Heaven- Chamber of the Elder Gods
After discussing his worries of Raiden's corruption to Kotal Khan, it wasn't long before the god of wind teleported both of them to the realm of the Heavens to speak with the Elder Gods. In a rush of wind they found themselves in the midst of the elder gods. A cloaked man, a woman in robes, and a robed archer stared at them. Fujin noticed the awe in Kotal Khan's eyes, it must've been his first time in the Heavens.
"Lord Fujin," The archer speaks. "You come unannounced." Fujin bows his head deeply, showing his loyalty.
"My apologies, my gods," He tells them. "But I wouldn't have come had it not been of most importance."
"We know why you're here," The woman speaks. Kotal Khan looks at Fujin hopefully.
"Then you will help us stop Raiden?" He asks.
"We cannot intervene with the affairs of the realms," The archer tells him. Fujin knows that to be the case but he hoped they would reconsider after seeing what is happening to Raiden.
"But Raiden has gone mad!" He tells them.
"Yes," The archer agrees. "It appears Shinnok's essence from the jinsei has tainted the thunder god. He plans on invading Outworld and destroying it before it can pose another threat to Earthrealm."
"How can you let this stand?" Kotal Khan demands. "Are my people not worth your rescue?"
"We avoid intervening to keep balance, Kotal Khan," The woman speaks. "However, we may offer you a tournament. Similar to the one we offered Raiden when Shao Khan planned to invade except the thunder god will only need one victory to invade your realm."
"What?" Fujin exclaims. "Shao Khan needed ten!"
"We did not have gratitude towards Shao Khan," The archer explains. "Raiden has saved the realms from Armageddon through Shao Khan and stopped Shinnok from reviving the One Being, our greatest foe. This new tournament is our token to Raiden, without completely endangering Outworlders. It is the best we can do." Fujin glanced at Kotal Khan. He almost feels bad for bringing him all the way here for such devastating news. The emperor sighs and bows to the Elder Gods.
"Then my warriors shall make the best of it," He says. The cloaked man raises his arms.
"Let it be known that Outworld can only be invaded by Earthrealm through sole victory of a Mortal Kombat tournament. Gods are fobidden to enter as well as rulers and beings from the Netherrealm," The cloaked man announces, his voice booming throughout the entire room. Fujin figures that the good news of this tournament is that Raiden himself cannot enter it, but neither can Kotal Khan. He should head down back to Earthrealm, let the warriors of Earth know what is happening, and stop them from aiding Raiden and his dark plans.
"Is there anything else?" The archer asks. Fujin can see that Kotal Khan is done trying but he still has one more question in the back of his mind.
"Can Raiden be saved from this destructive path?" He asks. If he can save his fellow god, bring him back to his old self, then all of this can be avoided.
"The enemies of fire and ice, battling since the age of time, have never come together as one. Now the fruits of their labor, both conceived at the highest point of purity before corruption, now hold the key to bringing them together as one, once and for all," The woman in robes says. Fire and Ice. Enemies? Clearly he knew who they were referring too.
"But Kuai Liang and Hanzo Hasashi have settled their differences! What could they do to help Raiden?" He asks.
"We have shown you enough," The cloaked man announces. "It is time for you to part ways!" With the wave of his hands, Kotal Khan and Fujin are flung backwards and are blown out of the Heavens, slamming back down to Outworld.
"Emperor!" Reptile calls out, rushing towards Kotal Khan. Fujin gets up from the ground as the lizard helps out Khan. "What are your orders?"
"Summon all the leaders of Outworld immediately," He says. "We must prepare for Mortal Kombat!" Reptile looks confused but runs off to do as he's told anyways. Kotal Khan looks at Fujin. "What are you going to do?"
"I must go and speak with Kuai Liang," He says. "I fear that the ice from the Elder God's prophecy wasn't referring to him at all." He begins to exit the thrown room, his worries seemingly getting bigger with each step.
"Then who?" Kotal Khan asks.
"Someone much worse," Fujin answers teleporting away. The fruits of their labor, he thinks. Conceived at the highest points of purity before corruption.
Earthrealm- Lin Kuei Temple
Kuai Liang lowered his head as a gush of wind pushes passed him. He grips onto his animal as they continue to pick up speed. Behind him are two more Lin Kuei members also getting a hang of their new companions. It's their first day flying since becoming adults and he wanted to tighten their bond by riding them. As he continued to ride his Frost Dragon, Sonneth, he whistled for the beast to make another sharp turn back to the temple. Sonneth did as he was told but the turn was sloppy, the dragon not used to carrying someone. It's why he decided to throw in the towel for now. Tomorrow was another day. His landing was graceful, but his comrades weren't so lucky. One crash landed while the other completely fell off his dragon. Kuai couldn't help but chuckle as he hoped off Sonneth and helped the other male up.
"Take them back to the pens," He orders, patting Sonneth gently on his side. Now that his Frost Dragons were fully grown, he feels the Lin Kuei will be stronge enough to take on any force against Earthrealm that comes his way. As he walks to the temple, he begins to hear the familiar frustrated yells followed by the roar of one of his dragons. He breaks into a sprint and turns the corner to see Frost, his apprentice, about to strike her dragon with one of her daggers. The dragon in question, Jura, was the only female dragon and has been showing signs of rebellious nature ever since the mother dragon passed away a couple of days ago. He figured with so much in common, they'd get along great.
"I'll show you respect!" Frost yells. She raises her arm to deliver the blow, Jura ready to strike as well.
"That's enough, Frost!" Kuai Liang yells. Frost lets out a snarl as she whips around.
"The stupid beast won't let me ride it!" She tells him. He turns to the other members nearby and signals them to take Jura away. He shakes his head as he approaches his apprentice. He quickly took Frost under his wing when he discovered her freezing abilities, believing she shared the same ancestors as he, but her temper was something even his patience was getting tired of.
"I've told you that trust is the most important thing you can have with your Frost Dragon," he tells her. "How is Jura supposed to trust you when you're threatening to stab her?"
"Your theories are ridiculous!" She snaps. "We should be teaching to obey! To do as we command without question!"
"The Lin Kuei does not create slaves," He tells her.
"Because you stopped them," she mutters. Kuai Liang frowns and takes a step closer to the female ninja.
"Watch your tongue," He warns. Instantly Frost knows she messed up and bows for forgiveness. He lets out a sigh and motions for her to rise. "Go back to the dojo to train. It's clear you and Jura are not meant to be paired as dragon and rider."
"But there are no dragons left!" Frost complains.
"There will be once the current ones start having their own litter. You'll just have to wait until then," He tells her. "Now go!" Frost runs off towards the dojo just as his messenger approaches him. He bows to Kuai Liang, who waits for his message.
"Grandmaster, Fujin requests to visit the temple to discuss a concern of his," He says. Kuai Liang furrows his brow. What would the god of wind want to discuss with him?
"Did he mention a subject?" He asks. The messenger slowly raises his head.
"Your brother, Grandmaster."
Earthrealm- Shirai Ryu Temple
Hanzo Hasashi stayed low as he continued to watch the forest just outside his clan's temple, where several intruders have just entered for hiding. If there was one rule he made very clear to the members of the Shirai Ryu, is that they do not welcome trespassers. As he surveryed the openings of the forest, a shadowy figure crossed his eye. He tried to find it again but to no avail, it was gone. Seeing as how the figure looked like him, he assumed he was just seeing things as one of his ninjas approached.
"What's the status on the intruders?" He asks, taking his eyes off the forest.
"They're still inside the forest's protection, Grandmaster," The ninja replies.
"I see," He says. "And Takeda?"
"He has not been spotted." Hanzo feared that would be the case. He had asked Takeda to return to the temple so he could help train his new recruits, nothing good could come out of him being missing. "Your orders, sir?"
"We approach the forest," He reveals with a sigh. "Time to end this." His entire team rises from hiding, all with weapons in hand. as they enter the forest, Hanzo keeps his hand on his kunai. As they approach the center, still with no sightings, Hanzo begins to feel suspicious. He stops walking as he tries to get a good listen on his surroundings. The sound of trees creaking give his enemies away. "Up in the trees!" He tells, throwing his kunai. It wraps onto one of his invaders and he brings them down hard onto the ground. More and more invaders begin to reveal themselves from up in the trees and Hanzo barely has time to take out his sword and swipe the whip that almost lashes his face.
"What took you so long?" Takeda asks, his voice filled with mockery.
"You knew we'd come?" He asks. Takeda shakes his head before tapping on his temple.
"That's kinda how telepathy works, grandmaster," He reveals. Hanzo's team of new recruits were starting to engage Takeda's, which was the point of the task. Which team leader could bring their team victory first. He figured with Takeda's abilities and his new training with Special Forces, he would be the greatest opponent he could find. He was right.
"Get over here!" He roars, throwing his kunai. It pierces Takeda's shoulder and Hanzo pulls him in before digging his fist deep into the boy's face. Takeda is quick, however, and has his whips wrapped around Hanzo's feet by the time he rolls up. When he feels his feet get pulled in the air, Hanzo backflips and pulls his ankles free. Suddenly he feels all of his body stiffen as he rises up into the air. He watches as Takeda's eyes are shut tight as he focuses on his power.
"What goes up," Takeda taunts. Hanzo almost wants to smirk as he feels Takeda's power loosen around his limbs, enabling him to grip his kunai. He's about to deliver the final blow when he spots a rose bush in the distance. He freezes not knowing what to do until suddenly he's smashed on the ground. "Must come down."
"You're getting old, grandmaster," He teases, helping Hanzo on his feet. The former hellspawn is still looking at th empty space the rose bush was in before turning to Takeda.
"And you are getting stronger," He admits. "Your psychic powers are starting to develop better than Kenshi himself."
"A little trick I learned from my fight with Ermac," He reveals. Both teams have now resolved the fighting, given the orders by Takeda to pack up and head back to the temple. As they begin to move Hanzo starts going over the next steps to complete the new recruit's training. They only had their solo observations left which meant Takeda was really no longer needed.
"When will you be leaving?" He asks.
"Tomorrow morning," He says. "Kung Jin is still having trouble with Kung Lao. I'm going to go to the Wu Shi Academy and see if I can help." Hanzo nodded his head. Although Kung Jin's heart is in the right place, Hanzo fears the male will not get his cousin back and he is too blame. His mind was so clouded by vengeance that he threw away the chance to bring back the others by killing Quan Chi, an act that also nearly destroyed all the realms with the return of Shinnok. As they reached the temple, Hanzo began heading to his room.
"I shall be out momentarily," He tells the young warrior. He enters the room and immediately drops his arsenal before turning to his bed. Directly on top of his mattress is a single rose and a small portrait. When his wife was alive, the temple's gardens were filled with rose bushes, her favorite flower. After the massacre of the Shirai Ryu, however, he never saw another bush again. Now one is in his hand as he stares at the portrait on his bed. It's one he drew of his lovely Kana and his son, Jubei, the day he was born. He remembers that day so vividly, he remembers the promise he made to his wife.
I shall always protect him, for as long as he draws breath.
It was a promise he wouldn't be able to fulfill any longer, so why now, was he remembering this promise. Why, now, was he thinking about protecting his dead son?
Netherrealm-Liu Kang's Spire
After Juebei's test against D'vorah proved successful, Kitana and Nightwolf went to the thrown room to report back to Liu Kang. Upon seeing the man she served, the former Edenian almost wanted to turn around and leave but she remained put.
"The hellspawn can control hellfire," Nightwolf reveals. Usually it would've been her but she was in no mood to speak in Liu Kang's presence after he struck her. Now she fought the urge to drive her steel fan into his throat as he sat on the throne so smugly, but why? She was one of the most deadliest assassins of Outworld, why hold back? An answer she did not have.
"Is he strong enough to continue with my plan?" Liu Kang asks.
"Afraid not," Nightwolf answers. "But I believe i short time he will be."
"Very well. On your way out find Noob and bring him, I want to hear how our new guest is being treated," He says, dismissing them. The guest he spoke of was the the demoness traitor Sareena. Kitana almost wanted to visit her cell herself, mock the traitor and how her emotion was working for her now. "Oh...and Kitana?" Liu Kang's voice stops her dead in her tracks. She notices Nightwolf watching with amusement as she slowly turns around.
"Don't think I don't know what you're doing," He accuses. "Keep it up, and I will remind you of how an empress should act to her emperor."
"Yes, Liu Kang," She mumbles, walking out of the room. Yes, when Quan resurrected them all from the dead, their souls became corrupted, but Liu Kang has never been this aggravated before. Whether he admits it or not, Kitana believes it has something to do with Raiden's visit. There's no doubt that the thunder god planned to make true to his promise and with Liu Kang wanting to continue with his plans, she feels like he's paranoid. A revenant cannot be killed, but neither could Shinnok and now his head hangs in the Chamber of Souls. As they enter the great hall, Kitana spots her mother. One thing she will forever be grateful to Quan Chi for is her restored relationship with her mother. Shao Khan manipulated her and Sindel to satisfy his own needs separately but Quan Chi realized the strength in having the together.
"What troubles you daughter?" Sindel asks. Nightwolf laughs.
"Your precious daughter is about to be struck by Liu Kang once more if she continues to be disobedient," He remarks.
"Once more?" Sindel repeats. "How dare he touch his empress!"
"She won't be his empress for long," Nightwolf reveals. "If she continues down this path, he'll replace her with someone worthy of such a title."
"You will not disrespect my daughter in front of me!" Sindel roars, approaching the male. Nightwolf takes out one of his tomahawks and holds it at her throat.
"Remember who brought you down, bitch," He reminds her. Kitana is furious. She could deal with insults towards her, they effect her little but no one will threaten her mother in front of her. Her fans are opened so fast, Nightwolf barely has time to react. She swipes at him several times as she kicks and punches her frustration out on him. One final high kick to the chin sends the male up before he falls to the floor. Kitana brings her fan to his throat.
"Remember who you are talking too," She hisses. "I will end you if you so much as look at my mother wrong again. Understood?" Nightwolf looks like he wants to rip her head off but Kitana smirks as she digs her fan lightly into his next.
"Understood!" He finally coughs out. She withdraws her fan and takes a few steps back.
"Now go find Noob Saibot," she orders. Nightwolf scrambles to his feet and leaves the room. Seconds later, Enenra appears. Out of everyone resurrected, Jade and Smoke were the only ones to stya dead. Jade was a revenant for a short amount of time before she disappeared, leaving her best friend without a word. The demon possessing smoke, Enenra was the one to return and serve Quan Chi.
"Empress Kitana," He greets. "Intruders have been spotted in the Netherrealm."
"Earthrealm?" she asks. He shakes his head before forming a cloud of smoke. In the smoke, two familiar figures showed up.
"Tanya and Rain?" Sindel asks. "What they possibly want here?"
"Liu Kang's orders were made very clear for intruders," Enenra reminds them. Kitana nods her head, taking out her steel fans as she turns to her mother.
"I'll go," She says. "It's time we put our old race back into extinction."