The Living Forest was one of the most nightmarish places in Outworld. It was filled with trees that could eat you alive, vagabonds willing out to either kill or rob a person, creatures of all kinds of varieties, and so much more worth avoiding it. Yet Reptile, Erron Black, and Sheeva of Kotal Kahn's regime were exploring it, hoping to find something that could save them. That something was the Dragon King's immortal army.

The three of them marched through the forest with caution, with Reptile leading the pack. His reptilian sense of smell was their best bet at possibly finding where this army might lie. It was a long shot, but these were indeed desperate times for all involved. Reptile and the others trekked through the woods cautiously, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious.

"Now jus' how're we 'sposed to find anything out here," a doubt Erron Black asked. Reptile turned around, "Do not doubt my sssenssse of sssmell, if there truly isss sssomething interesssting out here I will find it."

"Then how come you ain't found nothin' out here before, then?"

"It's because nobody was looking for this before," Sheeva interjected, "have patience. We will find something, our realm depends on it."

The mercenary was quick to remind her, "This ain't my realm, only reason I'm here is because Kotal pays well. I might just ask fer a raise 'cause this wasn't in the job description."

"And jussst what did the job dessscription for a job like thisss even sssay," Reptile asked sarcastically. Erron gave a fake chuckle, "That's real funny, scales. So funny I think I might repay ya fer it." He aimed his gun at the Zaterran but Sheeva stood between the arguing villains, "If this continues, I'll put both of you in the ground."

"I was jus' kiddin'," Erron tried to justify but Sheev wasn't having it, "You were aiming at your comrade! That is unacceptable behavior." Erron laughed that off, "I got safety turned on, you ain't got nothin' to worry about!" As he twirled his gun, a shot rang off showing that safety was indeed not on. The Shokan merely glared at the cowboy, her red eyes staring right into his soul. Erron holstered his weapons, "Okay okay, maybe these things don't have safety. Oops?"

Sheeva groaned, "I will ask of you to not speak for the rest of this journey. If you do, I will rip all of your limbs off at once." Erron was taken aback by how sudden that was, "Whoa hey that escalated quickly." Before the two could continue arguing, Reptile motioned for them to become silent. Erron turned his head to him, "What is it?"

"I heard sssomething," Reptile answered, "that gunssshot mussst've alerted sssomeone of our presssence." Sheeva glanced at Erron who turned away when Reptile said that. It did not take long for the others to hear what Reptile heard. They heard stomping deep within the woods. Not only did they hear it, they felt it. The stomping grew louder and the forest shook as it did. Sheeva stood in front of the other two, "Stand behind me."

Reptile and Erron followed, standing behind the Shokan warrior. She stood her ground as she finally got a peek of what was coming to them. It was Goro, the exiled former prince of the Shokan. Yet he had changed. His clothes were rags and his hair was loose instead of being tied up. Lastly and most notably is that he had a long and scraggly beard. Sheeva almost instinctively bowed before him but stopped herself, "My princ—err I mean Goro? What are you doing here?"

"These woods are my territory now," he proclaimed while taking a defensive stance, "you are not permitted here." Erron took aim at the burly beast, "You got a permit, fella?" Sheeva motioned for him to holster his revolver, "We are only looking for something, Goro. Let us look and we will leave you at peace." Goro growled at her, "You lie! You are part of the very same dynasty that had me exiled for not wanting the Shokan to work with Kotal Kahn!"

Sheeva growled back at him, "You should've swallowed your pride if you did not wish to be exiled, then. I am Queen of the Shokan now and as such you should listen to me." Goro scoffed at her, "I was exiled therefore I listen to nobody. Leave these woods now." The three of them stood still, enraging the former prince. He growled and charged at them. Sheeva grappled with him but it was clear that even when he hadn't fought in so long, Goro was still top dog. She struggled against him but that's when Reptile spat acid right in his eyes, temporarily giving Sheeva enough time to shove him away. Erron took over and took potshots at him. The former prince ran at Erron but Reptile lashed out his tongue at Goro's ankle, tripping him up.

Goro attempted to pull himself back up yet Sheeva leapt in the air and landed down on his back. When she landed, he let out a loud yelp as a CRUNCH rang throughout the forest. After that, he lifted himself back up which caused his fellow Shokan to fall off his back. When she fell, the exiled prince picked her back up by the head and slammed her repeatedly into a tree. Erron rolled a sand grenade beneath Goro. It exploded, slipping Goro up while he dropped Sheeva. Reptile leapt up on Goro's chest, hacking acid up on his face. Goro snatched up Reptile's ankles crushing them in his big hands just before tossing him away. He struggled to get back up, but he did. His face was half melted thanks to Reptile's repeated attacks but he's recovered from worse.

Sheeva then took notice to something, "Didn't you lose two of your arms?" Goro nodded, "I did. They got better, though." Erron aimed both of his revolvers at him, "How'd you do that?" He only answered vaguely, "What you're probably looking for helped I imagine."

"How do you know what we're looking for," Sheeva questioned. Goro gave a smug smirk, "It's the only reason worth coming to the Living Forest for these days, unless you want to be slaughtered by Tarkata that is." Reptile got back up, his shattered ankles barely affecting him, "If you lead usss to what we are looking for, we will leave the foressst." Goro shook his head, "That won't do. I want back into the Shokan fold. I tire of this exile."

Reptile turned to Sheeva, the only one who could decide that. She considered it for a solid minute before agreeing, "I shall agree to your terms, Goro. Yet there is one condition, you will accept Kotal Kahn and you will not return to your status as prince. Not until you have earned it." The former prince sighed as he hung his head, "Very well, Sheeva. Follow me."

Erron and Sheeva followed yet Reptile hesitated. He looked around the forest, taking note of the surroundings. He couldn't help but feel he was being watched. He caught up with the others after they called after him. Even still, he could not shake the feeling of being watched.

Elsewhere back in Edenia, things were finally settling down in the Edenian royal palace after the Brotherhood of Shadows' attack on it. Everything was peaceful. Most of the guards were in the infirmary while most others were sleeping which made it a perfect time for D'Vorah to sneak in. She silently hovered in through the window, keeping an eye out for anybody who could be in the hall. Luckily for her, nobody was.

She snuck around, hoping to find Shao Kahn's throne room soon. Luckily for her, she would not have to wait as she found it instantly. He was sleeping in his throne with his hammer by his side. She smiled as a pair of stingers popped out of her wrists, "This should be easy."

Suddenly and unexpectedly, someone dropped down from the ceiling. That someone was Tanya who surprisingly defended the emperor, "What brings you here, traitorous scum?"

"That's ironic coming from you," D'Vorah replied smugly. Tanya sneered, "Because of what you did, it took longer for Edenia to be liberated and it caused a split so it was never truly free." D'Vorah laughed at that, "Is that what this is about? This one cares little for this realm as is only someone else does. The hive only does as he wishes…for now."

"Planning on betraying someone else?"

"Maybe, but that comes later. Now, I'll kill you." Right after saying that, D'Vorah charged at Tanya with her stingers at the ready. Tanya ducked beneath her and did a handstand. D'Vorah charged right into her legs, allowing Tanya to trap her between them. She squeezed as hard as she could yet the Kytinn creature stabbed the vengeful Edenian right in her thigh. Tanya let go of her opponent, backflipping away. D'Vorah took to the air before swooping down at Tanya. Tanya was caught in D'Vorah's grasp quite easily. Various insects began to cover the Edenian woman up as she screamed in terror. It seemed it was hopeless, even if Tanya were able to destroy the body the bugs inside would just be able to escape.

But that's when Tanya figured out what to do. Her hands lit on fire, burning up the insect all around her. The would-be assassin gasped, "The hives' bugs!" Soon the fire spread from the insects to D'Vorah's whole body, causing her to drop Tanya. Tanya landed safely yet the same could not be said for Kytinn who crash landed while still in flames. While her outer shell remained flame proof the insects on the inside could not handle the heat as they burned to a crisp, a fitting death for someone who liked killing people from the inside out. She reached her hand out to Tanya before collapsing. Her insides were all fried except for one bug which tried escaping. It seemed it might've were it not for Shao Kahn's hand, which reached out and squashed the insect.

He laughed as he heard the tiny screech of the little creature. Tanya looked over to her master, bowing before him. Shao Kahn in return clapped slowly, "Impressive, Tanya. I was unsure of your loyalty to me, but I can see you're far more loyal than I could have predicted." The Edenian fighter shook her head, "I am not loyal to you, but I am loyal to Edenia. As of right now, you are what is best for us…even if that would not be the case under most circumstances."

"It's always the case! Shao Kahn knows best," the egotistical leader proclaimed as he picked up D'Vorah's exoskeleton, "I think I'll hang this from my wall. It'll look nice, don't you think?" Tanya nodded in agreement, "Oh yes, it's what she deserves to be remembered as."

Jade, Ermac, and Rain soon walked into the throne room. Ermac asked, "What is the meaning of all this noise?" Tanya explained, "Someone attempted a little assassination attempt. I prevented it." Rain seemed quite pleased by this revelation, "Serves her right I'd say." Jade was rather indifferent to this while Ermac was just glad that his creator was okay, "You are not hurt, are you Lord Kahn?"

"I am just fine, Ermac," Kahn answered. He turned to Ermac, finally taking note of his emaciated appearance while stroking his chin. Ermac cocked his head, "What's the matter?" Shao Kahn shot a blast of green energy into Ermac sending him to the ground. Everyone in the room was shocked by this, especially Jade. What reason would he have to do such a thing to one of his most loyal soldiers? She stared at him with a mix of contempt and horror, "How could you do that?! Have you no heart?!"

Shao Kahn remained silent which only made the concerned Edenian angrier. So much so Tanya and Rain had to restrain her. To her relief, Ermac rose back up from the ground without sustaining injuries. Not only that, but his body was no longer deteriorating. In fact, it was the strongest it had been in years. Surging green energy crackled around his body as he had risen, "We…we are stronger again." The Champion of the Elder Gods smirked at his now stronger minion, "I have restored your old power, Ermac. You may no longer live in fear of your body dying."

He then turned his attention to Jade, "As for you, your attempted attack on me will not go unpunished." Her relief turned to fear as she gulped. Ermac stepped in between him and her, "Wait! She is undeserving of such punishment. She thought you attacked us for no reason. Concern for a fellow comrade is no reason for any punishment."

Kahn growled in frustration, ready to shove Ermac aside to instill his punishment on the Edenian yet something prevented him from doing so. His body remained still when he wanted to move. He thought, "This must be the work of the Elder Gods! They dare prevent me from inflicting the proper punishment?!" He eventually stopped trying leaving Jade as she was, "Very well. I will not punish her, but another slip up will not be tolerated."

The construct of souls actually smiled at this, "This act of kindness will not go unnoticed, our lord." Jade gave a sigh of relief, "Thanks for defending me, Ermac." Ermac thought nothing of it, "You are as much part of this army as we are after all." Shao Kahn grimaced with this, "Everybody return to your posts right now! That's an order!"

All of them obliged, leaving the throne room to leave Shao Kahn be. He returned to his throne with his head resting in his hand. He tapped his foot impatiently while tapping his fingers on his armrest. "Act of kindness? Bah, I don't need any of that to rule. I am Shao Kahn, my name alone should make people obey me," he mumbled to himself. His grimace only hardened the more he thought about it, "This business as the Elder Gods' Champion is worse than I could've imagined! Who are they but mere toothless worms to try and control me like that? How can I rule if I can't punish those who deserve death?" After that, his mind went silent as he fell asleep in his throne again.

Elsewhere in the Netherrealm, Noob was waiting to see D'Vorah was successful in her assassination attempt. A Brotherhood of Shadow cultist bowed before Noob before reporting on what happened to her, "D'Vorah's attempt on Shao Kahn's life did not go so well, master. We lost many men to him and she happened to be one of them. I am sorry." The darkened wraith wasn't angered by this in the slightest, "A significant loss indeed, but I don't think we have much to worry about. I was planning on ending her life as soon as she got back anyhow. Her past shows she cannot be trusted."

The cultist agreed, "Her betrayal of Kotal Kahn shows she lacked loyalty, we could not have that." Noob folded his hands, "Yet we still must find a way to kill Shao Kahn. If he really is the new Champion of the Elder Gods that means he will surely come to shut us down soon. We will find a way, but for now we must work on eliminating the unworthy rulers of this realm."

"But how will we achieve such a thing?"

"Simple," Noob started to explain, "we infiltrate. I will have Enenra head back to them, saying he has broken free of my control. Though they might be 'evil' now, I know there is good in their hearts which is why they're unworthy of the throne. Enenra will claim to have convinced others of our clan to join them too. They will be all too willing to accept them what with their dwindling forces. When all is said and done, there will be only one ruler of the Netherrealm." Enenra marched in, saluting his master. Noob pointed to where Kitana and Liu Kang resided through the window, "Go there. Take the Brotherhood with you. You'll know what to do."

That's when Noob paused, forcing Enenra to come back to him. Noob hopped down from his throne to his loyal minion. He gave him a good look, "Hmph. You don't look like you'd go to them for help just yet." That's when Noob smacked him across the face, Enenra was unfazed by this. Noob continued his beatdown as the other cultists watched. They watched not in horror but with patience. The wraith kicked his knees in causing them to snap, then he bashed Enenra over the head with a loud crack resounding through the room, lastly he twisted his elbow inward which broke his arm .Noob finished his onslaught upon his puppet by throwing a sword straight through his stomach. Again, Enenra stood still as this all happened. Noob nodded as he looked at the beaten down Enenra, "I think that should do." Enenra turned back around to continue on his way out, the sword still in his stomach.

Many cultists followed after him. Noob sat back down on his seat, feeling rather confident in his plan. Would it actually work or would it prove to be a folly plan?

Speaking of Kitana she was conversing with the younger Sub-Zero, Kuai Liang in the dungeon of their tower. He was shackled to the wall and she was standing in front of him.

"We need your help, Kuai," she begged, "your brother is slowly taking away our forces. We need all the help we can get."

Kuai looked away from her, "He is not my brother, not anymore." Kitana sighed, "I know how you feel. I lost someone close to me as well you know." Kuai did not respond. The former princess continued on anyway, "Quan-Chi did something to my best friend…I'm not sure what. He never told me. Each time I asked, he changed the story. I just wish I knew."

"Then why do you continue to do as he would want," the cryomancer asked. Her eyes hardened, "I'm not."

"You're wrong. This endless conflict between this realm and Earthrealm is what Quan-Chi would want."

"I can't change what he turned me into," Kitana tried to justify but Sub-Zero wasn't buying it, "There's still good in you. He's gone now so it's possible to break free. Just like Sareena did." After saying that he held out his hand, "All it takes is a strong will." She looked at his hand, wanting to accept the offer but she stepped away, "No. Liu Kang and I are finally together. I won't ruin it like this." Kuai looked her in her eyes, "But is this how you want to be together? He is not the same, not after his death." She looked away from his gaze, "He has every reason to have changed! What Raiden did to him…what he did to us…"

"He has a right to be mad at the insane thunder god, yes," Sub-Zero agreed, "but he has no reason to want to rule this realm besides spite. And spite justifies nothing."

The former princess felt like a victim for all of her life. She knew Liang was right but she didn't want to admit it for fear of being manipulated, "I am no longer a victim. This suits me, it suits us."

"You say that but deep down you know you're a victim to Liu Kang's manipulation and a victim to Quan Chi's control."

"Liu Kang would never manipulate me," she denied, "he loves me!" Kuai Liang hung his head, "He may have at one point. That man is dead, though." Kitana pulled out one of her sharpened fans, pressing it against the cryomancer's neck, "You're about to be too if you don't shut your mouth."

Liang looked down at the blade still as calm as ever, "You're quick to pull out the weapons, another sign of denial. You won't actually do it, though." She slid it across his neck not puncturing anything, "I will, don't doubt me!"

He remained silent to her threats. She did not take well to this as she left a small cut in his neck. Try as she might however, she could not go further than that. Kuai looked back at her, "Are you finished?" She nodded, "I…I can't kill you, something won't let me."

"That's Quan Chi's control wearing off. You know you have no good reason to kill me, so you won't let yourself do it. Come on, Kitana, you know you're better than this so instead of me joining you, why don't you join me?"

She considered it for a second but denied his offer, "I can't. But I thank you for your concern, even if it is unneeded." She marched out of the dungeon back to Liu Kang.

"How did it go," he asked her. She shrugged, "It…it went alright, I suppose. Give me some more time I'll be able to convince him yet."

Liu Kang rubbed his temples, "We don't have that time! Don't you understand?! This is a war! We don't have time in a war!" She tugged at her collar, "Look, we don't need to kill him. I'm sure of this." He frowned at this suggestion, "Give him time to escape? You're growing soft, Kitana. I'm almost disappointed."

"But…" she tried to negotiate but Liu didn't give her time to finish as he stood up from his seat, "I will finish him myself!" Kitana grabbed him by the shoulder, "We might be rulers of this accursed realm, we might be undead specters, but that gives us no reason to be savages! Calm yourself, Liu!"

The fallen champion forcefully removed her hand, "Silence! This isn't being a savage it's doing what needs to be done. Nobody will oppose us." As the two fought, something crawled in through the door and collapsed beneath them. Both looked down and saw it was Enenra! Kitana gasped, "Enenra?! What happened?!"

Enenra looked up to her with eyes that were leaking out a black substance. Liu Kang knelt down to get a better look, "It was Noob Saibot, wasn't it?" Enenra nodded slowly, confirming it was him. Kitana removed his mask, revealing his mouthless face. She covered her mouth with her hand in shock, "He made it so you can't speak either…"

Liu Kang turned him over and yanked the sword out of his stomach. Kitana picked him up off the ground, "You're going to be okay. I promise."

Following after him were Brotherhood of Shadow cultists. The two prepared for a fight but were instead greeted with them kneeling before them, "We need your help."

Liu Kang was interested in their proposal, "Do you now? What did Noob do to you?" The cultist answered with a hint of fear, "Nothing yet, but what he did to Enenra showed we are just as vulnerable to his insane rage. We want to help you take him down."

"How many of you are there?"

The zealot pointed towards the multiple Brotherhood members now absolutely filling up the room. Liu Kang smiled deviously at them all, "This works. This works nicely. You all have yourselves a deal."

Kitana was unsure of how to take this but she went along with it, "You will all make valuable members to the Netherrealm regime."

"Yes they will," a familiar voice concurred. Liu Kang turned to his throne, seeing Noob Saibot sitting in it. He growled, "What are you doing here?!" Noob laughed, "I'm claiming what's mine, obviously." He snapped his fingers, forcing Enenra to get off the ground, "I must give Enenra and my men credit, an absolute five star performance from all of them. They sure fooled you."

Liu Kang called for the other revenants yet they did not show up. He looked around, "Where are they…?" Noob motioned to a group of cultists who were carrying their passed out bodies, "As if I wouldn't have others take care of them before now."

Liu Kang charged a punch, throwing it right at Noob but Enenra dove it and took the hit for his puppet master. He fell to the ground, limp and lifeless. It seems he had killed him. Kang snapped towards the corpse in horror, "Wha..what?!" A group of cultists restrained Liu. He broke out of their grasps with ease yet another set of them tripped him up and stood on him, essentially keeping him on the ground. Kitana tried to remove them but Noob intervened, shoving her onto the floor then stomping on her head effectively knocking her out. Noob chortled yet again before taking a sword to Liu Kang's throat.

"How about you give me your throne," Noob demanded. Liu Kang turned away from him, "You'll never claim my throne! I'd sooner die than give it to you." With little hesitation, Noob cut right through Kang's neck, cutting his head right off. Noob shook his head, "As you wish, 'my lord.' What an idiot." Noob walked away from the body, "Dispose of the remains immediately, I want all traces of Liu Kang's time as ruler to be erased."

A cultist started dragging the body away, "Where are you going, master?"

"I'm going to the dungeon, people who I want to see are down there," Noob answered as he headed down to the dungeon. He began looking around as he noticed something that piqued his amusement. What he saw was the decapitated head of Shinnok, "Oh this is adorable."

He picked the head up with a delighted glee, "He who left me to rot in the Netherrealm alone after being kicked into the Soulnado, reduced to nothing but this. I love it!"

His delight turned to anger as he saw two sets of frozen over shattered shackles. He yelled, "They escaped my grasp yet again?! How?!"

He made his way back up to the throne room enraged by this development. Making things worse was that when he stepped into the throne room, he saw that Kitana was gone too. He bitterly looked around the room while clenching his fists. Enenra got back up from the ground, comforting his master. Noob turned to Enenra, "Your physical shell is slowly shattering. Allow me to finish the job." He conjured up black smog around Enenra causing the orange veins on his body to glow. This glow soon overtook his body as he shifted into a newer form made entirely of smoke. Noob placed a metal mask with shining red eyes upon Enenra's face. His transformation was complete which distracted Noob from his rage about his captives escaping.

Soon after that, two minions of his came into the room with someone who was very important to Noob in their grasp. That person was his killer Hanzo Hasashi, AKA Scorpion. They tossed him down to Noob's feet as the newly crowned wraith grinned, "Even if those two escaped my grasp this more than makes up for it."