Raiden shifted behin dShujinko, who had pushed through the group when Sindel fell to the Earth, and pulled a dagger hidden beneath his white robes to cut his throat and let the blood spill out like a great fountain.

Shujinko turned, hands on the blood that now stained Raiden's face and white cloth, shock burrowed into the depths of his eyes. Raiden kicked the Earthrealmer to the sand and watched as three Kamidogu fell from the satchel that dropped loose in the motion.

"Onaga will never return!" He promised as his right foot came down on Shujinko's skull.

Before Kitana could reach Sindel's body, and meet D'Vorah in combat, the hooded figures, Chameleon, Quan Chi, and the assassins Kia and Jataaka were swept from the ground with the force of a hurricane as Fujin and Liu Kang crashed into them. The lifeless body would not respond to the tears that mixed with blood and dirt. In that moment of grief, Kitana knew should be protected by her Shokan. Goro and Sheeva rushed by her as Baraka split off to meet Kung Lao in battle, Bo' Rai Cho split to chase down Shang Tsung across the field.

With red in her eyes and fire in her veins, Kitana looked up at the whirlwind of destruction that was D'Vorah who had swirled up in a cackle and nose dive down at her. She came down fast, but Kitana would break her with her fans that pulled from Fujin's wind. Before she could hit the bottom, D'Vorah found herself back at the top of this slide and thrust out from the center of the field.

Shao Kahn swung his hammer with glee as Kotal's forces met him in battle. The two Kahn's unable to rise above the other as hammer struck sword, but Jade was the equalizer for Kotal. She struck the former Kahnum of Outworld in the ribs from behind with her staff and then planted it firmly into the ground to use as a pole vault that would throw Shao Kahn into Kotal's blade, if it had all worked out that way.

Shao Kahn dodged the kick and used her momentum to swing her into the earth just as the sword came down into the sand where he once stood. He reached for Kotal's arm, hooked him in close and used that metal helm to bash his opponent's head back.

As Kotal staggered, Shao Kahn, hammer still in hand, swung it down on Jade's skull.

The splatter blinded Kotal Kahn, both in sight, and with rage.

Shards of bone and brain smacked Mileena across the face. She wiped herself clean as Skarlet rushed off to meet Bo' Rai Cho in combat. Left alone, her tarkatan teeth bared. She had her own enemy to take care of in this chaos, but little to her knowledge, he had already found her.

She felt a coldness sweep her off her feet and wrap itself around her. It felt like bony fingers tried to dig into her body from her shoulders, ankles, and ribs. When she could see who it was, Shang Tsung had raised her nearly as high in the air as the top of Fujin's tornado that crashed through the throne.

She cried out. Her limbs tried to scratch the air and break free, but even as she saw Skarlet and shared a moment of eye contact, she was not strong enough to resist this magic.

Shang Tsung too noticed Skarlet and tore the child's body from its soul absorbed the ferocity of Mileena's tarkatan blood just as Skarlet's dagger cut into his left, exposed shoulder deep into the muscle and bone.

Across from them, Goro and Sheeva contended with the Centaur Motaro. A great mess of limbs and muscle fought for control over the superiority of species. The centaur felt one of the shokan behind him and kicked her off, as his front was busy with Goro with an exchange of strikes to his equine chest as his hands protected his human segment and struck down at the Prince of Outworld.

Sheeva, not to be struck down by a centaur, rose up and leapt onto the creature.

The crowds cheered as the battle ensued. There may be no love between the enemies on the field, but they were fierce dancers. D'Vorah's swarm swept through the crowds until they too became part of the panic. She flew past the highest pillar and stopped to admire the chaos she had created. Beside her, Havik approved. Unhooded and his robe left to gather in the wind, they scouted their next opponent and as Havik dissipated, D'Vorah swooped down to meet the two Gods on the field.

The Kamidogu crunched under Kung Lao and Baraka's feet, until Kung Lao's body buried them, a hole now sealed his fate. Baraka's spike whipped the blood clean off with a hard jerk that spat across the sand around him, where Havik joined to collect what was left.

The two began to battle over the corpse of the Great Kung Lao. Baraka would stop anyone that had tried to collect those now shattered jewels of destruction. The pieces of Onaga that could end the world should he return. Though Raiden sought this with the death of Shujinko, it did not mean the fight was over. If there was anything left to harvest, he'd stop Havik.

For Kitana.

The Kahn of Outworld stood, the body of her mother now at her feet, and she watched as blood littered her coliseum from the highest seat to the dirt beneath her. Raiden joined her, to check on Sindel, but his kindness was met with her metal.

"You did all of this!" Rage at the edge of her teeth for the former deity. She struck for blood.

Raiden's staff blocked her, but made of wood, it would not survive many strikes from her bladed fan.

"Listen to reason, Kitana!" He tried to rationalize it, but there was too much chaos to think about and defend himself from. "I wish to help you." He found a pause as her fan found itself embedded in the wood.

"Do you, or don't you want to die, Raiden?" She grit her teeth and pulled away from the futile effort of her weapon's trap.

Liu Kang's feet danced on Shao Kahn's chest. The fire that burst between boot and flesh burn across Kitana's scar. He raised his hammer in a futile effort to defend himself, but this only prompted Liu Kang to bounce back and land in stance. The hammer crashed into the earth, just in time for him to punch Skarlet back, who had tried to break into the fight after him. In his mind, he thought of how he'd killer after for that moment of treason.

Shang Tsung bled out not far from them, and Mileena's shriveled corpse just a yard out. Rain aided Skarlet and the two challenged Shang Tsung.

Shao Kahn threw the helm off as blood now clouded his vision. Liu Kang spoke, but in this moment, Shao Kahn could only hear his heart beat and breath.

All of this to come back and he watched Syzoth leap onto Chameleon as the two embroiled in a ferocious power play. Both covered in blood, but Chameleon's wounds seemed worse as the Shao Kahn's agent tore the other Zeterran's jaw off, only to devour in one gulp.

What little success Shao Kahn saw of his combatants, Reiko able to fend off Bo' Rai Cho, and Shang Tsung at war with Rain and Skarlet, he saw defeat as well.

He saw it right in front of him. Having known he walked into this battle unprepared, Liu Kang reminded him with one last strike. A punch that burned around the fire god's knuckles and so fast, Shao Kahn could only watch as Liu Kang's forearm broke through his chest and as quickly as it entered, was pulled free of a nearly cleanly cauterized wound.

He took a moment to stagger, to look down at the mess of his existence, the whole of his destruction.

Liu Kang, still in a defensive stance after the strike, spoke again to Shao Kahn, but now all the Kahnum could here was a low ring in his ears and the crunch of his knees as they struck the sand beneath him, and the hum of existence as it quickly fled from him.

In his last moment, he thought how funny it was that he would have claimed victory over Mortal Kombat had D'Vorah not interfered. Raiden, a mere mortal, would have no chance against a former Kahnum of Outworld.

Liu Kang surveyed the damage and the battle that still raged on. He saw Kitana and Raiden at odds with one another, but their struggle did not seem as severe as the Shokan Prince that could no longer hold back against Motaro. The great centaur reared back on his haunches and prepared to end the rule of the Shokan in Outworld and bring in a new era promised by Kotal Kahn.

As his legs came down, Goro was forced out of the way and the Fire God intervened. The Shokan fell back and caught himself with his lower forearms, but the God struggled to hold up the Centaur.

This was a moment not unnoticed by Kotal Kahn. Liu Kang had chosen his allegiance and it was to Kitana. He charged the field for Liu Kang, even as Sheeva helped the Protector of Earthrealm overcome the weight and strength of the centaur.

"You're souls will be mine!" Shang Tsung spat, one arm slack as the wound inflicted by Skarlet not only bleed, but worked against him. In his leg, a shard of his own blood coagulated into a weapon had been pierced through him.

"Soul Magic is stronger than blood?" She asked, but it was sarcasm. She had him now, and there was no where Shang Tsung could escape. He had killed her sister, born in blood, made of her own blood and flesh. He had to die.

"I'd like to test that theory." Rain added, and began to form from dry air around them a single orb of water that grew and grew, just as Skarlet began to pull Shang Tsung's own blood into another orb.

His last words, "always." A response she would remember as he seemed to age before her, but just as the souls escaped, it blinded the two of them from being able to seem him clearly. He expelled some of his power to disappear into the ether.

"Where is he?" Rain let the water fall as it may, and searched around them, but Skarlet knew better. She didn't respond, only turned away toward the rest of the carnage behind them.

Three bodies littered the field where Earth realm would have stood to watch the final battle between Shao Kahn and Raiden. Kollector pushed aside the corpse of Kung Lao, which was crushed under Baraka's. He grunted, disappointed at what he found. Unable to seek what he thought was worth the sight. He tried to spot a dull brown lump that was Shujinko, there, Kollector hurried over to pull the body away and survey beneath.

"Nothing?" There were no shattered remains of the Kamidogu. Just blood and bone and earth.

"Hold!" A great voice broke the dry spell and filed the coliseum with heat.

The fighters continued their war. Rain and Skarlet had joined Bo' Rai Cho against Quan Chi and the two assassins that had formed a barrier of magic. Skeletons of green energy reached out with swords to kill their enemies, but even they fell as the voice forced all on their feet down to their knees.

"I said Hold!"

Fujin's voice carried over the wind and echoed throughout the coliseum. All of the combatants halted, not by choice, but forced to their knees as the wind knocked them down. The only two standing were the deities Kitana and Liu Kang. She mulled over this moment to strike down Raiden, but Fujin was too near, and Raiden's eyes held too many truths she had yet to learn. As much as she wished to kill him, she was no better than him the same situations he was forced into. Raiden acted out the way he did because he did know what to do, just like her now that she contained his power.

Liu Kang was the first to speak. He noticed Kotal had charged for him, but Fujin's wind prevented it. "Kotal Kahn, I am not your enemy. Our enemies have fallen today!"

"Shao Kahn and Onaga are gone," Raiden added.

"I will not stand as Kitana runs Outworld into the dirt! I will not let Jade death go without vengeance." He roared back and raised his sword to aim across the coliseum toward Kitana as she turned from her ruined throne.

"I will not let a usurper live to rise again!" Kitana responded with equal vitriol. "I will not make the same mistake twice."

The two began to charge across the field, but Fujin had met them with a terrible wind.

"As Protector of the Realms, I will see the fighting end this day."

What was left of the combatants had begun to form into their new groups. Skarlet, Rain, and Syzoth joined behind Kotal Kahn as Raiden, Reiko, and Liu Kang formed behind Kitana. She was the true Kahn of Outworld.

There was no sign of D'Vorah, Quan Chi, and assassins, but there was no time to dwell on that.

A funeral would be had.

For a queen. For the peace between realms.