-Chapter 3: Risky Business
The crackle of electricity resounded throughout the courtyard as Magnus practiced his fighting techniques. Having switched outfits earlier in the day, Magnus was now sporting a much more armored version of his white robes.
In his younger days, Magnus had been sent to the Lin Kuei temple to learn some of the martial arts practiced by Sub-Zero and his clansmen. But in the process he found himself to be a gifted mechanic when he reverse-engineered some parts left over from the cyber initiative to create some additional armor for himself. Sub-Zero had allowed him to keep the armor, as it was not weaponized. He wore it now: matching silver shoulder pieces, arm guards and greaves to compliment his mostly white attire. Raiden always said it made him look more like a warrior, befitting his appearance.
Launching a low leg-sweep, Magnus sprung back up and struck the air with a roundhouse kick. As he returned to a standing position, he threw his hands up with a cry, a burst of small lightning bolts striking the ground all around him. As they faded, Magnus remained still as Raiden entered the courtyard, applauding his work.
"Truly your skills have not faded at all." The thunder god mused. "If anything, I'd say you've improved your skills."
"I took some time to really study my abilities while I was away." Magnus replied. "I can control the charged particles in the air to summon bolts when I need them."
"Have you worked on your ability to teleport and fly?" Raiden wondered, walking up to him.
"Assuming I can in the first place." Magnus sighed. For years he'd been working on being able to replicate Raiden's powers but to no avail. Tentatively calling one the 'staticport', Magnus had attempted to manipulate his electrical charges to move him from point to point. Alas, it seemed to not be working for him. "I'm still working on them." He said.
"Do not give up hope, Magnus." Raiden reassured him, setting a hand on his shoulder. "Continue to train and you will improve as time progresses." Magnus nodded, attempting to pluck up his courage despite the fruitless results he'd gotten over the years. Raiden made to continue. "I've come here to ask something of you, provided you are up to the task."
"Always, Lord Raiden." Magnus responded. "What do you need of me?"
"I need you to go and scout out the Netherrealm. Although I have delivered a stern warning to its new rulers, it concerns me that they might still be plotting against Earthrealm." Raiden informed him. Magnus knew of whom he spoke, Liu Kang and Kitana had once been living people and allies against Shao Kahn, until their deaths by Sindel's hand. Quan Chi had resurrected them and turned them into evil, undead revenants who remained opposed to Raiden and had taken control of the entire Netherrealm.
"Anything specific you want me to look for?"
"Any signs of an army or plans for war." Raiden answered. "If they seek to pursue violence against us, we must stop it before it is unleashed."
"Want me to intervene or anything?" Magnus inquired.
"Only if they engage you first. You are to observe and report, not attack." Raiden instructed. Magnus nodded but still had more questions.
"And if things go sour? You want me to call you or leave or...?" Magnus wondered, hesitant. In response, Raiden drew a small spherical object from within his robes.
"This is a portal stone. All you need to do is think about where you want to go." The god explained. Magnus nodded and tucked it into his own robes.
"Got it. Bail if things get rough." He paused as a thought came to him, one he had been dwelling on for a while now as he had been pouring over a mission of his own. "Do you think it's possible for me to open portals as well?" He asked.
"If you study the correct spells and magics, I have no doubt." Raiden replied. Facing forward, the thunder god projected two bolts of lightning which generated a portal big enough for Magnus to walk through. "Safe journey, Magnus." The young man turned and bowed.
"I'll let you know if I find anything." He said. With that, he turned and walked through the portal.
Stepping clear of the portal, Magnus soon found himself in the fiery hellscape of the Netherrealm. Suffice to say, this place was by no means pleasant. River of lava wound their way across the desolate landscape and thick smoke and dark clouds choked the air. The heat was heavy and the air practically unbreathable.
"Did Lord Raiden send me here because he couldn't handle the heat?" Magnus sarcastically wondered as he took a moment to acclimatize. Travelling from the cloudy and cool Sky Temple to the Netherrealm was like hitting a brick wall, temperature wise. Once he had gotten his bearings, Magnus was quick to determine his next plan of action. Raiden had informed him of two likely locations for where an army or other machinations might be stored: the local fortress which served as Liu and Kitana's palace and Quan Chi's lair, which still contained all of his projects and items of great interest. Perhaps the old sorcerer still kept some doomsday device around. "Best to start with Quan Chi's lair." Magnus surmised. "I'd rather not sneak into a heavily-guarded palace right now."
The young man journeyed through the hellish world, his bright white garb a stark contrast to the demonic and quite frankly evil environment. Hordes of hell beasts flew by overhead, shrieking as they did, and he passed row upon row of spiked spires lined with impaled corpses. In the distance, dark and foul creatures stood perched on distant outcrops, reminding him that he was a long way from home and would find no friendly faces here. This spurred him on, determined to complete his assignment and then get the hell out of here before he was forced to deal with the Netherrealm's supernatural hordes.
How could anybody call this place home? Quan Chi must've been one depraved bastard...
Finally arriving at the entrance to the sorcerer's lair, Magnus found himself facing a couple of demon guards, clad in heavy armor and carrying jagged, wicked-looking spears. They took sight of him quickly, before Magnus had a chance to hide. With snarling growls they advanced, speartips pointed in his direction. "I'm guessing it's too late to say 'take me to your leader'?" Magnus wondered with a half-smirk. The guards said nothing. "Right. Strong and silent type, good to know." The electromancer mused, electricity crackling between his fingers. The closest guard lunged at him, spear pointed at his chest. Magnus was quick to sidestep and take hold of the guard's weapon, wrenching it out of his hands and spinning it around, driving the spearhead right through the guard's abdomen with a splash of blood. Magnus then summoned his powers and channeled a burst of electrical energy through the conductive metal of the spear, electrocuting the guard inside and out. The guard slumping over and falling to the ground, more dead than alive, Magnus set his sights on the second guard. This one opted to not charge, learning from his ally's mistake, and moved to slice through Magnus. But Magnus sidestepped again and rushed ahead to deliver a leaping punch that cracked the guard across the head. Dazed and stunned, the guard clutched his head just as Magnus kicked him from behind, boot colliding with the back of his head. As the guard lurched forward, Magnus launched a dropkick that connected with the guard's spine, cracking it loudly as he collapsed to the ground. Back on his feet, Magnus grabbed his discarded spear and plunged it through the guard's back, pinning him to the ground. "For good measure." He mused, dusting off his hands. "Now where was I...?" Turning around, Magnus entered the lair.
The place Quan Chi called home is wasn't much of a home if you had to ask Magnus. All of the sorcerer's possessions brought with it a sinister air. Even though Quan Chi was dead, courtesy or Hanzo Hasashi AKA Scorpion of the Shirai Ryu, something about all of his stuff resting in perfect order might lead one to suspect that he was still alive. Magnus knew otherwise and simply looked with distaste at all the occultish objects and materials laying around. "This freak had an odd sense of fashion... some of this you can hardly call decor." He muttered, eyeing a candle stick shaped like a skull and spine. "Good thing I'm not here to appraise this place." While he knew of his mission, Magnus was seeking for something concerning his own ambitions. He knew of great and powerful magical artifacts that were capable of many feats, including restoring the dead to life, and he hoped that Quan Chi might have such a tool lying around. As he ventured deeper into the lair, Magnus soon became acutely aware of the fact that he was not alone. His senses detected a disturbance in the particles of the air somewhere behind him, intensifying with each passing second and he sidestepped just as a smoke bomb whizzed past his head and exploded in a column of gray in front of him. Turning around, Magnus found himself staring at a figure clad in black and gray ninja attire. His yellowed eyes indicated he was a revenant and not a friendly being. However, Magnus knew his history, courtesy of Raiden's teachings, and recognized the man. "Smoke, isn't it?" He wondered aloud, trying to play nonchalant.
"Smoke is dead." The black and gray warrior replied. "I am Enenra." Magnus would've begged to differ, as the typhokinetic ninja still looked very much like his old self. But he knew that the transformation from life to death brought with it a change in personality. Smoke wasn't who he once had been.
"Right... regardless of who you are, I'm not here to fight." Magnus informed him.
"You are trespassing here, unwelcome and uninvited." Enenra stated, advancing towards him, fists cloaked with a smoky aura. "Such actions invite confrontation."
"Okay... but you brought this on yourself." Magnus cautioned as he put up his fists, feeling electricity ripple through his body.
"Defeat will temper your arrogance." Enenra shot back as he also assumed a fighting stance. The ninja did not attack immediately, giving Magnus a moment to study his foe. As a typhokinetic, Enenra could use his abilities to, largely, teleport himself and others. But his ability to conjure and manipulate raw smoke meant that he could potentially kill Magnus through forced-inhalation, taking him down from the inside out. But, as history had proven, Smoke had consistently relied on his knowledge and mastery of Lin Kuei martial arts in battle over his abilities, meaning Magnus would have to overpower him instead of avoid him. Now he just needed Enenra to throw the first punch. He didn't have to wait long, Enenra leaping up to execute a dive-kick which forced Magnus to backflip away. Charging up his fist with electrical energy, Magnus thrust his fist forward as he landed, delivering a burst of lightning towards the ninja. However, Enenra disappeared in a plume of smoke, teleporting behind Magnus. He attacked quickly and scored a lucky kick right to Magnus' back. Flung forward and onto his face with a cry, Magnus rolled over before Enenra could deliver another blow to his exposed back. Jumping to his feet, the young electromancer snapped up his arm and parried an incoming punch from Enenra. Raising his leg in time to block and incoming kick, Magnus struck back with a pair of quick, electrified jabs that caught Enenra on the chin. The staggered ninja was quick to regain his senses, however, and struck back with a burst of smoke that passed through Magnus, resulting in a very unpleasant sensation. Stunned and feeling like he'd smoked a whole pack of cigarettes, Magnus was left unable to defend against Enenra's kick to his chest. Rolling back to his feet and shaking off the blow, Magnus shot two bolts of lightning at his quarry, only for Enenra to dodge them both and then cloak himself using a smokescreen. Rising, Magnus put up his fists and focused, concentrating on the charged particles in the air. If Enenra planned to do anything crazy, he'd be able to sense it first and respond accordingly. But Enenra did not go for anything wild or crazy and chose to slug Magnus across the face a couple times. Recoiling from the blows, Magnus was frustrated with being unable to hit back and realized he would have to outsmart his foe and fight this battle another way.
Controlling the electricity rippling through him, Magnus surrounded himself with a field of static energy. The next punch thrown by Enenra resulted in a burst of electrical feedback that both shocked him and revealed his location, which happened to be behind Magnus. The electromancer turned and delivered a hook kick that clubbed the ninja across the head. Creating lightning out of the charged particles in the air, Magnus repeated shocked the ninja with a barrage of raw electricity, opening him up for Magnus to punch him across the face and deliver three blows to his gut before he grabbed hold of Enenra and electrocuted him via the power coursing through his hands. Crying out in pain, the typhokinetic ninja was kicked away from Magnus and tumbled head over heels across the ground. Ready to go another round, Magnus put up his fists and waited for Enenra to get back up. But instead of rising, Enenra looked up with a different plan in mind. Flicking out his hand, a burst of smoke hit Magnus square in the face. The burning sensation hit Magnus hard, his eyes watering and stinging from the burst of hot and heavy smoke. Temporarily blinded, Magnus stumbled back as Enenra got to his feet, rushing ahead and leaping into the air. Magnus recovered just in time to see him jump and knew he needed to act. Quickly recognizing that his arc would place Enenra right on top of him, Magnus generated a bundle of lightning and lept back, leaving Enenra with no body to hit but a nasty electrical trap instead. Connecting, the ball of electricity shocked the ninja's entire body, stunning him long enough for Magnus to summon a powerful bolt of lightning that struck him in the back and laid Enenra out flat on the ground. As he made to rise, Enenra looked up just in time to see Magnus' boot coming straight at him. His foot collided, kicking the ninja square in the face, his skull shattering on impact. Knocked out cold by the assault, Enenra fell back to the ground again, down for the count. Realizing this, Magnus relaxed and straightened up.
"That wasn't arrogance... that was fact." He mused, eyeing the defeated ninja. Enenra did not move and remained where he lay. "Now what's a revenant doing here?" Magnus wondered aloud. Turning around, Magnus surveyed the room they were in to see if there was anything important for him to disturb. Presently, there was none, maybe elsewhere though. "There has to be a reason." He surmised, choosing to move on before Enenra woke up. As he did, he heard a very faint whisper. Magnus stopped and looked around. There was no one around him, nothing that this low and quiet voice could be linked to. Taking a few hesitant steps in one direction, he heard the voice grow louder, which led him to believe he could find the source as long as he listened. He started moving quicker, following the voices through the winding corridors of Quan Chi's lair. Magnus wasn't quite sure how he could hear them, but assumed it had something to do with his electromancing powers.
Upon entering another room, this one containing many artifacts imbued with powers and branded with symbols, Magnus stopped as the voices grew in volume and number. Now it sounded like a small multitude of ethereal voices were calling out to him. But from where? Magnus knew he had to figure this out. Suddenly, an ear-piercing scream forced Magnus to his knees, covering his ears as the ultrasonic assault induced a pain unlike anything he'd ever felt before. Managing a quick glance up, the electromancer realized he was being attacked by the powerful Sindel: former queen of both Edenia and Outworld. Removing one hand, Magnus charged up his fist and slammed it into the ground the wave of electrical energy enough to put Sindel off balance and shut her up for a moment. "Sounding a little flat, there." He quipped, rubbing his ears in pain. "Might wanna take it up an octave."
"You dare mock me?" Sindel retorted. "Such words endanger your pitiful life!"
"Look, I just handed a revenant's ass to him a few minutes ago. I'm pretty used to danger." Magnus replied, limbering up in anticipation of a fight. "What're you doing here, anyway?"
"I could ask the same of you, human. Netherrealm business is none of your concern." Sindel informed him.
"True, but it is my superior's concern." Magnus said, not want to explicitly reference Raiden.
"So you serve another." The revenant mused. "Such loyalty can be easily swayed by the power of death. You will join us and serve the Netherrealm, human... once I kill you!" She spat.
"Yeah, nah, dying isn't on my itinerary for today." Magnus retorted as he took up a fighting stance. Sindel was quick to turn and send her prehensile hair flying towards Magnus, something the white-clad warrior ducked as he delivered a burst of electricity towards his new foe. But Sindel summoned her powers of flight and soared into the air, arcing high over Magnus before she dropped down and unleashed another sonic scream. Magnus was left stunned and in pain, allowing Sindel to perform a midair cartwheel that caught Magnus on the chin and knocked him onto his back. Sindel then dropped down, driving her spiked high heels into his chest. Magnus grunted in pain but quickly took hold of Sindel's boots, delivering an electric shock that forced her off of him. As she fell to her knees, Magnus jumped back to this feet and shrugged off the pain. His hands aglow with surging electrical power, Magnus was powered up and ready to strike. Sindel also got up and lunged at him with an outstretched hand, a chopping motion colliding with Magnus' raised arm. The electromancer struck quickly and rounded a powered blow to Sindel's open torso, followed up with another blow to her abdomen and a powerful left cross smashing into her face. Despite the attack, Sindel's hair whipped around and wrapped around Magnus' left arm, twisting it and bending it backwards. Then, in a surprising display of strength, Sindel swept Magnus' legs out from under him and her hair pitched him over and above her, slamming him into the ground on her opposite side. Recalling her hair, Sindel laughed as Magnus returned to his feet, obviously enjoying the pain she was inflicting upon him.
Magnus, however, was not in a laughing mood.
Bringing his hands close together, the elemental warrior began to generate a ball of electricity and shot it towards her. But Sindel opened her mouth and a burst of concentrated sonic energy flew forward to counter his attack, the two projectiles dissipating on contact. Not to be deterred, Magnus generated a bolt of lightning in his right hand and hurled it towards Sindel. It struck and made contact, staggering the female revenant. Magnus took advantage of the moment and launched himself ahead with his powers, his shoulder slamming into Sindel's gut. He followed it up with a hard left cross that cracked across her jaw. But Sindel was very quick to recover and turned and executed a cartwheel-kick that knocked Magnus flat on his back. Using this to her advantage, Sindel turned with a smirk and used her hair to pick Magnus up, her silver strands wrapping tightly around his throat. Struggling to breath and realizing he was begin choked, Magnus fought to escape this hold. Sindel's back was to him, but she could obviously sense her every move and knew exactly what she was doing.
But not what he was doing.
Mustering enough coherence to form a plan of action, Magnus grabbed her extended locks and delivered an electric burst that shocked Sindel from her head to her feet. Released from her stranglehold and taking a quick gasp of air, Magnus attacked Sindel from behind by delivering a powerful punch right to her spine. The revenant lurched forward and Magnus lept ahead, grabbing the back of her head and slamming her face-first into the ground, cracking a few bones in the process. Rolling to his feet, Magnus turned to see Sindel had been laid out flat, unconscious and no longer a threat. "'Scuse the pun, but that was a hell of a fight." He commented, relaxing. Breathing deeply and dusting himself off, Magnus returned to his senses as the fog of battle dissipated. It was then that the whispers in his head returned, the murmuring throng as strong as it had been before he started fighting Sindel. "Where are you...?" He whispered as he turned and followed what he believed to be the source, the voices growing in strength with every step. They led him to a rack where multiple different artifacts sat clustered together. But one of them, a small, green gem, surrounded by a thin silver casing, glowed as if calling out to him. Magnus could feel the voices intensify as he reached for the jewel. Picking it up in his hands, Magnus suddenly recognized what these voices were and what this was he was holding. "A soul medallion?" He whispered, a little awed by his find. Quan Chi certainly kept his fair share of powerful devices lying around. He'd heard stories from Raiden about the way he carted Shinnok's own amulet about on his belt, until the Elder God was freed. It made sense for him to keep a simple medallion like this, something the likes of Shang Tsung wore as a charm, especially given the kind of magicks that could be unleashed. Souls were a device that the most trained soccer could harness in many ways. Either by taking their energy to empower himself or by restoring them to life or a state of undead, creating an army for them to control. With such a mighty trinket in his hands, a few different thoughts crossed his mind. One of them was that this could be what Sindel and Enenra were looking for. The other was that he now had a the means for his haphazard thought could now become a reality.
Fetching Raiden's seal from within his robes, Magnus established a connection with the thunder god, his visage appearing moments later.
"How do you fare, Magnus Shadrix?" He asked.
"Not bad, could've been worse." Magnus replied. "I'm in Quan Chi's lair and I was attacked by Sindel and Sm-er... Enenra." He answered, correcting himself. "But I can't find anything of value that they might've been guarding." He added, deciding to keep the soul medallion a secret.
"Interesting. Be on your guard, Magnus Shadrix. Defeating Enenra and Sindel will likely draw more attention to yourself than you might like." Raiden cautioned him. Magnus nodded in understanding. "I must go. Sub-Zero has informed me the Lin Kuei have captured a pair of Outworld scouts. I'm off to deal with them." Raiden stated. Magnus shook his head in surprise.
"Scouts? Kotal Kahn is really pressing things." He noted.
"Indeed he is. If he continues such aggressive tactics, Outworld will feel my wrath." Raiden replied, the dark tone returning to his voice. As the communication ended, Magnus sighed and stowed the seal, clutching the medallion tightly. Events seemed to be accelerating now, Kotal Kahn's threat now quite plain. Magnus felt like he should be doing something to help, instead of being here in the Netherrealm.
Then again... maybe he could.
Looking down at the medallion in his hands, Fujin's words echoed in his mind. "Follow your heart." Magnus knew the course of action he could complete... and even if Raiden couldn't see it, it would help him in the end. "I'm doing this for you, Raiden." He whispered with determination. Grasping the medallion with both hands and closing his eyes, Magnus began reciting ancient spells he'd read in the Sky Temple's archives. He was no sorcerer, but he knew his magick. "Shinda tokoro o misete." As he opened his eyes, Magnus realized he could now see a green mist that led him out of Quan Chi's lair...