A/N: Takes place several years after Mortal Kombat: Legacy.
Kung Lao stepped out of the taxi.
He was dressed in a finely pressed black suit with his hair slicked back. He held a briefcase to the side and his blade hat was placed on his back.
On his face was a look of determination. The stone cold gaze caused a few bystanders to step away from him. They did not matter. He was at this rundown bar for one reason.
He smelled the air. It reeked of alcohol. Almost five years ago was the last time he stepped inside a bar. That's when he was visited by Raiden and that cop. A new outlook on life.
The thought of stepping in a bar again was not a pleasant thought. If he took a sip, he might take another. Or another. But he didn't come here to get drunk.
Kung Lao only came here to put down a dog.
He stepped into the bar, only to find it almost completely empty. There were three people inside, not counting himself. A bartender, who perked up when he saw new potential business, a man in a duster sleeping at a booth, and another patron at a bar who took another shot.
Kung Lao walked, sat down next to him, and told the bartender, "Water, please."
He then caught a fist that flew towards him. When the bartender set the glass of water down, Kung Lao took a drink, then turned to face his attacker. "Liu Kang."
"How did you find me?" Liu Kang slurred. He looked to have aged terribly. His face was unshaven, the red sweatshirt he wore was filthy, and his eyes were horribly sunken in.
"I had some help." That was all he was going to say. "I came here to kill you."
"Yeah, I bet you did." Liu Kang sent another fist towards his former friend, but Kung Lao dodged it. He then grabbed Liu Kang's arm and used his momentum to send him onto the pool table.
Liu Kang rolled off the table, grabbed a pool ball, and chucked it at Kung Lao. The former Shaolin was hit in the chest, knocking the wind out of him. Taking this opportunity, Liu Kang charged Kung Lao and speared him into the table.
Kung Lao gritted his teeth before wrapping his arm around Liu Kang's neck and slamming his fist into his back repeatedly. Liu Kang lifted him up and flipped him to his back. He staggered slightly before moving towards his downed rival. Kung Lao, rubbed his back before performing a kip up and get back to his feet.
He stated, "You can't win this, Liu."
"You're the one with restraint," Liu Kang slurred, putting up his fist. "You don't want to kill me. But I want to kill you."
Kung Lao was silent. There was some truth to Liu Kang's words. He remembered a time when they were as close as brothers. But that time has long gone. He removed his jacket and ripped off his tie. Rolling up his sleeves, he said, "You're right."
In a flash, he flung his bladed hat towards Liu Kang, who had enough of his sense to duck. The hat lodged itself into the opposite wall. As Liu turned back to face his old friend, he was sent back with a kick to the chest. He toppled over the bar and disappeared behind it.
Kung Lao slowly made his way towards the bar, each step more cautious than the last. This caution paid off as Liu Kang sprang forth with a broken bottle and began swinging it at Kung Lao.
He was able to dodge every swipe, but he couldn't keep this up for long. He grabbed Liu Kang's hand, twisted it, grabbed his head, and slammed it into the bar. He then pushed him into the shelves, causing all the bottles to collapse on him. Liu Kang ignored the pain of having many shards of glass embedded in him and lunged.
He tackled Kung Lao onto the floor and began raining down blow after blow. He was snarling like a mad dog now. But Kung Lao was able to either avoid or block every punch thrown at him. Liu Kang was getting sloppy. He was drunk and probably hadn't fought an actual fight in years.
The former Shaolin was going to use this to his advantage. He gave a might push and Liu Kang was flung off onto the pool table again. He grabbed one of the pool balls and threw it at his old friend. This time, however, Kung Lao spun to avoid it and used the momentum to send a fist into Liu Kang's face. Blood flew out of his nose, followed by the same red liquid to fly out of his mouth.
Kung Lao grabbed Liu Kang by the hair and slammed him into a pool table. Liu Kang fell to the ground. He tried to get up, but Kung Lao kicked him in the face. He dropped to one knee before taking a deep breath.
"Please. Just stay down."
Liu Kang got to his hand and knees before leaping towards him, shouting, "Kill you!" repeatedly. Blood and spit flew from his mouth and splattered on Kung Lao. At this point there were too many weaknesses in Liu Kang's style for him to win at this point.
Kung Lao dodged Liu Kang's leap, jumped over to his hat, yanked it out of the wall and threw it. It flew through the air, spinning, before slicing Liu Kang's arm clean off. The Shaolin Monk staggered before looking at his bloodied stump. He looked down at his severed arm before turning to face Kung Lao.
"You…" Liu Kang managed to stagger out before dropping to one knee.
"I didn't want to kill you. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't," Kung Lao stated plainly, taking deep breaths. He walked over to his fallen friend and looked down on him. "I tried to warn you."
Liu Kang tilted his head before falling backwards. At this point, he was lost too much blood. It puddled up around him. He gasped out, "You… killed me… you… actually… did… it…"
Kung Lao nodded lightly.
Then Liu Kang's face turned into a small grin. "I'm… I'm…" He let out one last exhale before his head fell to the side. His eyes were still wide open, but he was also still smiling.
Kung Lao kneeled down before closing Liu Kang's eyes himself. "I'm sorry, my friend. I wish things would be different."
"Oh, don't worry," a voice called out with a slight Texan drawl.
Kung Lao whipped around, ready to defend himself, but a gunshot rang out. He looked down at the gunshot wound in his abdomen before looking at his attacker. It was the man in the booth, holding a revolver. He gave a small smirk and a nod of his head before continuing.
"You'll be joining him again soon enough."
The man pulled the trigger again. This time the bullet hit its mark. Right between Kung Lao's eyes. His head whipped back as he fell to the ground, on top of Liu Kang.
The gunslinger let out a deep sigh of relief before stating, "I'm sure you two will get along swimmingly in Hell." He blew on the barrel of his revolver before tucking it away. He looked towards the frightened bartender before reaching into a different pocket.
The bartender flinched, causing the gunslinger to smirk again. Instead of a gun, he pulled out some cash. "For the drinks." He placed it on the table before stepping over the two bodies. "Fine establishment you have here. Might want to clean the place up a bit, though."
He exited the bar, leaving the bartender alone with the two corpses.
They were finally reunited.