SONYA'S POV

Well... Things were damn sure getting interesting now. A mix of warriors from various different places, with differing mentalities and reasons, all working together to prevent this... Armageddon. Turning to Kenshi, I figured that he would have the most likely answer.

"Kenshi, what's this armageddon-like battle Atraya was talking about between the Forces of Light and Darkness?"

The sword-wielding warrior focused, blue energy emanating from his hands as the sword balanced itself between them.

"There is an ancient prophecy in the land of Edenia. The prophecy speaks of a crater where the Forces of Light and the Forces of Darkness will have their final battle. There was more, but I received an incomplete account of the tale."

With a frustrated look on my face for getting practically nowhere with a goddamn incomplete story, I turned to Gemini. "Well... I think we have another person to call up for the Forces of Light."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? He was lucky that we could repair his skin, and I don't even want to try and guess how scarred his mind likely was..."

"He's the two-time champion of Mortal Kombat, Gemini. I think he can handle a simple situation like this."

Stepping towards a hallway, I motioned to a soldier. "Get my office phone hooked up. I have a call to make..."

LIU KANG'S POV

The phone vibrated in my pocket. I had no clue who to expect... No one had called me since Shao Kahn's attempt to merge the realms. Seeing that the number was withheld, I felt that this was a very important call.

Lifting the phone to my ear, I heard silence. "Hello?"

Suddenly, a whistle blared in my ear, followed by a feminine sounding voice. "Congratulations! You've just won a free trip to the Caribbean, courtesy of Castaway Cruises! Please fill out a short survey to claim your ticket on the SS Sun Princess!"

Giving an emotionless look at my phone, the surgery to repair my face having made it difficult to smile, I responded. "I know it is you, Sonya. No need to shroud your identity from me."

The voice on the other end of the phone changed, becoming a lot less staccato and more fluent. "Sorry, just had to make sure it was you."

"Security is a wise thing to keep close... Why have you called?"

"The OIA needs your help to..."

At the acronym 'OIA,' I had already made my decision. "I am sorry, Sonya, but I cannot help you. I am fortunate to be alive, let alone capable of keeping my body healthy, considering the damage to my chi from Raiden's attack. I feel that risking my life on something such as this may result in more harm and suffering with the same ultimate ending, something I am all too familiar of."

She sounded desperate. "Liu, it's been over half a year since you got injured. Doctors cleared you for return to the Wu Shi Academy three months ago. You've been actively retraining for two, and even when you were in a hospital bed, you still practiced with your fireballs. We need you as the Champion of Mortal Kombat to help save Earthrealm in these dire times."

I struggled, but stayed resolute. "The answer is still no, Sonya."

Silence followed before the Special Forces member said something I was truly shocked by.

"What if I told you Kitana was alive?"

My eyes widened, my neck tended, and my body began to course with adrenaline as I heard the name of my deceased girlfriend. "What? How?"

"From what we've heard from Parsek, a recent recruit, she was spotted, along with Jade and Tanya, guarding the Outworld fortress. I'm guessing she was put under some kind of spell after her resurrection. You're probably the only way we can bring her back, so I'll ask again. Will you help us?"

My mind firmly made up, I gave her an answer I knew she would want to hear. "I will be at Special Forces headquarters as soon as I can dress in my combat attire. As well, I will be bringing a student of mine, one who will find this useful as training."

Shutting the phone, my thoughts quickly went to the attire I would wear, and as expected, I wore my usual choice of pants and a headband. Instead of the outfit being red-accented, however, I chose a leafy green color, symbolizing my quest to return to harmony with the outside world after the end of the invasion. Speaking loud and clear so my student could hear me, I gave my notice. "Kai, we are needed by the Special Forces. Come with me."

As though we were easily detected, a portal began to open in front of us, the purplish rift turning stable as we stepped through it, leading directly to the heart of the Special Forces base...

SONYA'S POV

I watched as Liu Kang, the champion of Mortal Kombat, stepped down from the portal. Following him was a darker-skinned man with white body tattoos, Almost like tiger stripes. This, I guessed, was Kai.

Stepping up to the Shaolin warrior, I couldn't help but notice the white right eye, scarred from the lightning of Raiden's palms, as I saluted him. In return, he replied with a formal Shaolin greeting.

"Glad you two could make it. That makes only two members of the Forces of Light left that we need to get."

As if on cue, the white light appeared in the middle of the room, Atraya materializing with a man I recognized very well.

"Heya, sweetcheeks..."

For all the training he went through, it didn't seem to mean a damn thing to his personality. He had removed his name tattoo, dressed in more formal Seidan attire, and was even meditating from what I'd heard, but I knew that would never stop the lovable bastard from being the cocky smartass we all knew and loved.

"Watch it, Cage... I wouldn't want to have to cuff you."

"Cuff me? You can do a hell of a lot more than that, like, I dunno... Lemme tap that..."

I cut him off, directing my attention to Atraya. "Well, what do we do now? Go get Markus before leveling the Forces of Darkness?"

The mysterious woman nodded. "Indeed, however we do not yet know where he is located. If we did, I would be able to begin a search for him."

"We'll, he's in Outworld, we know that. The question is, where?"

Atraya carefully reasoned his location out. "He is most likely either with his girlfriend, or with one of her subordinates. Outworld is a dangerous place, and I doubt he would be allowed to roam freely through a landscape he neither is familiar with nor knowledgeable of. Find Mileena and you shall find Markus. It is that simple."

I thought about her 'words of wisdom.' True, but that still left a huge gap in the logic because none of us knew where Mileena was either. "Maybe if we wait near the fortress, he'd eventually show up. I'm guessing Mileena wants a fight with that Shadow Priest, and since she hasn't had it yet, I'm guessing that it'll be in the near future. We can snag him then."

"Your plan carries enough merit, Sonya Blade, that I fully believe it shall work. Once you verify his location, say my name and I shall transport myself to your location I order to retrieve him. He must be with the Forces of Light, otherwise the Forces of Darkness shall claim him and take him as their own."

With reluctance, I prepared to go through the portal, when Kenshi stopped me. "Sonya, I will be able to sense him from farther away. He also has no struggle with me, and I do not even know who he is. As such, when we meet, he will not suspect me."

I nodded, saluting Kenshi as he stepped through the face of the portal. God, I hoped he found Markus soon... Then we could end this wait and begin the attack on the threats against Earthrealm...