Chapter Seventeen

Underground Arena

Match after match went out throughout the evening. Some were quick and some lasted much longer than anticipated. Shang Tsung watched over the matches much more carefully than normal. Emperor Shao Kahn was not able to attend tonight's tournament under unknown circumstances, and he had asked the sorcerer to pick candidates for people with enough ability to be in their army.

Shang Tsung would sigh in disappointment quietly after each match. All of the fighters, winners or not, were lacking the ability that would qualify them for the position. The sorcerer wanted to at least find one qualified person in order to satisfy the Emperor and give a better reason for Shang Tsung to stick around longer, just in case anything went wrong that would cause him his life.

After some time, three competitions in a row finally caught Shang Tsung's interest. The first was one between someone named Duck Ward, a stupid name in the sorcerer's opinion. Then there was his opponent known simply by the name of Sodom.

Sodom bore two types of weapons on him… a pair of long katanas and a pair of jittes. The sorcerer had seen many fighters wielding various weapons, but he had never seen one who possessed two different weapons that came in pairs.

Duck Ward only held a broadsword on him. Despite Sodom having multiple weapons, Duck Ward showed no desire to hold back. The fight was going to be quite interesting…

"Begin!" the sorcerer called out. And immediately, the two fighters went after one another.

Steel clashed with steel throughout the entire fight. At first, Duck Ward seemed to have the advantage, taking most of the offense with his opponent being on defense. In the beginning, Sodom used his jittes, weapons that were smaller than his opponent's broadsword.

Eventually, Sodom was forced to use his double katanas. In a blink of an eye, he placed his jittes back in his belt, then took out the swords and blocked an incoming move from Duck Ward. The watchers of the match were impressed by Sodom's speed and applauded once the two fighters were back in their stances.

After a moment of that, the two continued their match. This time, Sodom was on offense, his two blades beginning to overpower Duck Ward's single blade. Duck Ward was soon backed towards the edge of the ring and within a minute, Sodom took advantage of it. The blue-masked fighter lifted a leg and kicked Duck Ward hard in the abdomen and flew a few feet back out of the ring. The viewers who were behind Duck Ward quickly moved out of the way before they were able to be knocked to the ground.

Shang Tsung realized that the fight was officially over and he immediately stood up. "Winner: Sodom!"

As how it always was at the end of the match, the viewers applauded in unison. Silently as he has been the whole time, Sodom placed his katanas back in his belt, then left the ring. He blended into the crowd then, so it was not known if he was going to stay to watch the next few matches or if he had left the lair for the night.

It was no matter to the sorcerer. "We shall begin the next match!" He paused for a moment before announcing the first fighter of the match. "Jubei!"

A Japanese man in black and red samurai armor stepped into the ring. Once he was in the ring, he immediately took out his katana, prepared for whoever he was going to face.

It was only Shang Tsung who knew. "Kabal!"

The Black Dragon clan leader stepped into the ring, with one double hooksword in each hand. A bit of surprise came upon Jubei's face. He wasn't sure whether to be shock by his appearance or his unusual weapons. Either way, he was determined to win this fight and move on to the next round. After a stare down from their places, both fighters stood in their fighting stances.

Shang Tsung knew then that they were ready for battle. "Begin!" he called out once again before sitting down.

Once the match was called, Kabal and Jubei slowly circled each other in the ring, watching for the other to make the first move. Eventually, Jubei grew impatient and decided to make the first move. He charged after Kabal and swung his sword, in which Kabal blocked with his hooksword.

Once again, steel against steel was heard around the room. Both Kabal and Jubei seemed to play both offense and defense, neither one of them being able to overpower the other just yet.

Soon, Kabal was able to find an opening and aimed one of his free blades at Jubei's arm. Jubei managed to see the strike in time and leaned back, only having a bit of his sleeve opened up, just missing his skin by a millimeter.

More of this continued, and for a moment, Shang Tsung thought neither of these fighters were worthy to be in the growing army. That was… until Kabal began to have the upper hand.

With unimagined speed, Kabal quickly ran passed Jubei, causing him to spin in rapid speed, fast enough to the point where Jubei ended up in a form of a tornado. Once Kabal was able to recover from his run, he quickly turned around and caught Jubei in mid-spin. Jubei now had his back turned to his opponent as he felt his head spin, the rooming looking more like a jigsaw puzzle to him now.

Kabal then kneed Jubei in the back, causing sheer pain in the samurai's body. He let out a painful groan as he suddenly found himself being thrown over Kabal's should backwards and landing hard on the ground, causing more pain to shoot through his body.

Without mercy, Kabal stomped on Jubei for a moment, before taking his hooksword out and began jabbing it towards his opponent. For a split second, Jubei had thought Kabal was going to kill him and was about to roll over. As he started to do so, Kabal used the hook portion of the weapon and managed to pierce it through the part of his shirt that was exposed around the armor. He then lifted Jubei up and got him back on his feet.

Before Jubei was able to get away from the weapon's grib, Kabal spoke. "Face defeat," he whispered. And with that, he pulled his head back a bit and shot out a purple, plasma-like energy into Jubei's face. The force of the energy pushed Jubei back and when he landed, he had hit his head hard enough on the ground to be knocked into unconsciousness.

Once the sorcerer Shang Tsung noticed this, he stood up from his throne. "Winner: Kabal!" he announced. And once again, the viewers clapped in union as Kabal left the ring with no remorse towards Jubei, who was immediately dragged out of the ring by his allies who were watching him in the tournament.

Shang Tsung looked down at the list that was in front of him to see who were the next two fighters to be in the ring. He smirked for two reasons upon seeing the names… one was that he came to realize that this was going to be the last match of the night. The second was that he recognized one of the names of the two fighters who was going to fight…

"We will now begin the final match of the night!" Shang Tsung called out. He waited a moment before announcing the first fighter. "Azam!"

A 7-foot muscular person stepped into the ring. He wore black boots and pants revealing his torso, which were covered with countless black tattoos. He possessed long black hair, which was tied back, a pair of black horns that came from his forehead, and a set of red eyes which scanned the viewers in search of who was going to face him in this match. Because he had a bit of a menacing appearance, the viewers grew silent and were beginning to feel sorry for the poor guy who was going to face him.

However, Shang Tsung knew Azam wasn't going to face an average person. He soon called out his name. "Noob Saibot!"

The average-sized wraith stepped into the ring. He seemed much more darker than before, almost like a shadow, with the exception of the pair of white lights in his eyes, which seemed to glare at Azam.

Although Shang Tsung didn't know Noob personally, he had heard much about the Netherrealm native, a member of the Brotherhood of Shadow, which Quan Chi once led. Noob had taken over the Brotherhood since, but from what the sorcerer had heard, he had proven to be a worthy leader.

Perhaps we could use him for our cause, the sorcerer thought. However, let's see how worthy he really is first.

"Begin!" Shang Tsung called out.

The fight itself didn't last very long, but in that short time, Noob unknowingly proved himself to the man watching from his throne. The wraith had incredibly speed, confusing his larger opponent completely. He then disappeared in a cloud of black mist. Azam looked around in confusion, unsure of where his opponent went, but once he was punched in the face, he realized that Noob had the power of invisibility. He swung his arms around, hoping to hit Noob, but it was no use, as the wraith was able to stay out of the way.

Noob then reappeared from behind Azam, who was unaware of it. He took out one of his dark gray throwing stars and threw it at Azam. The weapon impaled him in the shoulder, which had managed to go through his thick muscles, and he screamed in pain. With that, Noob took the opportunity to grab Azam by the shoulders, flipped himself up over his head, then use his strength to throw him over his head and face first into the ground just a few feet away. The force of the move caused cracks to appear on the ground and the impact made Azam lose consciousness.

The match was over. Shang Tsung stood up and announced Noob the winner and the viewers clapped in unison for the last time, at least for the night. Noob had folded his arms and stared down at his unconscious opponent, obviously disappointed in the match. After a brief moment of this, he turned around and walked away.

As the rest of the crowd dispersed, Shang Tsung walked off with two Shadow Priests on either side of him. Sodom, Kabal, and Noob… those were the three names to keep in mind, because to the sorcerer, they were all worthy of being in Shao Kahn's developing army…

In A Dark Area Near The Underground Lair

As instructed, Kabal met with his two allies, Kira and Havik after the night's tournament was over to discuss more plans, since they haven't been able to do much of it since their arrival in Outworld. Havik had suggested a darkened area he had noticed on their way to the tournament and believed that this was the best place to have their discussion before returning to the main palace for the night.

Kabal stepped into the darkness. Although he was not able to see them, he could sense the presence of both Kira and Havik. All three were completely sealed from all eyes and the only way they knew they would be noticed was if someone had a sixth sense of sorts.

"Good, now we can finally get this over with," whispered Kira.

Havik snorted in amusement… he was feeling the same way the red-head was at the moment. "It would seem that we are closer to the medallion than I thought," he stated. "There have been rumors going around the palace that the host of the tournament, Shang Tsung, has connections to those who are currently holding the medallion. There is also another small rumor that I heard as well… there may be a chance that those fighting in the underground, and qualified for it, will be recruited into a new Outworld Forces in development."

"If I am recruited," Kabal cut in. "I will ask that you two join as well. I am sure you are able to prove yourselves to the higher ranks. That way, we will have more of a chance to retrieve the medallion."

Kira spoke up then. "We should wait until the end of the tournament and the winner is declared. It would be much easier to take the artifact for ourselves then."

Havik sighed then. "Well, it wouldn't be as fun as taking it from those who have it now, but if it will make your Earthlings happy, then so be it. Once we have the medallion, we will be able to take everyone under our control… get them to speak backwards and make the sky green and the grass blue in every realm, just like home."

That alone made Kira raise an eyebrow. She understood that Havik tended to think oddly considering where he came from, but this was just a bit too much for her. Kabal himself was silent and she hoped that he hadn't succumbed to the adviser's insanity.

The leader of the Black Dragon spoke then. "And do not forget, we will be able to control everyone under our will and we will have the power to have the best join our clan."

"Excellent," Havik said. "Well, that is all for now." Footsteps were heard then, indicating his departure.

Kabal began following then with Kira just behind him. The red-haired woman had her arms folded in front of her as they walked and when they were in the light again, she narrowed her eyes at Havik a bit. The discussion was much shorter than she had thought and they haven't discussed any real specific details about their plans, only the real basics. It was pretty much the similar conversation that they had last.

As they exited the lair, Kira began to wonder if Havik was truly worthy of being the clan's adviser…

Forest Area

"Wow, I'm really full," said Mi-na as she patted her stomach. "That dinner in the palace was great tonight."

Her childhood friend Hwang nodded in agreement. "It was a nice meal, at least it wasn't fish this time."

They continued walking forward. The two had decided to take a walk around the area before returning to the palace for the night. Three days ago, Mi-na won her match. Two days ago, Hwang won his match after being sick for a couple of days. Since they both were able to move on to round two, they decided to take the time to relax before the new round of the tournament began, the last day being in two days by morning.

"So what do you want to do when we get back to the palace?" asked Mi-na.

Hwang smirked to himself, knowing that the young woman wasn't going to like the answer he was going to give him. "We're going to bed… because we're going to train tomorrow morning."

Mi-na sighed a bit. "I don't mind training, but why in the morning?"

"Because if you train in the morning, it will boost your energy up better."

"Well, all right, if it will-"

It was then that they both heard a crunch not too far from them as though someone stepped on fresh leaves. Hwang and Mi-na stopped in their tracks, both realizing that someone was not too far from them. They quickly turned their heads, expecting someone to be behind them, but there was no one there. After a moment, the two looked at each other in a bit of confusion.

"Um," Mi-na whispered, only loud enough so that only Hwang could hear her. "It was probably a rat or something."

Hwang shifted his dark brown eyes a bit. "Maybe. However, I have this uneasy feeling suddenly." They began walking forward again, but more slowly this time.

Mi-na couldn't help but chuckle a bit. "You're not getting sick again, are you?"

Hwang stared at the young woman. "No, what I meant was-"

Before he was able to finish, he suddenly found Mi-na jump quickly towards him, noticing the horrified look on her face. Hwang was about to react, but then felt himself being pushed forward quickly by his ally and fell straight into the ground. As he recovered from the fall, he suddenly heard the sound of crashing steel just a few feet from him. He turned he head and noticed Mi-na with Scarlet Thunder out in front of her. Hwang was about to protest, about to ask her why in the hell she pushed him the way she did… then, he saw why.

A woman dressed in a black and pink attire stood in front of Mi-na, a pair of sais blocked by Mina's own weapon. Although the mysterious woman wore a veil over her lower face, he could tell by her cold eyes that she was smiling in amusement.

"Aren't you a strong one?" the woman hissed as she stared at Mi-na. "And a pretty one too. Originally, I was out after another, but while I wait, I'll play with you. Mileena wants to have fun."

"You picked the wrong person to fight," Mi-na said with determination. She then slightly pulled her weapon back and swung the blade end towards her opponent. Mileena immediately blocked the blade with one of her sais. Because of the size of the weapons, Mi-na had hoped that the weapons would knocked from Mileena's hand easily, but by the pressure, it would seem that the pink-clad woman had a very good grip on them.

The two women continue to exchange moves. As this was going on, Hwang managed to stand on his feet and immediately drew out his sword he had named Blue Thunder, a gift from the general of the coast guard back in Keisei.

Mi-na had quickly shifted her eyes towards Hwang once she was able to distract Mileena and saw that he was standing. "I'll take care of this myself!" she called out, then continued to fight.

Hwang sighed to himself. Must she be stubborn at a time like this?! he thought with a bit of frustration. He decided to ignore her and ran forward to take down Mileena. However, before he lifted his sword above him, Mileena brought out two hands in front of her, one in front of each of the two. Then, two pink energy in shape of her weapons shot out towards each of them.

Though Hwang wasn't prepared for it, he was able to dodge his head out of the way and the energy barely missed him as he felt a small piece of the fabric on his shoulder being cut off. However, Mi-na wasn't able to dodge in time and was hit by the energy, sending her flying back and crashing into a tree.

"AAHHH!" Mi-na screamed out as she suddenly felt sharp pain in her right ankle. Despite the pain, she tried to get back on her feet, not willing to give up just yet. However, the moment she was on both feet, her right ankle gave out and she found herself on the ground holding her ankle in pain. "Dammit!" she cried out.

"Don't move, you're hurt!" Hwang cried out as he dodged a swinging sai from Mileena.

"Oh like I didn't know that!" Mi-na called out sarcastically.

Mileena stopped where she was and laughed a bit. "Too bad your little girlfriend went down so fast. But at least I can have fun with you."

She then quickly threw one of her sais at him, the weapon going just as fast as the energy she shot out a moment ago. Not having enough time to dodge physically again, Hwang quickly lifted his sword up and blocked the flying weapon, causing it to go off course. However, the weapon headed towards Mi-na, who had seen it coming and rolled slightly. The weapon plunged into the ground, barely missing the female warrior.

Knowing that his defense almost killed her, Hwang realized that they had to escape since she was hurt. With Mi-na just lying not too far from him and his opponent, she was at risk of being killed, realizing how sadistic Mileena truly was.

The thought briefly distracted him and it gave Mileena the chance to kick Hwang back a couple of feet. He landed on his back, a bit of pain shooting through him, but at least he still had his sword in his hand. With his free hand, Hwang felt a handful of dirt in his palm as Mileena approached him.

"Now you will both die!" Mileena cried out raising her remaining sai.

Unknown to her, Mi-na had managed to pick up the second sai, the one that had almost stabbed her. With all she had, she threw the weapon at Mileena, who saw it coming and dodged out of the way. However, this gave Hwang the advantage. He took the dirt in his hand and threw it in Mileena's eyes. Immediately, the stinging sensation caused Mileena to back away and she let out a small scream, frustrated that she had been distracted longer.

"Let's go!" Hwang announced. He quickly placed his sword back in his scabbard, scooped Mi-na in his arms, and ran with all he had out of the area.

Once Mileena was able to clear her eyes, the two young fighters were long gone. She growled inhumanly with frustration. "Those two will pay with their lives the next time I see them!"

The Main Palace

On the main staircase, people would pass in either directions, focused on their agendas for the night. The matches of the day were over and people moved about with no rush. At the bottom of the wide staircase, some had noticed a dark man in deep thought next to the long banister, but soon their minds became focused on other things.

Raven wasn't bothered by the quick stares, only because, as many guessed, he was in deep thought. The agent was in a bit of frustration for the first time since he could remember. Although most of the missions he had been one required time and patience, he would normally find leads to his main objective. However, this was the first time that he wasn't able to find one solid lead on figuring out the sorcerer Shang Tsung's true motives. Raven had tried to follow the sorcerer a few times throughout the tournament, but he would then find him gone without a trace.

During the last few days, he would quietly ask a few people of any information. There were a few rumors that were mentioned to him, including recruitment to the Emperor's forces in which the sorcerer was involved with. Other than that, there was nothing that would bring him closer to his objective.

He was also used to having his contacts back at headquarters through his earpiece, but as they had mentioned before his departure, they were unable to stay in contact while Raven was in another realm because the device was never meant for inter-realm travels. Normally, they would help find information as he worked, but obviously, not this time around.

The mission was indeed a challenge. Raven sighed a bit, realizing that he was letting his frustration cloud his mind. It wasn't normal for him to do so and he couldn't imagine what everyone back at headquarters would think.

However, he wasn't willing to give up. He was well known for never failing a mission. If he failed this now, especially one that was in another realm, it would completely blow his reputation. As he thought of this, he realized for the first time since becoming an agent how much pressure was on him.

Raven sighed to himself, realizing this fact. He then looked at his watch and decided to get some sleep for the night before continuing his mission. He got on his feet and began heading upstairs.

As he did, Raven noticed a peculiar person heading his way. He was dressed in a black karate gi with a red belt wrapped around his waist. He was a much older person with grayish-white hair, which was designed in a devil-like style. Raven didn't think anything of the man until he found him staring at him. Raven kept his eyes away until the man completely passed him. He reached the top of the stairs, then turned his head just in time to see the older man disappear around the corner.

Raven raised an eyebrow. A weird feeling fell over him, as though something wasn't right with the man. And it was also as though he had known him from somewhere before, but couldn't quite put a finger on it.

Feeling tired, the agent decided to forget about it and headed down the hall to his room. He had other things to concentrate on anyway…

Far Off From the Palace

"I never knew you could be capable of being such a cheap fighter," Mi-na said while glaring at Hwang. They had just exited the forest area, much to both of their relief, though at this point, they realized that they were far off from the palace.

Hwang sighed to himself. He felt a bit guilty himself by using a cheap tactic of throwing dirt at his opponent's eyes. "I know," he said. "But it wasn't like it was the actual tournament."

"That's true," Mi-na agreed. She then winced a bit, feeling another shot of pain in her ankle. "I really hope that I didn't break anything."

"I never got a good look at it," Hwang said. "When we get back to the palace, I'll look at it."

Mi-na looked at Hwang again. "Do you even know where we are?"

The guardsman stopped in his tracks and scanned the area. He was unable to recognize the area and came to the realization that they were lost. 'Great,' he thought. He then turned to his right and noticed a wall of boulders. Along the boulders, a large hole was presented.

"A cave…" Hwang muttered. He looked down at Mi-na then. "Since it's very late, we're going to have to settle at that cave over there for the night."

Mi-na sighed a bit, not happy about the resting place for the night. "I really hope Outworld doesn't have any weird species of bats in there."

Hwang wasn't an easy person to amuse, but for some reason, Mi-na was able to get a small chuckle out of him this time around. She smirked to herself a bit, feeling sort of proud of herself for finally being able to start breaking the seriousness her friend always possessed since they were kids.

The guardsman carried Mi-na to the cave and they stepped a few feet in before finally placing her on the ground, then sat next to her. Mi-na looked around the area. She found it interesting that there were lit candles against the wall, but didn't think any more of it.

Hwang looked over at Mi-na then as she stared up at the candles. A thought came to him then. He didn't know why it left him in the first place and mentally slapped himself for it. They were originally here in Outworld because she had run away from home and boarded on to the ship. He and the Coast Guard were assigned to bring her home at any cost and he was the only one who had seen her escape on to the ship. Hwang was determined to do so… however, before he did, he had to find the truth behind Mi-na's reason of running away to begin with… and now seemed like the right time to ask.

However, before he was able to open his mouth, a loud humming noise was heard just a couple of feet away. Mi-na and Hwang turned their heads and saw a white light in shape of a person right in front of them. Then, just as quickly, the light faded, revealing a tall, male person in black, blue, and white clothing and wore a rice harvester hat on his head.

"Greetings," the man said.

Mi-na was unable to say anything, shock to see that someone was in the cave. However, Hwang managed to speak for the two of them. "Um, I'm sorry we came here, we didn't know someone was here…"

They were both surprised to hear the man chuckle. "Do not worry yourselves. I had sensed that you two would come here since this morning." The two Keisei natives raised an eyebrow, a bit freaked out by the last sentence. The man decided to try to reassure them then. "My name is Raiden. Come with me to the back, I will explain everything. I just ask that you keep it quiet, the others are sleeping."

There was no time to think about who the 'others' were. Hwang helped Mi-na up again and the two followed Raiden to the back…

Upper Floors, Main Palace

After spending the evening watching the tournaments in the underground lair, Sagat and Vega decided to retire for the night. Viper followed them just a few feet behind in silence.

"Those were the worst matches I've seen since we arrived here," said Vega. "I could've taken them all on without breaking a sweat."

Sagat silently snorted a bit. "Do not let your ignorance cloud your mind."

"Speak for yourself, former Muay Thai Champion."

At the moment, Sagat wanted to throw Vega down the stairs they were just passing by. However, he regained his composure as he was currently not in the mood to fight. "Forget about it. I have a tournament to attend to tomorrow morning and now is not the time for me to be distracted from the past."

The three soon reached the doors to their rooms, which were next to each other. "Since you will mentally prepare for tomorrow," Vega stated. "I have my own 'plans' to attend to tonight." With that, he looked at Viper, who only looked up at him with no emotion in her face.

A bit of disgust washed over Sagat. "What is your interest in this girl anyway?"

As the Spanish matador unlocked the door to his room, he placed his free hand around Viper's shoulders. "Let's just say that she is a strong one."

Sagat shook his head a little. "You sadistic bastard. You're lucky Bison is no longer alive. He would've ripped your throat with his bare hands for this." The Thailand native soon managed to unlock the door to his room. "I'll see you tomorrow." He then went into his room and shut the door behind him.

Silently, Vega and Viper walked into their room and the matador locked the door behind them. The room itself was large, nearly all of the items in the room were of golden color, aside from the few plants that were placed around the room. In the back of the room contained two windows and a doorway which lead to an outdoor balcony, looking over Outworld. The room also contained a king-sized bed in which Vega shared with Viper.

Viper had already approached the bed and began to sit down on the mattress. Vega himself removed the cloak around his body revealing his bare torso which contained a purple snake tattoo that wrapped around him. He also wore a red scarf around his waist, purple and yellow pants, the end stopping just below the knee, long white socks, and brown shoes.

Once he placed his cloak on a chair, Vega took off his claw and placed it on the desk. He then took off his white porcelain mask and placed it next to the claw. Because he wore the mask so much, most people perceived him as some sort of ugly monster. However, that wasn't the case as Vega possessed a very flawless face and, at the age of twenty-six, he looked a bit younger than he really was.

Vega then approached the bed, not taking his dark blue eyes off of Viper, who stayed in her place. The Spanish matador stopped just a foot from her, then placed a hand just under her chin and tilted her head up so that her eyes were on him.

"Now my beauty," Vega whispered so only she was able to hear. "Let us begin."

And with that, he took a hold of the golden drapes and pulled it over so that all view of the bed was covered…

Back At the Cave

A bandage had been wrapped around Mi-na's ankle. It turned out that she had only sprained it and had to stay off of it in order to let it recover. As her ankle was taken care of, she looked over at the woman with wild purple hair who had introduced herself as Rose.

Once they had arrived in the back, Hwang had asked Raiden who the 'others' were. To his surprise, the 'others' were thirty-two other people, plus Raiden and Rose, staying in the cave. Hwang and Mi-na couldn't understand why these people were secluded from the rest of the participants of the tournaments, but neither one of them dared to ask.

Then, Raiden spoke. "I sense a pure heart and soul in both of you. If that wasn't the case, I would've kicked you both out of here."

Rose glared at Raiden. "Well the poor girl did hurt her ankle, the best we could do is help them."

Raiden sighed, decided not to argue with her then. However, confusion still clouded the strangers. "I don't get it," said Mi-na. "How is it that Hwang and I have 'pure hearts and souls?'"

"Okay so no one is ever completely innocent," Raiden admitted. "What I meant by that is that the two of your have a sense of knowing what is truly right, no matter what you have done in the past. Which brings me to a question out of curiosity… do you two have any idea what you got yourselves into here?"

"I can answer that," Mi-na answered. "I was chased down by the Coast Guard back in Keisei and escaped on a ship. I didn't know I was going to whole different place there where a tournament was going to be." She then pointed a finger at Hwang. "And for added information, he's a member of the Coast Guard."

Hwang sighed to himself, realizing that even when they agreed to place their current situation aside, Mi-na still held a bit of a grudge towards him. He wanted to argue with her then, to blame her for making him chase her here and becoming trapped until the end of the tournament, but now didn't seem to be the right time for that.

Raiden chuckled a little. "As I said, no one is completely innocent. However, I should tell you that all the realms, including Keisei, are in danger."

"What do you mean?" Hwang asked, now curious.

"Well," Raiden replied. "I am the God of Thunder and Rose is a psycho-I mean psychic." Rose immediately glared at him. Raiden noticed, but he continued on. "Along with the other individuals here, we are here to defend the realms… you two have been chosen to do the same."

Rose decided to continue for the Thunder God. "The Chishio No Me medallion is in the wrong hands, considering the Outworld Emperor's history. Many rumors and suspicions have been going around since before anyone's arrival here for the tournament. Some of us, myself included, had visions of the destruction of mankind, and we fear that may be the result of the tournament."

"For now," Raiden cut in. "Our job is to make sure that the medallion falls into the right hands. We are also doing investigations on the current wielders, however we haven't been very successful at this point. We hope that we will have more answers near the end of the tournament."

"Tell me about the Outworld Emperor," asked Hwang.

Raiden nodded. "His name is Shao Kahn…" and with that, he explained the Emperor's history, the history of the medallion, and how it was discovered recently and given to Shao Kahn.

When Raiden finished the story, Hwang and Mi-na were in a bit of shock. Sure, the two of then stuck around for the tournament to see how far they would go, but they had no idea what they truly got themselves into. They wondered what could've happened had they not have received this information after the tournament was over. Then again, what could happen may not even happen…

"Mi-na and I will help anyway we can," Hwang said. "Especially if it's for the sake of the entire universe."

Raiden nodded in approval. "Excellent! In that case, welcome aboard. You'll be staying in the cave for the remainder of the tournament."

Rose stood up then. "Follow me, I will show you to your rooms."

Hwang stood up then and helped Mi-na up as well. Then, they followed the older woman out of the lounge area and towards one of the few empty rooms of the cave. As they left, Rose glared at Raiden again. "And when I get back, I'd like to talk to you about the whole 'psycho' thing." Then she left.

Women, Raiden thought with amusement. Then almost immediately after, his mind became serious. Why do I have the feeling that we still may not have enough for our cause…