Deep within the earth, dust never settles. Cyrax illuminated the way for those behind him, but he could see perfectly through the heat of the ahead of him. His chest plates parted as four of the Black Dragon charged down the long wide canal all unable to see the saw that awaited them.
Cyrax pressed forward and carved the way for Sub-Zero and Frost behind him.
Deeper within the chamber there were three turns. One where Willy had met Kabal, which lead to a prison cell, the other two lead to a larger meeting room and chamber where the members hid and slept beneath the ground. Here is where the ventilation lead to that Smoke had entered.
Inside the chamber, Kabal armed the hooks he would kill Sonya Blade with. As the mask tightened with aid of younger members Kobra and Kira, as he called them to assist, the room filled from each ventilation point with a thick grey fog.
"Interesting." Kabal paid it no mind and pushed off the two juvenile members of the Black Dragon to join the fight outside the chamber.
Behind them the Lin Kuei fully formed.
Sonya and Kenshi broke down the blockade that had opened into a room hidden away by the bartender. Inside was a modest kitchen with another door on the far right. Sento pulled from a Black Dragon member that had listened to their entry, but would not have the chance to relay the already known to his leader.
In the far right they found a staircase that had been carved into the Earth and spiraled down to the lower channels. Two exits just in case, Sonya kept this in mind, but her main focus was to find Jax.
Cyrax twisted the saw to its flat side and continued to carve past the prison chamber where Sub-Zero and Frost rushed in after Cyrax passed.
A white hot energy burst toward Cyrax and hooked the center of the saw and pulled away to remove it from the hinges. The metal wires and bars that stuck out began to spark in a wide arc as the saw was buried deep into the Earth. Kabal maintained momentum and pivoted to hook Cyrax's left leg and trip the machine, which was the plan, but firmly grounded, the machine was going nowhere.
"Hostile 17, you have been located." Cyrax reached for Kabal, but the Black Dragon leader was too quick. "You are to be killed on sight."
"Funny, same for you." Kabal kicked the metal plates as they closed up, but Cyrax would not budge far. Though fast, he didn't have any super human strength like Jax might. Instead, he used his speed to brush past Cyrax and let the rest of the Black Dragon deal with him.
A whirlwind of dust wafted into into the prison chamber and coated the Lin Kuei inside. They had no certainty of what happened, but by the look of the room as the dust finally settled, only when the door was closed, Jax was no where to be seen.
"Not here." Frost looked for any other opening, any other sign.
Sub-Zero noted the buckets, the mechanical mesh and the devices used to torture Jax. Unable to do anything here, he turned to Frost.
"Let's find him, that's our primary objective."
"After you, Grandmaster."
Out in the channel, there were fewer distractions and more bodies. Cyrax lay up ahead, his saw stuck in bedrock. Sub-Zero guided Frost instead into the other chamber beyond the prison where Smoke had engaged with a red haired and blond members of the Black Dragon, young and desperately losing.
"He's got this." Frost remarked.
Once they delved into the Earth, Sonya and Kenshi pushed forward, clear of the dust far up ahead, and yet to have to climb over the bodies laid out for them by Cyrax.
"Duck!" Kenshi pushed her down, then himself save for Sento that held itself in the air.
Kabal, a spiral of motion jutted from his momentum to swing the hook blades into Sonya's mid length only to find air. The blade responded and stuck down in the diagonal angle to claim the Black Dragon leader, only to find dirt.
"Too slow, eyeballs." Kabal kicked Sonya to the side and swung down with one blade, then with a pivot, turned and came down with the other, but though blind, Kenshi drag stepped back and back until he and Sonya flanked him.
Sonya shot off a round in the dark, stopped inches from Kenshi, who was able to use that small piece of metal to fling into Kabal's shoulder blade. The metallic masked Kabal dropped his right Hook blade and pushed back against the wall.
"Too slow." Kenshi returned.
"Where's Jax?" Sonya held the other arm down and spat.
Those apathetic slits turned toward Sonya and carefully traced her intentions, if she were to kill him it would have already happened. She needed Kabal. Kenshi however had little patience and waved Sento between the two, point aimed between the second and third rib.
"Where is our partner?" Kenshi would only ask once.
Kabal turned toward the blind man, the red fabric wrapped around those closed eyes, he could still feel that glare back down on him.
"Not today, bitch!" As the sword thrust down toward him, he ducked under and raced for the exit. Sonya would chase if she could see him, but the dust that kicked up behind Kabal had blinded her.
Kenshi turned to give chase, but Sonya pulled him back, a firm grip on his shoulder he could sense was not defeat, but urgency.
"Leave him!" Sonya added, "he's here, we'll find him!"
Kenshi nodded and they continued through.
Bound together in ice at their feet, Kobra and Kira were too young for Sub-Zero to allow to be killed. They'd hopefully learn their lesson.
As the three turned for the door, the Earth had sealed them in. No door, no metal or wood. The Earth itself had devoured them from beneath.
"What is this?" Sub-Zero dropped back into a fighting stance with Frost and Smoke but the walls of rock and earth began to close in on them.
Frost backed herself to the wall as the Earth began to reach for them with each step with rough hewn stalagmites. From among them emerged an earth toned beast of a man, Tremor as they called him, and his arms jutted with rocks, flesh as rough as sand, and the ground moved with him toward the three Lin Kuei.
"From beneath you it devours."
Tremor burst into dust and formed into the Earth below him, not dead, but dissipated as Cyrax punted through him. The stalagmites raised higher to cage the cyborg in, but its strength was capable enough to smash them, but not fast enough to break the cage.
"We need to help!" Frost lunged forward and began to freeze the ground around Cyrax, the cage now just ice and dirt for him to smash with ease.
Smoke burst into the form of his name and hovered above them all. As a particle of the dust itself he could trace Tremor's movements, but none could be found as slowly the dust began to settle and his shape reformed, empty handed.
"He's gone." Smoke turned to Sub-Zero who moved with no response toward Cyrax.
"Are you injured?" Cyrax smashed the last jagged point of rock and ice and met Sub-Zero.
"We will handle ourselves. We are Lin Kuei." He pushed beyond the machine.
One glance forced Frost forward, Smoke not far behind. Cyrax beeped, twisted his neck, almost in curiosity and stopped Sub-Zero with a more human voice beneath the digital enhancement of sound.
"I was too." He reminded the Grandmaster.
No response.
There was only one chamber left for them to check. First to the door was the Lin Kuei, then the machine, but no one dared open the metal door until Sonya and Kenshi were present. She broke the circle of comrades and reached for the door.
"Stop!" Cyrax gave her pause, reached out to push his hand before hers.
"Stand down agent Cyrax." Sonya needed to get inside.
"The door is hot." The black mesh covering of his hand melted and sizzled as he took the brunt for her. The large arch handle that was painfully soldered and with little room to push and pull.
He had to push and budge with great force to enter the room, nearly enough strength to break the metal from the Earth.
Inside, Sonya was quick to enter, gun raised and flashlight aimed at the eyes of two men she immediately spotted inside.
"They're not dead." She relayed as Cyrax and Kenshi entered.
"Not conscious." Cyrax confirmed. "No Face and Jarek, they will be taken prisoner."
"Do it." Sonya nodded and pushed forward.
The metal box of a room was wide and long, but empty save for the two men. The cement ceiling was blackened with the fire of No Face's deadliest weapon, but no Jax.
No monster either.
Outside the chamber, Sub-Zero, Smoke, and Frost looked everywhere they could. Though the channel did travel deeper down, there was a dead end with no further twists or turns.
"Jax!" She screamed and echoed within the chamber.
Nothing.