SONYA'S POV

As myself and Gemini moved further down the tunnel, we guessed that there was a possible trap waiting for us, courtesy of that bastard Kano. Entering into a room that seemed to be the central nexus of all the tunnels, I motioned for Gemini to stop before she could trigger any booby traps.

Unfortunately, she was still rather new at hands-on missions... Stepping on a pressure plate, I heard a small clink as a canister of paralyzing agent fell from the ceiling before exploding in our faces, freezing our muscles in position as a laugh I recognized very well came from inside the darkness.

"Well, well, well... Look what we've got here! Sonya Blade and Agent Gemini... Two of the special forces' finest women, in more ways than one..." I swore I could feel the heat of his eye laser staring at my breasts, but the only way I saw fit to respond was with a shudder.

Grabbing both of us by the arms, Kano dragged us further into his hideout. Racks of Russian and Chinese weapons lined the walls of the chamber, and a small desk with several screens on it was in the corner, though I of course couldn't see any info on them. Sitting us down in crude wooden chairs, the Black Dragon leader bound our arms and legs to the seats as he smirked at us.

"You two are gonna have a hell of a hard time getting yourselves outta this situation." He frowned before returning to his diabolical smile. "You killed No Face, which is a relief... One less minion to have to share my profit with. I suppose I should show my gratitude."

I could see that he was looking uncomfortable. "Don't worry, ladies. This right here is every bit as hard as my implants."

I tried desperately to scream, shout, or make some noise as Kano began to unzip his pants, but before either of us could be brutally humiliated by the disgusting Aussie, I heard a noise.

A flash of light filled the area as a figure materialized... From what I could tell, she looked sort of like a female version of Raiden, minus the hat and head covering. Pointing to Kano, she gave a loud and resonating shout.

"Release these members of the Forces of Light!"

Kano pulled out his butterfly knives, preparing to fight the woman. "The only person I listen to is myself! Now get the hell out of the Black Dragon base!"

Before he could even make a throw, however, my worst enemy found himself in the grip of a bluish aura before he was hurled at high speed down a tunnel opposite the one we had come in on. The same blue glow washed over us, and I watched the ropes around our arms and legs disappear. Both of us could move again, as well.

Standing up, I turned to Gemini, intending to notify her of our need to search, when a white light began to surround us...

ATRAYA'S POV

I had done what I intended to do. The two members of the Forces of Light had been rescued from 'indentured servitude' at the hands of Kano and his fellow Black Dragons. I now had one more to personally recover, but before I could proceed, I required information of Sonya regarding the whereabouts of another surviving Earthrealm warrior.

Before I could utter a single word, however, the Special Forces member shoved me. "What the hell did you do that for? We were about to shatter the Black Dragon into a million pieces before you whisked us away! Who are you, anyways?"

I answered with a veiled sense of truth. "I am Atraya, one who must gather together the Forces of Light for the inevitable battle against the Forces of Darkness. If I do not, all of the realms could be destroyed by the threat that currently masterminds events on the dark side."

The blind man, whom I knew to be Kenshi, stepped forward. His wounds were severe, and as such, I channeled energy into him, healing his body to a point where he could inform those in front of him of the nature of this threat.

"Sonya... The Emperor, Sho Dai, has made an allegiance with Quan Chi. Together, the two of them intend to conquer the realms in the name of the Forces of Darkness. I believe that someone named Shinnok was also a major part of their plan."

I froze. Shinnok was free of the Netherrealm? This made me focus even more intently on gathering the Forces of Light. Only with them allying together could the fallen Elder God be defeated... It was now that I felt I should act.

"Sonya Blade... Where did Raiden send Johnny Cage?"

Surprised, Sonya responded with all she knew. "He's in some place called Seido... Shao Kahn's death caused some pretty weird things to happen to him."

Nodding, I again prepared to go and retrieve the Earthrealm warrior, but Cyrax stopped me. "What about Markus? Skarlet took him."

"Markus X is of less importance to the Forces of Light than Johnny Cage or Liu Kang. We will retrieve him before the inevitable fight, but not now."

Raising a hand, I left for the inevitable search in Seido for Johnny Cage. I only hoped that there would be no interruptions...

KENSHI'S POV

While I admittedly was glad to be back with members of the OIA, and the Forces of Light in general, their presence did not calm me down. Though Shang Tsung was dead and the souls of my ancestors were free to rest in peace, I still felt as though I had more to accomplish.

For now though, I stayed silent, waiting to hear what Sonya wished for us to do. She was the commanding officer in this field of battle, after all. After a short silence, she spoke into her wrist communicator. "This is Major Sonya Blade. Open the portal at our location. We have some new friends, and a goal we need to get accomplished."

Pausing as the portal powered up on the other side, I could feel the distortion as the space between realms was torn into, allowing travel between Outworld and Earthrealm. Stepping through the portal, I prepared to hear an update on the state of my mission upon my official return to Special Forces headquarters. From what Atraya had said, the battle was just beginning for us.

With the unorthodox group of allies slowly trudging through the purplish horizon, we returned to a throng of modest cheers and medics, the latter of which helped myself, Parsek, and Sapphire to the hospital portion of the room.

While I had been mostly healed by Atraya, I chose to stay behind and observe the treatment of the other two, as my vision could see what the doctors never could.

Focusing, my energy rebuilding after the weeks spent in an Outworld cell, I felt through the chi of the two warriors. While Parsek's was composed strongly and with great will, though I did sense weakness from apparent internal injuries, Sapphire's was... erratic to say the least. Her aura felt unnatural, distorted in a way. While the only thing I could think of as a reason for such a thing was sorcery, Sapphire seemed to show none of the signs of being possessed, puppeteered, or altered by a powerful sorcerer. Aside from the strange chi, she seemed completely normal.

I did notice, however, that her hands were bleeding. Oddly enough, she had no lesions or cuts on them for the life-carrying liquid to be exiting from. The doctors, unaware of what should be done, simply gave the young princess a pair of leather gloves, to prevent the blood from causing her hands to be slippery.

As she stepped out, Parsek following her, I made a mental note to myself. "Keep your sights on her, Kenshi. While she may seem normal, there is more to this girl than evidently appears..."