordinary Onis!" Hanzo warned. "They are Moloch and Drahmin! They're demons straight from the Netherrealm's 5th Circle! I dealt with those ferocious bastards many times and they both rely on anger and malicious strength!" He exasperated, "There's hardly any reprieve when it comes to their turf!"

Kung Lao of all people should know...

Aiko broke the silence, "Who's going to help Hanzo beat these brutes!?"

Jax diverged from the group with his metallic arms spread out. "I'll take on those cursed demons! We don't deal with these bastards often in the OIA!"

The skinny demon said in a gruffy tone, "The OIA, you say? Then you must know of that puny robot's fate."

Sonya gasped, "What have you done with Cyrax!? And with this!?" She lifted the missing arm cannon.

"You'll soon find out after you'll be as mangled as him!" Moloch slurred, as if he was a test subject with a muffled tone.

Jax charged in toward Moloch while Hanzo took on the more agile Drahmin. The formers' muscles clashed with one another, although the OIA agent had the upper hand since his kicks to the Oni's chest were powerful. Hanzo utilized his nimbleness with every blow, making swift moves and avoiding Moloch's indestructible metallic club. They even smashed swords testing their strength and maneuvers, until the brute was bested by his fiery breath! The other Oni then attracted another swarm of flies and unleashed toward the duo! It blinded both men, though Hanzo increased his body temperature and combusted, scurrying the insects away!

During the stun, Jax was knocked down by Moloch's Beast Lord, causing CEO to flip back. He then conjured all his strength and made the ground pound attempting to paralyze the opponent, though it was only a few seconds before he retaliated with his Ground Bash. Jax jumped over the incoming shockwave, as did the unsuspecting spectators.

Scorpion unleashed his fiery breath once more to release his increasing body temperature. This in turn scorched Drahmin's teal mask! Hanzo made a twirl kick to the stunned demon, taking him down!

He then shifted his attention to Moloch; he figured he and Jax would be at a standoff at this rate! He teleported thru the ground while engulfing himself in flames and released his aura via fireball! This caught the demon's attention and Hanzo was prepared for the windup. Moloch threw the ball before he charged again, but the ninja was too quick! He drew out his sword, leapt, spun and sliced the chain in half! Vulnerable, Hanzo impaled Moloch in the chest! He hunched over before Jax laid an aggressive punch!

After a congratulatory handshake, Hanzo simply looked over the fallen furies as he sheathed, "I'd been expecting more from you two Onis! Then again, you're not in Kansas anymore."

Suddenly, Hanzo and Jax were diverted by a forceful whoosh of air! Seconds later, they noticed it was a furious Kung Lao who stormed toward Drahmin, carrying and strangling him as he dragged him to a nearby pole! "What business do you have with the Deadly Alliance?!"

He pressed harder on the demon's windpipe as he struggled to speak, "I only know of Quan Chi! That fugitive betrayed us as he escaped to Outworld...! We wound up in the Forest till we tracked you down...!" Drahmin could only speak for his incoherent partner. Nevertheless, Lao continued to torture him as he never relinquished his lethal grip!

"Either you help us, or you perish! He and Shang Tsung murdered my best friend in cold blood! We will spare your pathetic lives if you wish to assist us."

Drahmin spat to the side, "We have no interest in serving you...!"

"Then maybe I shall remove your placid mask and make you serve us-!"

"Kung Lao, NO!" Hanzo yelled, making the Shaolin hesitate. "Don't remove his mask! That is the Face of Kun-Lo! This allows Drahmin to focus, making his abilities precise. Without it, he'll be more reckless and deadlier than ever! He was once a humanoid before he was casted down by his murderous rampage!"

"Kung Lao, let him go." Liu Kang's voice emitted from the covered dragon amulet. This reluctantly made him release the demon's raspy trachea.

"I have no intention joining you fleshy mortals! You will not succeed against the Deadly Alliance! We were only here to follow to Quan Chi's base of operations and slay him for his treachery. He abandoned us after he promised us cover when he stumbled onto ancient runestones on awakening the Dragon King...! We are as desperate as you are stopping him. But as matters stand, you all weaklings will fail!"

That made Lao make his fists clench! "Enough!" He used his free hand to sock Drahmin, only to meet limestone, making it crumble!

He immediately turned only to see a wounded Oni hunched beside his bulky partner-in-crime. "I'm done dealing with you! Just wander into the Oni's death trap and watch his diabolical plan unfold!" Both devils vanished in a bloody mist before Lao hit nothing but air!

After a few breaths, he retorted, "I can't believe I missed!"

Hanzo just sulked and sighed, "...This won't be the last time we'll see those burdensome beasts. They are incredibly persistent, and if I'm right, they must be heading straight to Moloch's Lair, a subterranean terrain."

"And they had a scrimmage with Cyrax." Sonya reminded the team holding his missing arm cannon. "Where to, Nightwolf?"

The navigator closed his eyes as he elongated an arm, sensing the source of the Alliance's unholy auras. "It's still up ahead to the northwest."

Jade exasperated, "Figures. We will need to traverse thru the Sarna Ruins. We must stay together no matter what should happen; the Tarkatans must've gathered at the same place. I am baffled we haven't spotted them in the Wastelands yet..."

"Doesn't this place lead to the chamber of the spiked wheel...?" Lao was lost in thought.

"That's a different direction, Kung Lao." Kitana clarified. "We won't have to go over the Blood Sea this time." For some reason this gave all the heroes comfort. "We're heading north to northwest, so the Ruins is our next destination." She paused for a moment. "Has everyone destroyed the leftover sarcophaguses?" Everyone confirmed as they noticed the area was completely cleaned out. Especially all those endless clusters.

Lao readjusted his hat. "Let's go." The group left the forsaken Lost Tomb without hesitation.

A/N: This was hard to write! I wasn't familiar at all when it came to the Oni duo! Trio if you count Quan Chi, believe it or not. Moloch and Drahmin were very tough, even when I had to study their move sets; if you wanna see more, I suggest you watch vids on YT for the extra dingleberries of Konquest Mode, or 616Entertainment's playthroughs. Same deal with Bo' Rai Cho and such! Also, I'm not really into Batman, but I can't help but feel Bane vibes from Batman & Robin considering Moloch; I kinda see him as the lesser cohesive Oni compared to his partner Drahmin, even more klutzy than him.

I really was creeped out as True Underdawg Gaming described each of the most disgusting Kombatants ever, with Drahmin being one of them as he could NEVER stand the irritatingly noisy sounds of the flies attached to him, as well as conjuring them! Pretty much like Beelzebub, the real Lord of the Flies, in those regards! And I hate the movie and novel, by the way...

It too was difficult to find an interesting arena revolving around the battle; had to go thru the list of arenas, and I figured the Lost Tomb was a better fit, which'd lead to the Sarna Ruins, a destination closer to the final goal, Shang's Palace.

Also, it was kind of a struggle involving Shinnok's Amulet considering that if you read my last epic, Quan Chi has the duplicate. And contrary to Deadly Alliance and 4, Scorpion had some readjustments too since he's more humane, thus making him as a sort of informant of the Netherrealm for the team.

Admittedly, I made an error when it came to the turquoise eyes following the heroes; I figured that Moloch has 2 blue eyes, though he has 3 and were golden. I made a last-minute decision that Moloch had an eye patch, probably sharpening his sight, and it'd illuminate gold instead of blue when any enemy should be on the prowl! Drahmin just wouldn't fit well...

Only 2 songs shall sound here, the Dungeon theme from Final Fantasy 2 rearranged in Dissidia Duodecim, and the Lost Tomb from Deadly Alliance. Conveniently, the Tomb and Ruins were the next songs listed in the soundtrack! Hot damn!

Just a little side note, I know the Tag Team Battles were established in the reboot, but if Deadly Alliance were to be more story-driven, it should have kombats like this; two heroes vs. two villains and switch periodically. At first, I thought those were like the Endurance Levels in the og MK (preferably the SNES version), but they seem more advanced and convenient than them! I'm very impressed, and I wish that Nether Realm would use this awesome feature in MK12! This may be 1 thing I like from the reboot, as there hasn't been much at all!

I thought the fists of ruin was a nice touch, as it was created exclusively in Shaolin Monks; reminder of knocking down the walls in Reptile's Lair, breaking thru secrets at the Wu Shi Academy, the Living Forest, and outside the Tower. Nice way to make the sarcophaguses significant.

I figured I should take a breather before moving onto the Sarna Ruins, see you there.