The Netherrealm

Quan Chi watched the action unfold in Outworld via a portal acting as a projector between him and Reiko. Just as Mileena had said, Kitana's forces had been driven back by Rain's army. Shinnok sat in his throne behind him, his scornful look never wavering beneath his crimson flame shaped crown.

"I know war, necromancer. This is not a battle that you'll win in one fell swoop." Shinnok criticized.

Quan Chi bit his tongue when he felt the spark of anger at Shinnok's patronizing.

"My lord, every death on the battlefield strengthens our ranks, being masters of the dead."

"The dead come back as husks, obedient but half as capable as the living. And the Oni are already almost too savage to tame and order, Reiko is the general of a zoo! Only with the wraith can the dead be made truly powerful. Where is Noob Saibot?"

"My lord, he has likely travelled to a different realm. I have lost track of him."

Shinnok narrowed his eyes.

"But, he will return. He won't be able to resist. There is too much for him to face here and in Outworld, especially after he killed his former best friend."

Kitana, Scorpion, and Jade all reached the precipice of the mountain to find Sareena gawking out at the madness below. The rebel warriors pit their discipline against the ferocity of the undead and the Oni. The rebels were torn apart by tooth and claw, and each gruesome death chipped away at the dwindling morale of the rebels.

"We're trapped..." Kitana muttered.

"Kitana, they need direction and orders!" Jade reminded.

"I don't know what to do!" Kitana spat, placing her hands on her head.

"This is war 'princess', you can't afford to be dumbfounded." Scorpion scolded.

"You aren't helping! All you care about is Quan Chi!" Kitana retorted.

"And you wallowing in your self loathing is helping? I want Quan Chi but I can plainly see he isn't here, and if your army is wiped out here and now, he'll have no reason to come out. Therefore we both have something at stake here, but unlike you, I plan on doing something about it!"

Scorpion suddenly sprinted down the sloped hill and leapt forwards. His speed and momentum carried him into the crowded battlefield and he disappeared beneath a score of oni and undead. Just then a fiery explosion incinerated all the oni within a five-foot radius. Scorpion stood defiantly with both swords drawn and waded into the fight. Some of the rebels knew him to be the prisoner Sub Zero had brought back, most never seen him before. Both rallied behind him and mounted a stronger, but indefinably futile defense.

"He's right you know." Jade said.

Kitana glanced over at her best friend. It was not an attack against her ego; it was an affirmation that Kitana had what it takes. Despite her injuries, Jade made her way down as fast as she could towards the battle. Kitana stood in place, going over what whatever strategies she could think off to turn this battle around. Seeing her half dead best friend and a man she did not know to be a friend or foe jumping into action just because they refused to be idle inspired her to do the same. She jumped and used her fans to make her soar through the air. She angled herself so that she came down like a blue bomb. Once her heels hit the grass she waved both her fans in front of her. The wave of air whipped across the field, staggering the lines of oni and undead and the ones right in front of her flying backwards into the ranks.

"Orders princess?" A soldier asked behind her.

Kitana quickly looked over the area.

"Orders!" The solider repeated.

They were outnumbered, and had no hope of turning the battle around with Tremor and Rain's army approaching from behind.

"Princess what should we do?"

Only one hope.

"Run." Kitana ordered.

"What?"

She turned to him and whoever was present.

"I order you to run! Find your unit, your team, whatever is left and run. Into the forests, towards the ice caps anywhere, save yourselves!"

The soliders began doing as they were ordered. Groups were formed and, still fighting, began moving away from the field towards the tree lines.

"I will find you! Every single one of you, I will find you afterwards. This is not the end!"

"It is for you!"

Kitana turned barely in time to move out of the way of a long throwing knife. The thrower came out from behind a line of oni; Reiko.

"You won't have anymore of my soldiers tonight!" Kitana proclaimed.

"Then, I'll settle for you. Take her!" Reiko ordered.

The oni around him charged her. She tossed both her fans. The short distance did not allow the oni the reaction time to dodge, and two dropped dead with her fans imbedded in their heads. Two more came snarling at her, brandishing nothing but their claws. Kitana ducked and spun to the side, kicking her leg out and tripping up one attacker. She dodged the attack of the other, and then blocked the next. She pushed him away with a forceful kick to the stomach and followed up with a devastating knee to the chin. She used her momentum to carry her off the ground, and came back down heavily onto the oni's face. Her heel went through it's right eye and penetrated the brain, killing the oni. She pulled her heel out and the eye came with it. The oni she knocked down came back to try and gore her with it's claws. She spun and deflected its hand with a kick but the oni relentlessly tried to bite into her neck. Her fingers were entwined with its teeth as she held it back. The demon's putrid breath and lashing tongue were almost as disturbing as the ravenous growls that blurted into her face.

"Die now!" Reiko yelled, winding up with his hammer.

Kitana noticed the hammer heading for her. She used her strength to pull and turn so that the oni moved into it's path. With a loud clunk and crunch, the oni fell to the ground with half of its head caved in. Kitana sidestepped and back peddled as Reiko assaulted her. His hammer was nowhere near as large as Shao Kahn's, but that allotted Reiko greater speed and flexibility. With his strikes.

"Are you gonna keep running from me little girl?!" Reiko taunted.

Kitana ducked undeath a long side attack and returned her fans to her. Before she could cut open his exposed stomach he dropped an elbow to the top of her head. Disoriented, she was thrown more off balance when he turned his hammer sideways and punted her in the gut. She was winded and was rolling across the ground, over dead bodies and pools of blood. She gasped, a rib or two was definitely fractured.

"So pretty, and so fragile. What made you think you were cut out to be a commander?"

"What makes you think you're cut out to be an emperor? It takes more than a damn hammer you pathetic idiot."

Reiko bared his teeth and raised his hammer. Kitana rolled out of the way of the hit. The ground had a hole left in it. Reiko tried again, this time turning his hammer around to use the spiked end. Kitana rolled out of the way and Reiko instead hit a dead rebel soldier. Kitana certainly did not want the body desecrated, but something fortuitous happened. The spike penetrated the chest plate of the rebel's armor and was now stuck. Reiko tried to pull it out but ended just yanking the body around. Kitana performed a kip up and went on the attack. Reiko abandoned his hammer to try and evade. Kitana incorporated her bladed fans to make most of her strikes dangerous to block. She managed to deliver a straight attack into his stomach. The middle blade of her fan pierced out through his back.

"You...missed anything important stupid!" Reiko insulted through clenched teeth.

"Not this time!" Kitana said before swinging her other fan at his head.

Reiko caught her arm with one hand and spun around. The momentum pulled her fan out of his gut and he flipped her over his head, slamming her onto the ground. Reiko pulled two of his throwing knives from his belt and held them in reverse as daggers.

"Now I'll show you how a real solider handles blades!" Reiko threatened.

Before either attacked, they both felt rumblings in the ground. Reiko looked around confused, Kitana instantly looked towards the top of the hill. Tall, looming, with blood dripping from his eye socket, Tremor looked out at the scene. Despite most of the rebels making a beeline for the tree line, plenty of them along with many more oni and undead still filled his view.

"I can't miss." He said to himself happily.

He knelt down and placed his hands on the ground. He willed large segments of rock to erupt out of the ground. They were six feet in diameter each, he had eight. As a finishing touch, he willed sharp spikes to protrude from them.

"Lets play ball!"

Tremor made angled slabs of stone grow beneath each boulder, causing them to go rolling down the hill. They picked up speed and went smashing into whoever could not get out of the way. Fighters from both sides were crushed and gored to death. One boulder came at Kitana and Reiko. Kitana dashed backwards to avoid it, the boulder came to a crashing halt right in front of her; the amount of bodies stuck to it had grown too great for it to move. She looked to the left of it but could not see him. Not to the right either. Had he been crushed?

"Look out below!"

Kitana looked up to Reiko jumping from on top of the boulder and down onto her. He landed heavily on her. She used both her arms crossed to over her chest to hold back his knives, threatening to stab into each of her eyes.

"Did you really think I would get done in by an attack like that? Who do you think you're dealing with? I'm.." Suddenly a kunai erupted from his chest.

Kitana recognized the blade immediately, and saw a chain leading from Reiko's back all the way to Scorpion's outstretched hand. The specter pulled Reiko back and off of her, allowing her to get up. Reiko fell to his knees, defiant even though he was defeated.

"You're army is running away like rats. Some commander you are, do you really think you can win?" Reiko taunted.

Kitana shoved one of her fans into his mouth.

"I think you talk too much." She answered.

She opened her fan and it sliced his cheeks open. Before he could even scream she stabbed her second fan into his forehead, and opened it to slice his head down the middle. Like a gruesome blooming flower his head was cut into four equal pieces, still joined together at the neck. Kitana courteously pulled Scorpions kunai out of his chest, tossing his body to the ground. Kitana did not have the chance to thank Scorpion, though she doubted he would respond favorably, because the unmistakable sounds of snarling tarkatans and rifles could be heard. Rain's army had finally caught up with Tremor, they came spilling down the hill to engage the Netherrealm monsters and what few remaining rebels were still caught up in the middle.

"Its time to go." Scorpion stated.

Kitana nodded and looked for Jade and Sareena in the madness. She could not find Sareena anywhere. She found Jade and her stomach twisted into a knot. Her best friend dangling off the ground, seemingly lifeless arms and legs swaying in the wind, blood dripping from her abdomen out between the diamond clawed fingers of Tremor's gauntlet. The giant ninja stared across the battlefield at her with one hateful, pleased eye. He dropped Jade roughly onto the ground and casually placed a foot on her head. The ground beneath her began to crawl over her body, like an above ground burial.

Kitana clenched her hands around her fans until her knuckles popped from grief and rage. She hated Tremor for all of this; he broke through her army's defenses, he forced them back into this trap, and now he took Jade from her. She hated him, but even more, she hated Mileena for sending him after them.

"Save it for later. Lets go." Scorpion said.

His tone was softer than usual, but Kitana did not pay it any mind right now. She left with him, determined to take justice and vengeance when the time was right.

Meanwhile, Sareena opened her eyes in a dazed state. Two undead soldiers were dragging her across the ground. They were dragging her back to the portal that had opened to let the Netherealm in. She wanted to fight but she was sure blood was dripping from the back of her head; they must have taken her by surprise. They stood her up just before they stepped through, and one of the zombies spoke to her with a voice that she knew too well.

"Hello Sareena. It has been far too long since I've seen you, why don't you come visit?" It was Quan Chi's voice.

Sareena could only mumble a curse as she was dragged through the portal, making it blink out of existence behind her. The rest of the Netherealm zombies and oni along with a few remaining rebels were slaughtered by Rain's army.

Noob waited atop a floating hunk of rock. In the Chaosrealm, these were a common sight. According to historians; of which there very few amongst Chaosrealmers, as they all have somewhat conflicting accounts and nearly everyone suffers from a state of amnesia, the god of chaos unleashed a catastrophic event call the tempest. Legends say that it was a violently powerful combination of storms and quakes that the world was literally torn apart. Most denizens of the chaos realm would give anything to witness it, or at least remember the event if it really happened.

Especially our new friend huh?

Noob did not reply, he merely watched the small portal on the ground sparkle and make a whirring sound before a muscular man with an open chested tunic and closefitting helm appeared. His most, unique, characteristic was his face. All the skin covering the nose, mouth, and chin area was gone leaving only the skeletal teeth and nose cavity. The ends of the skin he did have looked, melted, like he had suffered a beyond horrible burn. If it hurt him, he did not show it. Havik could only smile, whether he was happy or not.

"Hello again my friend!" Havik greeted, extending a hand while he stepped forward.

Noob did not do the same, and Havik merely walked into him, brushing him aside rather roughly. Noob growled, but he remembered that he needed patience to deal with Havik's rash personality.

Rash? More like batshit insane.

"You're late Havik. Again." Noob said.

"Am I making a habit out of it? I should come at different times at least."

"How about on time."

Havik looked at Noob as if he had just insulted his mother. The smallest idea of control or order of any sort was blasphemous in the Chaosrealm, especially to Havik.

"I'll just pretend you didn't suggest that. Now then, how are things!" Havik asked cheerfully.

"Are you serious?"

"Very!" Havik said with a deadpan monotone.

These are the kinds of friends you keep.

Noob's eye twitched but he kept his composure.

"Quan Chi does not suspect anything. He is too preoccupied with the three pronged war. Once I return, it should a simple matter of creating a portal for you to enter through."

"Hmm, you'd think that wouldn't you, but that's not the case."

"Excuse me?"

"You see this is the Chaosrealm. I am the cleric of chaos. You see where I'm going with this?"

Oh, pick me I know the answer…

"Out with it dammit!" Noob said.

"Chaos my friend. You can only open a portal leading from this realm in areas that are sufficiently chaotic. The more the merrier really."

"Fine, chaos then."

"Not just any chaos mind you. Spilling your tea isn't going to cut it. I want something to look forward to afterall."

"Do you have something in mind?"

"Not really, no. But I'm sure the two of can think of something fun."

Noob sneered with his eyes, but Havik kept his implacable grin. He stepped around Noob and knelt down by his shadow.

"It must be horrible for you…" Havik said Noob's shadow.

Noob did not do anything. A part of him wanted to hear this. Havik had witnessed Saibot take shape before, but he did not think Havik fully understood the level of sentience it possessed.

"Always being held back, literally in his shadow. How does it feel? Can you even talk?"

"Too much." Noob mumbled.

Hmph.

"Maybe not. But you must think for yourself, you must have desires and needs. I bet sometimes you just want to break through and take control…"

Noob suddenly thought of Smoke. How he had blacked out and somehow killed his former friend. He felt Saibot's eyes staring at him knowingly from his subconscious.

"Enough. I'm wasting time here, I'll head back and start stirring up some trouble."

Noob stepped onto the floor portal and the flickering lights and whirring sound began. Havik said one more thing before he could be transported away.

"Play nicely with each other!"

We always do.

Mileena rubbed the boredom from her eyes while Rain continued to look through paperwork, maps, and other records with statistics she cared little for. Rain was not really one for conversation unless it was about him, his 'accomplishments', or his plans.

"You know, I could speed things up a bit if I was out there, with…."

"I want you in my sight." Rain interrupted without looking up.

"….out there with the people actually doing something useful." Mileena finished under her breath.

"What did you just say?!" Rain demanded angrily.

Before he got an answer the doors were heaved open, with Tremor walking in. He was carrying what looked to be a big pile of rubble over his shoulder.

"Good evening." He said calmly.

He glanced over at Mileena, and her eyes widened in surprise when she noticed the eye patch he was wearing.

"Nice new look." She said, sounding genuine.

"Indeed. Where is Baraka, and Reptile?" Rain asked.

"Dead."

"What? And Kitana?"

"Not dead." This earned him looks from both Rain and Mileena.

Rain threw his paperwork aside and stepped up to Tremor, and Rain acted as if he were the same height despite being six inches shorter.

"So two of my lieutenants are dead, Kitana is alive, tell me what have you brought me besides a giant pile of dirt?"

Tremor was silent, just staring down at Rain. He then slowly unlimbered the rock pile from his shoulder, and Rain's confidence faltered slightly beneath his intense dead gaze when he took a step back. Tremor and especially Mileena noticed.

"I never come back empty handed."

Tremor placed a hand on the pile of rock and willed it to fall apart. Mileena bared her teeth widely behind her mask when she saw Jade inside, bruised and bloody, with large gashes in her abdomen. She hopped out of her seat like a child meeting an old friend, though the look in her cat eyes was unmistakably malicious.

"Hi Jade! Its really been too long. You look better than ever." Mileena mocked.

"Go to hell, Mileena…" Jade said weakly.

"Well, this is something." Rain interjected.

"Kitana, along with whatever remains of her army, have dispered. They're scattered, they could be anywhere, likely all over the place." Tremor said.

"Like little rats, huh Jade?"

Mileena tiptoed her fingers up Jade's leg to imitate a crawling rat. She pressed her fingers into Jade's wounds when she reached. Jade gasped and, finding a second wind, she kicked Mileena right in the mouth. Mileena flopped over from the surprise attack. Blood already began staining her mask from inside.

"Why you, you sneaky little…" Mileena growled while approaching with a sai drawn.

"That's enough Mileena." Rain ordered.

Mileena ignored him and kept on her approach she was about to stab Jade before Rain caught her arm. Mileena turned to glare at him but spun around when Rain suddenly backhanded her. Unbridled fury built in her, she gnashed her teeth behind her mask and tightened her grip on her sai. Tremor's eyes scowled with murderous intent, but a quick glance from Mileena calmed him enough to avoid smashing Rain into a blooy pulp.

"If you disobey me again, I will not be as merciful. Are we understood girl?" Rain asked.

Mileena sheathed her sai and bit off the next word.

"Perfectly."

Rain cut his look over to Tremor, who gave him a rather dopey look only to mask his lividness. Rain believed it and turned his attention to Jade.

"Now then Jade. I'm going to ask you a very simple question, so it should be easy for you to answer me. Where is Kitana?"

Jade gave no answer, she merely turned her head away. Rain grabbed her chin and turned her head back.

"Where is she?" He asked again.

Her green eyes stared defiantly at him. He let her go and walked away a few steps.

"This should have been easy…." He murmured angrily.

Rain turned and created a large ball of water. He willed it to flow over her face, filling her nostrils and pouring down her throat. Panic over took her and she clawed at her face, forcing her fingers as far into her throat as she could manage as if she could just pull the water out.

"My patience is thinning woman. If you don't tell me what I want to know I will make this much worse!"

Jade waved her hands in protest. Rain pulled the water from her lungs and she fell to her knees in a coughing fit.

"Well?" Rain asked.

Jade wiped her hair out of her eyes and coughed a bit more before she answered. The look she had on her face confused him. She looked content, committed to something.

"I, I do not know where she is Rain." She answered calmly.

Tremor chuckled, which ignited Rain's anger to searing levels.

"To be honest, they did run off in different directions. So you are probably wasting your time." Tremor stated.

"How embarrassing." Mileena added.

Rain physically shook with the rage of a wounded ego. He looked like he was about to lash out, but after a few deep breaths he calmed himself.

"I guess you really have told me all you know." He said.

Just then, he forced the water bubble back onto Jade's face. She fell over onto her back, squirming as Rain forced more and more water down her throat. He had put more than enough to drown her, but he did not stop there. He kept forcing more and more water into her. Even when her lungs had burst and her stomach filled, he added more. Seeing her writhe in pain and now lay there motionless save for the water pumping through her formerly lean but now bloated body gave him a reassurance of his power, of his control. A few more liters was a few too many, because there was a squishy pop followed by the sound of water, and blood, splashing onto the stone floor.

"You got it on my boots." Tremor deadpanned.

Rain ignored him, walking past them both, trudging through the exploded remains of Jade, and out of the room.

"I will lead a search party myself to find Kitana. You two organize others to hunt down and exterminate her soldiers."

Tremor and Mileena watched Rain until he was out of earshot.

"He's losing it." Tremor stated.

"I know. Its funny huh."

"Why don't we just kill him now?"

"He's still useful. I want him to fight it out with Kitana as much as possible, Quan Chi too. I get the feeling this little alliance was a one time thing. It'll save me some pain."

"Not too much apparently." Tremor pointed out the blood stain on her mask.

Mileena crouched down and splashed Jade's bloody water onto his pants. Tremor recoiled from this, giving her an annoyed look. Mileena half purred and growled. She jumped at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and hoisting herself up, wrapping her legs around his waist. She lifted herself up so that her head was higher than his.

"You're one to talk, Cyclops." She teased, running a finger over his eye patch.

He kept his annoyed attitude for a few moments longer, but then lightly laughed it off.

A little over a day had passed since the massive battle between three armies had taken place. The bodies of tarkatans, edenians, oni, and zombies were beginning to get picked clean by vermin and wildlife. The fires set by Rain's war machines had long since burned the tents and crates to ash blowing in the wind. Smoke's body remained largely untouched as he had died far removed from buffet of bodies elsewhere. He rested upon a pool of dried blood that mixed in the dry, cracked stone of the mountain. His final expression was one of worry. Sub Zero took no reassurance from Smoke dying as he had lived; devoted and involved.

Returning to Outworld and finding this warzone was more than surprising, more than shocking, worse than a slap in the face. He had left a heavily fortified encampment to find little more than a messy graveyard. And now, he found his best friend dead. His onboard systems allowed him to track targets, so he had secretly added Smoke, Sareena, and Kitana to his tracking list. Kitana was on the move, Sareena's signal was lost, and Smoke was here with a hole in his chest, and Sub Zero had a feeling, a very good feeling, as to who killed him.