Chapter 4: Konfessions

"OOOOFFFF!!!" Kobra grunted in pain as he was slammed chest first against the wall of his cell by Sonya. Since leaving "The Castle," Kobra's mind was buzzing with hundreds of questions, none of them even close to being answered by the overly aggressive Sonya and the surprisingly tentative Johnny Cage who trailed behind them. What scared him the most however, was the fact that he was certain that these people were not ordinary police. No Miranda Rights, no booking, not even a phone call. Kobra decided that keeping his mouth shut was the best option.

"Be easy on him Sonya, he just had a hell of a night." Cage said, concern in his voice.

"Johnny...shut up." She nudged her head towards a neatly made cot in the corner of the room. "Sit."

Kobra did as he was told, not wanting to make a fuss with the woman. Sonya folded her arms and paced impatiently in front of him. "Alright kid, what's your name?"

"Kobra."

Sonya cut Kobra a menacing look. "No...I didn't mean your name on the streets. I meant the name your mother gave to you when you born you little smartas- - - - - - - -

A shrill beeping noise cut her off. Kobra sighed in relief as she unclipped a small walkie talkie from her hip and placed it to her head. A momentary distraction was enough for Kobra.

"Lieutenant Blade." She said coolly. Her composed demeanor shattered however at whatever news she heard over the radio. Her eyes went wide with exasperation before closing completely. "What the hell do you mean Kano's body is gone..." She hissed into the radio. "I thought your men had the perimeter covered."

Sonya listened into the walkie before replying, "alright Jax, expand the search location to the entire industrial district. If Kano is still alive we absolutely cannot let him slip through our fingers." She clicked the walkie off, disappointment on her face.

"God damn it..."

She turned her attention back to Kobra. "You better start talking right now; who the hell are you? What do you know about the Black Dragons?"

Kobra held his hands up in defense of himself. "Nothing! I swear. Johnny invited me to fight at that place. Tell her."

Johnny Cage fidgeted nervously on his feet. "Yeah...it's true Sonya. It was my idea to have our friend hear fight Kano at "The Castle." Tried to do it without you finding out...but, you know the rest."

"And why the hell would you do a stupid thing like that"

"Well, this may sound crazy...but I think he's the one...

Sonya eyed Kobra up and down, he gaze falling every which way across his body. Kobra's beating heart was slowing, but that could not cure the confusion that was still running rampant throughout his head.

"You think he's the one?"

"Yeah Sonya, I believe I do.." Sonya stepped in front of Cage, their muted voices inaudible to Kobra. With a heavy sigh Sonya's shoulders sagged, and with blinding speed she brought her knee up, connecting with Cage's stomach.

"You dumbass!" She screamed, grabbing the movie star by the collar of his tuxedo and flipping him over to his back. Kobra shot off of the bed in alarm, contemplating whether he should help Cage. "You think he's the one huh?" Sonya said. She stepped out of the cell and closed it behind Kobra and Cage. "Well, I'll tell you what; how about you fill him in on our little plight? You guys can have plenty of time to talk." Sonya stormed away from the cell, her bootsteps fading away.

"Sonya! Wait!" Cage pulled himself to his feet and shook the bars to no avail. "Come back!" Even behind his ever present sunglasses, the dejection was clear on Cage's face as he turned to Kobra.

"Johnny, I hate to sound like a broken record but what - - - - - -"

"The hell is going on..." Cage finished, slumping down to the floor. "Hell, I...I don't even know where to begin..."

"How about starting at the beginning?"

Cage sighed, and Kobra could almost sense a heavy burden in his mind. "A couple of years ago, I went off the grid for a while. Man, I tell you if I had a nickel for every bullshit story of where I was that I heard, I'll be even richer than I already am. I wasn't helping starving children in Myanmar, I wasn't trekking across the Arizona wilderness to cleanse my soul, and I definitely wasn't undergoing alcohol rehabilitation down in Florida. I was competing in a tournament...a martial arts tournament..."

"Really?" Kobra recalled the actors abrupt departure from the spotlight, stories of him being dead or abducted by aliens running rampant. Cage continued, "It's called Mortal Kombat. A fighting tournament unlike anything ever seen before, fighters from foreign lands, hell...worlds...all competing for a prize more valuable than pride, honor, or money...they're competing for the souls of billions of people. I know this may sound hard to believe - - - - - - - - "

"Yeah, and I just had a guy shoot lasers out of his eye and turn into a human cannonball. I think I'm open to anything now." Kobra interrupted. He found himself leaning closer to Cage, not even doubting the legitimacy of his story for a second. Kobra listened in awe as Cage rekindled the story of how 500 years ago, a powerful sorcerer named Shang Tsung and a four armed, half man, half dragon, entered the Mortal Kombat tournament, and for nine straight generations, laid waste to all who opposed them.

Kobra learned that a powerful emperor from the wastelands of Outworld had set his sights on conquering the realm of earth, and a final victory in Mortal Kombat would allow him and his armies into crossing over the realms. In order to prevent this potential calamity, the Elder God of Thunder, Raiden, formed a group of fighters from across the world to enter Mortal Kombat and put a stop to Shang Tsung's plot.

"I was one of those fighter." Cage beamed proudly. "Along with Sonya Blade and a Shaolin Monk, Liu Kang. Liu Kang went on to defeat Shang Tsung – of course with help from yours truly – and restored balance to the realms. Things went back to normal for a while...well, as normal as a monk, special ops soldier, and millionaire movie star sees it. Then...it just happened..."

Cage shook his head slowly, his face a mask of concentration. "What happened?"

"Raiden...he just left. Abandoned us and the realm he once swore to protect. Liu Kang went in pursuit of him...and we never heard from him again either. That's where you come in." Cage reached into his pocket and pulled out the scroll that Kobra had retrieved from Kano's body.

"There's going to be another tournament at the start of the September Equinox...four months away." He said, handing Kobra the scroll. "That's the only time a rift between our world and Outworld opens. I was tasked with finding another fighter to even the odds in our favor."

Kobra stared at the weathered writings on the scroll, mesmerized by the ancient text. "This is unbelievable..." He whispered.

"Sorry you had to go through such a beating to earn it though...but at least you didn't die." Cage forced a half hearted laugh. "But now the hard part begins. If you really want to enter Mortal Kombat, you would need to train and become much better than you already are. And I know just the place..."

"Otomix Training Center in L.A.?"

"Uh...no. I'm thinking a place more exotic. China."

China!? Kobra pondered the life altering event. Moving to a foreign land to train for a life or death tournament... "I've never even set foot outside New York..."

"I know this is all coming fast for you...trust me, but you just have to realize that there is much more at stake than you can even imagine. You have to believe in yourself."

China...leaving behind the grit of New York, the shitty one bedroom apartment, dead end job and Karate training...all for the unknown and dangerous...

"When do we leave?"

Cage smiled. "As soon as Sonya lets us out of this damn cell."

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Authors Note: That "Koncludes" another chapter. Get it? Yeah...