Netherrealm-Sea of Blood

Her mind feeling less foggy and more clear of confusion, Lorelei finally gets on her feet to explore her surroundings. Wherever she was, she didn't like it. The skies were red, reflecting the dark red lake that surrounded the bridge she woke up on. The sight made her sick to her stomach. She was staring at a lake full of blood. She swallows back the sickness she feels and looks away from the scene. She's never been to such a place, yet it somehow feels familiar. Maybe it has something to do with her past, which she has no memory of. She only remembers waking up and the strange blue world in her dreams. She hears someone approaching and turns to see a woman walking onto the bridge. The woman is dressed in all white and has a white hat and veil on top of her brown hair. The woman spots her and stops immediately, taking out a sword in defense. No weapons in hand, Lorelei just takes a defensive pose as well, although how her body naturally does this is beyond her.

"Are you a friend or foe?" The woman asks. Lorelei narrows her eyes.

"I wouldn't consider someone pointing their sword at me a friend of mine," she tells her.

"Foe it is," the woman concludes. She closes the distance between them with a swipe of her sword. Lorelei manages to jump out of the way before kicking her straight in the chest. The woman drops her weapon and staggers back a few steps. She lets out an annoyed yell before charging at Lorelei again with several punches and kicks. Lorelei surprises herself when she keeps dodging and blocking all of the woman's attacks. She turns to the offensive. She can feel a surge of power surge through her body as she lands every blow. She delivers another that sends the woman tumbling to the ground. Lorelei holds her stance as the woman gets on her feet, gawking at her.

"What?" Lorelei demands, noticing her staring.

"Those markings, they're Edenian," the woman explains. Lorelei looks down at herself and sure enough, there they are. Strange markings that were once invisible to her eye now shine brightly all over her skin. "Are you from Outworld?"

"The place is unfamiliar to me," Lorelei answers. She sighs and drops her stance, seeing that there's no need to fight anymore. "Truth be told a lot of things are unfamiliar to me. I have no memory of who I am or where I am."

"You're in the Netherrealm," the woman tells her. "My name is Ashrah, I was just leaving this hell realm. I suggest you do the same."

"Why?"

"The realm's new ruler is planning something horrible, something that puts everyone in the realm at risk. I am going to seek refuge at Bo Rai Cho's, an Outworlder who is as kind as he is drunk," Ashrah explains. She's still looking at Lorelei's markings with curiosity, even as they start to fade. "Those marking are of the ancient language of Edenia, no longer spoken. Bo Rai Cho is a wise man, he might be able to help decode them for you."

"Really?" Lorelei asks. Ashrah nods and Lorelei lets out another sigh. This Bo Rai Cho seems to be the only lead she's got going for her so far. If this woman was willing to show her to him, who was she to reject the offer. "Ok."

"Then we must hurry," Ashrah says, already continuing her way over the bridge. "Once we reach Outworld we can restock on supplies before completing our trip to Bo Rai Cho." Lorelei quickly falls in step behind her, not wanting to fall behind. The other woman has a mature presence about her and Lorelei is almost grateful she has a companion on her otherwise lonely journey.

"And you're sure that this Bo Rai Cho can help me remember my past?" she asks.

"I know that if he can't, he'll know of another who can."

Netherrealm- Netherrealm Cliffs

Even after Shinnok's defeat and Quan Chi's death, Sareena agreed to still work for Special Forces as their Netherrealm intelligence. She's been helping them ever since she found out about Bi Han's death and resurrection as the Wraith, Noob Saibot. She agreed to help in honor of him, to save him from the darkness as he had done for her. Had it not been for him, she would still be blindly serving Quan Chi. He showed her the way, even if she now shared a secret with him that he didn't even know about. She shook away those memories, knowing fully well that there was nothing she could do to change the decision she made years ago. Reaching the peak of the cliffs, Sareena took out her communication device given to her by Special Forces.

"Special Forces come in, this is Sareena from the Netherealm. Come in!" she yells into the device. The response is static until finally she can hear a signal picking up.

"Hey, Sareena. It's Johnny," the male says through the radio. Sareena can tell by the sound of his voice he's irritated. "General Blade is a little busy ignoring anything not related to Kano's escape last month so can I take a message?" Well that was news. It seems no matter what Sonya Blade and Special Forces did, the Black Dragon leader would always find a way to break out his jail cell.

"I'm not looking for her," Sareena responds. "I need you to contact Lord Fujin and have him teleport to the Netherrealm immediately."

"Why don't I just send Raiden?" the actor asks.

"No!" She interrupts. "Johnny I need you to listen to me and prove that you're not just a dumb actor-"

"Award winning!"

"-and DO NOT contact Lord Raiden."

"Copy that," Johnny Cage says. "One god of wind coming right up. Cage out." Sareena puts her device away and lets out a long sigh. Whatever Raiden is planning, it can't be good. She never thought Raiden would be capable of anything harmful towards any realm, but she saw how he spoke to Liu Kang and Kitana. She saw the look of his eyes when Liu Kang mentioned Kotal Khan and Outworld. She knew that he was up to something and she had to warn the only being that would hear her out. A portal started to form, making the demoness thankful for Johnny Cage for the first time in her life. She takes a step in the portal's direction, but jumps back when a razor sharp hat almost slices her leg off. She follows the hat as it returns to it's owner.

"Kung Lao!" she yells, facing the former Shaolin warrior. The male grins at her as he takes a fighting stance.

"I saw you leaving Liu Kang's throne room," he tells her. "I've come to bring your head." He rushes her, she manages to block to punches before she gets a palm to the chest. She grunts but quickly whips around to kick the revenant in the hip.

"Is this what the Shaolin taught you, Kung Lao? Is that what they taught your cousin?" She asks. They continue to circle each other. When she found out what Quan Chi did to Kung Lao and the others she made it her goal to save them as well. Yes, their souls were corrupted, but Raiden was wrong when he said that only with Quan Chi could they reverse their spell. Going through it herself, she knew that there was another way and the first thing that needed to happen was for the revenant to WANT to go back. It's why she tries to get through to them with every encounter she has with them.

"Kung Jin dishonors himself," Kung Lao tells her. "He will never be truly Shaolin."

"You cannot defend the Shaolin in your current state, revenant. Let me help you!" Sareena pleads.

"Never, demoness!" He yells. He takes off his hat and tries to swipe her. Sareena dodges it, allowing him to reach forward so she can throw a punch at his chin. He staggers back and she takes the opportunity to finish him off. Three jabs to the chest and a roundhouse kick to the side of the head knocks the male out cold.

"Sareena," a male voice calls. Sareena turns around and bows almost immediately.

"Lord Fujin," she greets. "Thank you for coming on such short notice."

"You have helped Earthrealm greatly, Sareena," Fujin tells her. "What troubles you?" Sareena looks up at the immortal, worry in her eyes.

"It's Lord Raiden," she tell him. The expression on his face proves that Sareena was right to come to him. She can't tell for how long, but she could tell he's suspected Lord Raiden as well. "He came here to speak to Liu Kang and Kitana. Lord Fujin, he's planning something against Outworld!"

"Outworld?" Fujin repeats.

"Liu Kang has him convinced that Earthrealm will never be safe as long as Kotal Khan and Outworld thrive," She explains. "My lord, whatever it is that Raiden's planning, it can't be good for Earthrealm." Deep down she knew this and she could see that Fujin knew this as well. His expression was showing conflict, which she understood as well. This was Lord Raiden they were talking about. He was the last one any of them thought would turn to the darkness.

"Thank you Sareena," Fujin says at last. "I must return to Earthrealm and see what I can do from there."

"Yes, of course," she agrees, taking a step back as he walks into the portal. She's about watch him leave when she looks down at the ground. "Wait! Take Kung Lao. He denies it, but I think if he was taken to the Wu Shi Academy he could properly restore his humanity back. Fujin stares at the unconscious body before finally nodding his head and slinging the warrior over his shoulder.

"Farewell," he says, disappearing along with the portal. Sareena stands there staring at the empty space Fujin was once standing in. She's still standing when she hears footsteps behind her. She turns around and gasps when she sees Liu Kang and Kabal surrounding her.

"How disappointing," The new emperor says, shaking his head. "I really hate having to kill warriors with such potential." Sareena glares at him before taking out her throwing knives.

"I will never serve the Netherrealm again!" She hisses. Liu Kang smirked at her as Kabal took out his hookswords. Suddenly darkness spread all around them and soon she was face to face with none other than Noob Saibot. "Bi Han," she whispers.

"Bi Han is dead," he tells her, shoving his fist deep into her gut. Sareena cries out and falls to her knees, gasping for air as Noob stands over her. "Prepare to join him."

Earthrealm- Special Forces

You'd think after a few years Cassie would get used to her parents bickering every chance they get but no, it still annoys her to no end. She thought that they would at least admit they still have feelings for each other after she kicked Shinnok's ass but no. She did inherit her stubbornness from them. When even her headphones couldn't block off their loud voice, Cassie decided she had enough.

"You know some people would rather go through water boarding than hear you two argue," she says. Her parents barely take a second to pause before they resume they're argument.

"I'm just saying that Sareena sounded really concerned when she told me not to warn Raiden," Johnny repeats. "And I can't be the only one to notice how weird the thunder god has been acting ever since Cassie took down Shinnok."

"It's out of our jurisdiction," Her mother tells him. "Sareena specifically asked for Fujin's help. We have to trust that whatever's going on, he can handle it. Besides with Kano's escape we've got bigger things to worry about." Cassie knew Kano's escape was still bothering her mother. When transferring Kano to a stronger prison facility, Black Dragon members Tremor and Jarek helped orchestrate his escape.

"Mom, let my team and I hunt down Kano-"

"Negative, Lieutenant Cage," Sonya interrupts. "I don't want your team doing anything until Jacqui is ready." Cassie let out a sigh but didn't argue with her. Her best friend was still in Texas taking care of her mother, not returning for another couple of days. And when she does return, she'll only have one thing on her mind.

"She'll wanna go after Erron Black," Cassie says. Her mother looks at her and then grips her shoulder.

"So we'll give him to her," she says. Her dad shakes his head, obviously disagreeing with everything. He walks away without saying another word. Sonya watches him leave before looking back at Cassie. "You have a new recruit to train." Cassie makes a face as she follows her mother to her office.

"What?" She asks. There was no way in hell she wanted to deal with an officer who didn't know what he was doing and would ask questions all the time. "No, my responsibility is my team."

"I'm assigning him to your team," Sonya tells her.

"Why? I thought you wanted Jacqui to come back!"

"I do," she says. "No one's getting replaced you're just getting another body. Jacqui and Takeda were hurt bad when you went after Shinnok and Kung Jin was nearly killed by D'vorah. Another team member might help even out the odds."

"Not if he doesn't know what he's doing," Cassie mumbles under her breath as they both walk into her mother's office. A young male is already waiting there, standing up in salute as soon as he sees her mother.

"General Blade!" He greets. He's about as tall as Kung Jin with a smaller build. He has sandy brown hair neatly combed but shaved at the sides.

"At ease," Sonya tells him. "You're the rookie?"

"Yes ma'am," He says. "Austin Stryker reporting for duty!" Cassie exchanges a glance with her mother.

"You're related to Kurtis Stryker?" Sonya asks. Austin nods his head.

"Yes ma'am, I'm his younger brother," He explains. Cassie lets out a whistle. Guess fighting for justice runs in the Stryker family as well as the Briggs and Cage families. Cassie watched as Austin's eyes got more serious. "My father was never the same after he found out what happened to Kurtis. I decided to join Special Forces to honor him."

"Your brother was a courageous man," Sonya agrees. "This is my daughter, Lieutenant Cage. You'll be joining her team." Austin walked over to Cassie and saluted her.

"It's an honor, Lieutenant Cage!" He says. Cassie frowned. He was only doing what Jacqui did when they joined a few years back. If he had as much heart as her, he'd make a damn good soldier.

"Proud to have you on our team," she says. He smiles and walks out of Sonya's office, leaving the two women alone. Sonya sighs and and starts looking over files relating to Kano. "We'll find him, mom."

"I just can't shake off the feeling he's planning something," her mother confesses. "And whatever it is, it can't be good."

Earthrealm-Black Dragon Headquarters

Hidden in the shadows provided by the night, Claude watches over the entrance of the Black Dragon's Headquarters. Standing guard was Jarek, plus four more thugs. The Black Dragon were all trained to kill so it would be foolish to think that these five men were harmless. He takes out his walkie talkie.

"Piezo, Opal. Do you read?" He asks.

"What are we looking at, boss?" Opal responds.

"Jarek plus four," He informs her, not taking his eyes off of the group of thugs.

"We can handle them easy," Piezo's voice says. Claude rolls his eyes. Piezo, his best friend, is where him and Opal looked to when they wanted an exampled of an oversize ego.

"Careful, man. They could be expecting us," He notes.

"They won't be expecting this," Piezo says. "Piezo out."

"You're boy's gonna get us killed," Opal comments. Claude's about to respond when an explosion diverted his attention. He looks at the clan's entrance to see Jarek and the guards all passed out on the ground as Piezo appeared out of the shadows with a switch in his hands. Claude laughs as the other male grins up at him. Piezo is a tall, skinny guy whose lanky limbs would make Claude think he was a skeleton with a purple mohawk that enjoys wearing leather.

"Let's move, Opal," Claude says, jumping down from the roof he was hiding in to meet up with his two teammates. Opal skipped out of her hiding spot, her two blonde pig tails bounding as she did. She loaded up her gun as Piezo checked his grenades. His best friend had a specialty in explosives. "Alright, guys, we trained long and hard for this. Let's take them down."

"Fucking A," Piezo agrees. Claude grins at him before the leading them into the front entrance. As soon as they're in they're dodging bullets. Piezo throws another grenade, blowing up the entire balcony. Claude takes out his pistol and gets rid of the few that manage to survive. They're about to move forward when the ground underneath them begins to shake. Claude falls to one knee as he turns to see the ninja clad in brown.

"Tremor," He hisses. The man of stone smirks at him.

"This night shall be your last," He says.

"Yeah tell that to my friend here!" Piezo yells, tossing a grenade his direction. Tremor sends out a boulder to knock the grenade out of the way before sending a huge wall of rock to slam right into Piezo, sending him flying across the room. Claude rushes Tremor getting in two hits before the ninja gets him with a punch of his own. The only difference was the fact that his fist was surrounded by rock and left Claude panting on the ground. Tremor growls as he prepares to strike, but Opal jumps in the way, staring directly into the ninja's eyes. Almost immediately Tremor's arms go limb at his side.

"Follow my voice," Opal whispers, her voice as soft as a lullaby. Through training she was able to muster small hypnotizing abilities that came in handy in times like this. Opal grunts as she sends a karate chop to Tremor's neck buckling the man down to his knees. She goes to deliver the final blow when Tremor snaps out of it, catching her wrist with his arm.

"You're going to have to do better than that!" He taunts, tossing her to the ground. Claude sees his opportunity and rushes the other male.

"How's this?" He calls out, right before he slams his knee into Tremor's head. Tremor falls to the ground with a loud thud, a groan escaping his lips before he passes out. He walks over to help Opal on her feet before turning around to see Piezo limping towards him. "You ok?"

"I'll live," Piezo coughs out. Then there's someone clapping. Claude looks up to frown at the man on top of the staircase.

"Well done mates," Kano congratulates. He starts walking down the stairs. Piezo and Opal take a defensive stance but he waves them away. "Relax, I've seen enough. You all pass!" It takes a minute for those words to register before he realizes what they mean. Opal pulls the boys into a hug as Piezo cheers loudly. They did it. After all their training, all their suffering, they finally did it.

"I told you they were in good hands," Tremor says, getting up on his feet. Suddenly all around them Black Dragon members were appearing.

"You did good Tremor, I was beginning to think there was no one capable of becoming the new elite team for the Black Dragon," Kano says. He stand right in front of Claude, glaring at him with his good eye. "Proud of ya, son."

"Thank you father," Claude says, kneeling in front of the man who raised him. "It will be an honor to serve you and the Black Dragon."

Earthrealm-Special Forces Training Gym

Kung Jin dodges Takeda's whip before tripping the other male with his staff. The telepathic is quickly back on his feet, his usual goofy smile on his face. When Kung Jin first got to know Takeda, he used to think it was the cutest smile, now he just wants to punch it repeatedly.

"Is that all you got?" Takeda taunts, shifting his weight from foot to foot. Kung Jin rolls his eyes.

"You're gonna wish you were fighting the Red Dragon when I'm through with you," Kung Jin tells him. The doors to the gym open and the guys stop to see Cassie walking in. Kung Jin sees that there's someone following her, causing him to arch his eyebrow.

"Got an admirer, Cas?" He asks. Cassie is quick to flip him off as she goes to the bench with her bag on it.

"This is Austin, he's joining out team," She introduces. Kung Jin is a bit confused but it's Takeda who looks like he's about to drag this kid out of the room himself.

"Cassie you can't replace Jacqui she's your best friend!" He defends.

"I'm not replacing Jacqui!" Cassie tells him, clearly annoyed. "My mom assigned him to our team because of our performance with Shinnok's invasion."

"You mean the invasion we stopped?" Kung Jin asks, remembering that General Blade was too busy being Scorpion's punching bag to save the world.

"Well, that I stopped," She corrects. "You were taken out by D'vorah and Jacqui and Takeda were almost killed by the revenants." Kung Jin couldn't believe what he was hearing. If it wasn't for him Kotal Khan would've butchered that blonde head of hers way before she could take out Shinnok.

"Oh so he's here because we suck and can't compare to your awesome skills!" He challenges. He notices that Takeda is staring at Austin with curiosity, no longer angry at his presence. "How come you're not backing me up?"

"Because that's not why he's here, Jin!" Cassie yells.

"Then why is he?!" He demands.

"Because he's Stryker's brother," Takeda reveals. Kung Jin looks at the rookie, noticing how he did look like the older Stryker minus the dark aura that surrounded him now that he was a revenant.

"Shit," He mumbles. Cassie rolls her eyes.

"Let's just get to training," she says. She starts making her way to the mats when General Blade walks through the doors with Johnny Cage and Lord Fujin.

"Jin, a moment," Sonya tells him. He doesn't try to hide his look of irritation, today was starting to be a day full of surprises. He is curious as to why Fujin is with them, so he follows them out and leaves the others to train the rookie. The last thing he expected to see was Kung Lao hunched over on a chair.

"What's he doing here?" He demands, running to his cousin's side. He's still a revenant but something's off. He's weaker, but it's not really him that's weak. It's the darkness inside him.

"Sareena thinks he can be restored to his old self," Fujin tells him. "I was doubtful at first but I've noticed a change in him ever since he's been away from the other revenants." It must be the change Kung Jin is sensing now. Before, Kung Lao was unrecognizable but now he seems a little bit more like the cousin he remembers.

"Special Forces will do whatever it can to bring him back, Jin," Sonya assures. He knows she means well, but Kung Jin shakes his head anyway.

"No," He says, getting on his feet. "No, I'm taking him back to the Wu Shi academy. He needs to remember what it's like to be a Shaolin warrior." General Blade nods her head while Johnny Cage pats him on the back.

"That's probably the wisest thing I've ever heard you say, Jin," He tells him. Kung Jin snickers at the actor.

"Still waiting for you to enlighten us all," He replies, turning back to his cousin. "Don't worry, Lao. I'm gonna bring you back to us."