Chapter Sixty-Two

That same night…

Shao Kahn's Fortress

Nearly all of the Emperor's henchman gathered around his throne room, which was the biggest room in the entire fortress. Moments ago, all were called to a meeting for reasons unknown. No one was sure of what to expect, but they obviously wouldn't know unless they went to the meeting.

Soon, the whisper-like chatter died down the moment Shao Kahn came into view. He walked down the red carpet that lead to his throne, which was also occupied by two Shadow Priests who stood in front of a pair of lit black candles. Shao Kahn soon stood in front of his throne, but did not sit down.

"This gathering shall begin," Shao Kahn's booming voice called out. All in the room looked up at him as they awaited for word of what this meeting was all about.

"Before we officially begin," he continued. "Some of you may have noticed that the winner of the tournament, Ivy Valentine, is not in our presence at the moment. That is because I've recommended for her to take her time to rest… to better prepare for morning."

"The morning?" asked Mileena who stood in the front of the group. "I sense something exciting will happen tomorrow."

Shao Kahn nodded at her. "For some, yes." He then looked up at everyone else. "Most of you have been probably wondering why this tournament came to be… and why I've been constantly inviting new recruits in our Outworld force. Tonight… you will receive that answer."

Everyone looked at each other excitedly. Some chatter began to go around for just a moment.

"SILENCE!" Shao Kahn yelled out, immediately shutting everyone up as they looked up back at him again. "I demand you all to stay quiet… unless you want your heads knocked off your shoulders."

"We apologize," said Reptile who too stood up front.

"Now," the Emperor proceeded. "The reason for all of what's been taking place is this… I am planning to once again conquer all the realms. Now with the power of Chishio No Me officially in our hands, it will be much easier for us to move on with this plan. The main purpose of the tournament… to lure 'the best of the best' here as a means of them to join our side."

That's when Baraka spoke up. "We've had plenty who join our side… but what of the others Master? The ones who refuse to join us?"

Before Shao Kahn was able to reply to the question, the door to the throne room suddenly opened. Everyone turned their heads in the direction of the person who just entered. Shao Kahn wasn't able to see the person right away, at least until the people standing in the front row parted themselves away. He then was able to see Sodom walking up to Shao Kahn's throne. Over his shoulder was an unconscious figure.

Silently, Sodom took the person off his shoulder and dropped him to the floor. Shao Kahn was able to get a better look at the figure and immediately recognized Guy Hinato. Since the end of the second round of the tournament, he was requested for his henchman to retrieve him so that he could have him join his army. It took some time, but Sodom had finally succeeded.

Shao Kahn then looked up at everyone. "Except for Sodom, Astaroth, and the Shadow Priests, I order you all to take your leave! We will regroup later!"

With that, everyone except for the few chosen by him departed from the throne room. When the last person was gone, the door was closed behind them.

The Emperor looked at Sodom. "You have done well in your assignment," he said. "You shall be rewarded for this later tonight. Take your leave now."

Sodom replied with a nod before he began departing as well.

"Take him away!" Shao Kahn ordered the Shadow Priests.

Gliding forward, the group of Shadow Priests soon surrounded Guy. They then picked him up, raising his form above their heads, and finally made their way out of the way.

"And what of me?" Astaroth said. "And I hope it's good. I haven't done much since I lost the tournament."

"I'm aware of that," Shao Kahn replied. "And I have something for you to do tonight. It's not much, but I'm quite sure you'll find some sort of thrill. I want you to keep guard of the tournament grounds. If anyone tries to pass you… kill them on sight."

It wasn't much, but Astaroth found himself sighing a bit as he took out his axe. "I'll take care of it."

"Return in the morning," Shao Kahn ordered.

With that, the Keisei golem took his leave.

Cave

"I think that's about everything," said Kilik as he pulled the string of his bag in order to close it. "Are you ready to go home?"

His friend Maxi nodded. "Definitely. I've got all of my belongings packed already."

All was quiet as Kilik made sure that he definitely packed everything. Although it was very late in the evening, Maxi wasn't able to sleep, at least not right now. So he decided to check up on what Kilik was up to and found him packing his stuff.

"You know," Maxi began to say after a moment of silence. "We've been on a lot of adventures even before we came here to Outworld. After all this time, I think I'm about ready to go back to my homeland. Now sure what I plan to do, but I'm sure I'll figure it out once I get here. Just hope my hut is still standing." He ended that with a short laugh.

Kilik laughed a little as well before speaking. "Well, I plan to go back to my homeland too. As a matter of fact, I think I'm going to pay Edgemaster a visit."

Maxi stared at him. "Your old master?"

The younger of the two nodded. "Yeah. I figured I'd try to reflect on my recent travels, kind of recuperate a bit before I go venturing out again."

"Sounds like a plan," Maxi said. "Say, has Xianghua told you what she was going to do?"

Kilik nodded. "She mentioned that she was planning to return to the Imperial Force for a while. She knows that she's due to return soon and decided to try to get back early."

"Ah I see," Maxi replied. He then patted Kilik on the shoulder. "Well… it was fun while it lasted."

"Yeah," Kilik agreed. Then he smirked. "I'm sure that the three of us will travel together again."

"It probably won't beat this particular adventure, but we'll see."

Maxi then stretched himself out. "Ah shoot… nature just called, so I'll return shortly."

"All right," Kilik said. From there, the dark haired man departed from the room and began heading out.

Nearby…

About two hours ago, Ryu got himself in his bed, believing himself to be tired. He remembered thinking that he couldn't wait to rest up. The sooner he got his sleep, the sooner he would be able to get back to Earth.

However, all he had done for the past two hours was toss and turn. It seemed as though he wasn't able to get himself into a comfortable position. Either that, or the thoughts racing through his mind were the reason he was being kept up.

Aside from his problem with Julia, he knew nothing was seriously wrong… unless that was the reason he was being kept up…

Either that or I ate more than I thought before bed, Ryu thought as he remembered the small piece of cake that he had not too long before coming to his room.

After another fifteen minutes, Ryu finally decided to get himself up. He figured that a short walk outside may due and perhaps he'll be able to fall asleep better upon his return back here.

Ryu got himself out of bed. Wearing only the bottom half of his white gi, he took the top portion from his duffle bag and placed it over his bare chest before tying it with his black karate belt. Then, he put on his brown fighting gloves just to be safe. Afterward, he stepped out of his room and began heading outside.

Once he outside, he took the few minute walk over to the beach area. Ryu had expected to be alone there, but upon seeing the beach water, he noticed Jin Kazama standing there looking out at the water.

Jin was able to hear someone coming up from behind him. He shifted his eyes over a bit as he turned his head to see Ryu. "Can't sleep either?"

Ryu stopped walking just a couple of feet away and looked at his ally. "How do you figure?"

"Just a guess," Jin answered. "I can't sleep myself either."

"Why so?" Ryu asked curiously.

Jin sighed to himself a bit before replying. "Something came up this evening… something I have to take care of upon my return. I get the feeling that's what I've been losing sleep over."

"You had yourself quite a day," Ryu reminded him.

"I know," Jin said. "So I'm surprised I'm still even up."

At that moment, they both heard another set of footsteps not too far from them. Jin and Ryu turned their heads and were a bit surprised to see Kenshi coming up to them.

"Can't sleep either?" asked Ryu.

"You could say that," the swordsman replied. "I can't quite figure it out why though."

"Any guesses?" Jin asked curiously.

Kenshi was silent for a moment as though he was trying to get an idea of something. Soon he was able to answer. "I got this feeling about something I can't describe… a dark feeling might I add."

"Perhaps some bad omen may take place?" guessed Ryu.

"It's possible," Kenshi answered. "But I wouldn't jump to conclusions."

Jin then figured out something. "With your keen senses, I'm getting this feeling…" He then looked at Ryu. "Do you think whatever Kenshi is feeling is perhaps the same reason the both of us are up?"

"It may be," Ryu replied. "But if that's the case… wouldn't the rest of the cave be up as well?"

At that moment, another set of footsteps were heard, followed by a female voice. "Jin?"

The three of them turned their heads and soon noticed Cammy coming up to them. Jin spoke. "Can't sleep?"

"Actually I was just about to go to bed," Cammy replied. "But then I noticed you were missing so I went out to looking for you… and here you are. Is anything wrong?"

Jin briefly looked over at Ryu and Kenshi before turning his head to Cammy. "No, everything is fine." An idea came to him them. "Are you up for a walk?"

Cammy shrugged a bit. "I guess so. But let's not take too long."

"All right," Jin said. Soon the two of them departed.

Afterward, Ryu turned to Kenshi. "If anyone asks, I'm taking a walk as well. I'll return soon."

Kenshi nodded before Ryu departed to the other direction. A few moments later, the blind swordsman decided to just go back in the cave, realizing that there wasn't anything for him to do out here. He took the walk back into the cave and only passed a few rooms before stopping in front of one particular curtain. He listened in for a moment before deciding to pull the curtain a bit and walking in.

Kenshi reached over to the bed in the room, where a sleeping Alex laid. He stood over her for a moment before he reached out to touch her shoulder, noting that she was sleeping on her side. Slowly then, he got himself on the bed, getting himself behind her before wrapping a single arm around her waist.

Alex was awaken by the movement behind her, slowly opening her eyes. When she felt an arm wrap around her, she realized who it was. "Kenshi?" she uttered.

"Go back to sleep," he murmured.

It seemed as though her mind listened as Alex let out a small yawn before she found herself falling right back to sleep.

From that moment, Kenshi realized that perhaps the dark feeling he had felt wasn't felt by anyone else other than perhaps Jin and Ryu. If that was the case, then why was only the three of them kept up?

Perhaps it's just part of the Outworld environment for all I know, he thought.

After the thought, all Kenshi could do was wait for sleep to take over him for the night.

Shao Kahn's Fortress, Sleeping Quarters

Lying on her bed, Ivy looked up at the ceiling in her bedroom. For some time, she was only able to toss and turn in her bed as she tried to get herself to sleep. She wasn't sure why she wasn't able to sleep.

Perhaps today's excitement got to me, she thought. But that wouldn't make sense… wouldn't I have fallen asleep right away?

Ivy then felt a sinking feeling the pit of her stomach. It was as though she wanted to vomit, but the truth was that she knew that it was all in her mind.

Soon, she realized that she wasn't going to fall asleep anytime soon. Ivy sat herself up from her bed before swinging herself over the side. Still sitting down, she briefly placed her hand over her face, rubbing her eyes a bit. Soon, she removed her hand… and the first thing she saw was the medallion that sat on her nightstand.

Ivy found herself staring at Chishio No Me for a while. As she did, it seemed as though it's eye was staring right back at her. It was as though it was planning something, something that was perhaps not too good.

"Hmph," the alchemist found herself humming, trying to amuse herself. "It's all in my imagination."

She then found herself looking at it again… and suddenly, the sinking feeling in her stomach returned. The red tear of the medallion slightly glowed for just a moment before it dimmed down completely.

Something doesn't seem right about that medallion, she suddenly thought.

Ivy quickly shook her head as though she was trying to shake the thought out of mind. Not wanting to think about the artifact for the remainder of the night, Ivy lied herself back down on the bed, covering herself with a sheet. From there, she attempted to get herself back to sleep…

Forest

After doing what he had to do, Maxi began heading back over to the cave. As he did, he found himself whistling a random tune while taking one of his nunchakus and spinning it around a bit.

I'm actually pretty wide awake, he thought to himself. Make me wonder if I'll get any sleep tonight.

As he continued to walk down the trail, Maxi suddenly heard a set of heavy footsteps not too far from where he was. Quickly, he stopped in his tracks before whirling around to get a better view behind him. He lashed out his nunchaku and got himself into a fighting stance, preparing himself for anything. After a few moments passed, the footsteps were no longer heard. Maxi then relaxed himself and got out of his stance.

"Must've been my imagination," he said to himself.

However, before he was able to move and continue down the trail, he suddenly saw a large shadow pass by a light on the ground from the moonlight above. Once again, the heavy footsteps were heard not too far from him. Now suspicious, Maxi began following the footsteps, not wanting to be the prey of whoever was possibly nearby.

For a while, Maxi went into the direction he believed the shadow came from along with the heavy footsteps. Eventually though, the sound of the footsteps were suddenly gone so Maxi was gone as well.

Who's out there? he asked himself.

A crack was suddenly heard then, followed by a heavy whoosh! Maxi quickly turned around just in time to see a large axe coming down right at his head! In fast speed, he rolled himself sideways, forcing the axe to hit the ground he was previously standing on instead.

Once he recovered, Maxi looked up to get a better look at who just attacked him. Instantly, he recognized Astaroth, the very man who had killed his crew all those years ago.

"You!" Maxi yelled out in anger.

Astaroth stared at him as an energy charged surrounded his axe. "Worm!" he yelled out before swinging his axe in an uppercut direction this time. Quickly, Maxi got himself out of the way, stepping sideways before running over to his enemy while he was trying to recover from his last execution.

The smaller fighter then executed his own moves with his nunchaku, swinging them in different directions. Astaroth managed to block most of the moves, though he did ended up getting hit a few times.

When the golem got the chance, he managed to thrust the head of his axe into Maxi's stomach. The impact caused Maxi to stumble back a few feet and a rush of air suddenly left his lungs.

As Maxi attempted to catch his breath, Astaroth then tried to swing his axe sideway. Maxi managed to duck under the axe in time, causing Astaroth to completely chop off a nearby tree instead. The tree instantly tumbled down sideways, landing on the ground with a loud crash and causing most of the leaves on it's branches to shake off.

Maxi then got himself back on his feet. Although he was still trying to catch his breath, he attempted to fight back again. He performed an uppercut-like attack with his nunchaku, managing to hit Astaroth under his chin. He then spin around a bit before performing a back kick, which barely affect Astaroth.

"Damn it," Maxi uttered under his breath.

Suddenly, Astaroth took his foot and managed to knock Maxi's feet off, sending him crashing to the floor. As he looked up after recovering from the attack, Maxi's eyes widened suddenly as he once again saw the blade portion of Astaroth's axe coming down right towards him!

Shao Kahn's Fortress

Two hours passed since Shao Kahn had his first meeting. Moments ago after taking care of a few things, he called everyone back to the restart of the meeting once again. Now he was only waiting for all of his henchman to arrive in his throne room.

Sitting at his throne, thoughts came over the Emperor. It was the first time in ages that Shao Kahn felt content. Perhaps it was because, for the first time since he began merging other realms with his own that everything was going according to plan.

He had spent the last month building an army which he called his Outworld Force. In addition, Ivy managed to retain Chishio No Me in the tournament for him. Also, he had the two demons, Akuma and Scorpion, in his possession, and now, after a while, finally got Guy in his grasps. He wanted Guy to be part of his army for quite some time and now he finally got that wish.

The only flaw in his whole plan was the fact that he was never able to capture Heihachi Mishima, another who he wanted in his army. All who had gone after him just happened to never return. It was no matter for now, especially considering that he came up with a brand new plan.

Those tournament participants who never joined their army… they would indeed have no choice now. If they refuse, he would simply take their souls. With that, he could create an immortal army, one that would be unstoppable.

It was perfect for his plans to conquer the realms once more.

He would tell his henchman exactly what was on his mind. Tomorrow, he would send them and the rest of the army to the tournament grounds and kill whoever was left. There, their souls would be taken for his purposes.

As the Emperor continued thinking through his plans, the door to the throne room suddenly opened and someone came running in. Shao Kahn looked on and soon was able to recognize Reptile as he approached his throne.

"Massster!" Reptile called out frantically. "In the lower level, the two guardssss who were guarding the door are dead! Thosssse two demonssss you were keeping have essscaped!"

That one moment of being content suddenly disappeared as rage took over. One of his long-term plans had suddenly backfired.

"What are you waiting for?!" Shao Kahn yelled, his voicing booming with rage. "Find those imbeciles before I have your head on a mount!"

"Yessss massster!" Reptile said as he quickly left the room.

Shao Kahn leaned himself back in his throne frustrated. However, as he recollected his mind, a thought came to him.

It was possible that Akuma and Scorpion had already got out of the fortress before anyone discovered them missing. And if that was the case, he would always retrieve their souls and powers later now that he was going to go along with his new plan…

Forest

Maxi's eyes were widened as he saw Astaroth's axe coming down at him. Quickly, he moved himself out of the way just in time. Once again, the axe came crashing into the spot where Maxi was just at a split second ago.

The two continued to fight for quite some time. As they did, neither realized that they had brought their fight over near a cliff area just east from the cave. At one point, Astaroth managed to head butt Maxi in the head, causing him to stumble back a bit before stopping himself just inches away from the cliff. Maxi happened to look behind him just in time and was very surprised to see the long fall below.

Then, Astaroth jumped up and swung his axe. Maxi attempted to get out of the way, but the blade managed to cut his left arm a bit, enough for it to string and draw blood.

"Damn it!" Maxi growled as he briefly checked out his wound before looking up at Astaroth. "Now you're dead!"

"Be gone you scum!" Astaroth yelled as he charged after his smaller opponent.

Maxi waited until the golem was close to him. When he was, Maxi quickly smacked his side with a back hit, spun himself around before perform a low hit with a nunchaku. He then pulled himself back as a green energy charged his weapon before following it with a downward strike, hitting Astaroth with a force that made him stumble back a couple of feet.

Now we're getting somewhere, Maxi thought as he covered the distance between them again.

From there, Maxi performed a spin kick (which was blocked), following it with a spinning nunchaku which hit Astaroth's kneed, before finally landing with a roundhouse that forced Astaroth to stumble into a tree. When Astaroth removed himself off the tree, Maxi noted the dent that was left behind.

After Astaroth recovered, he managed to catch the butt of his axe under Maxi's feet. He then lifted one foot up before quickly stepping on the hilt which was lifted in a diagonal position. As the hilt went down, the butt of the axe went up, hitting Maxi and forcing him up in the air. Maxi flew just passed the height of the trees before coming back down and crashing into the ground. As soon as he did, he felt seer pain all over his body.

"Damn it," Maxi found himself growling.

Astaroth then attempted to kick Maxi in the face, but the smaller fighter rolled out of the way before it happened. Realizing that he didn't have enough time to recover, Maxi forced his body to stand up again and waited as Astaroth attempted yet another attack.

While he waited, Maxi had just enough time to collect some energy into his weapon, a fiery fire surrounding it soon after. He then pulled his good arm back, ready to strike.

Astaroth, with a loud battle cry, was just covering the distance between them when Maxi swung his nunchaku sideways while letting out his own battle cry. He had expected the force to knock Astaroth to the side for more than a few feet. However, to his surprise, he ended up sending Astaroth right over the cliff nearby. As soon as the golem was completely off the cliff, Maxi went over the edge. He was able to hear Astaroth's screams as he watched him fall until he disappeared into the fog below.

"Now stay dead this time!" Maxi called out, reveling in his victory against the golem once again in four years. He looked down the cliff for another moment before he slowly turned his back and began heading back to the cave.

Maxi only walked a couple of feet when he realized that the pain in his body was now hitting him hard, especially the pain in his left arm where his wound was. For a moment, he leaned himself against a tree, taking a moment to breath for a bit, hoping that the pain in his body would soon go away. As he let himself recover, Maxi couldn't help but grin as a thought came to him.

Looks like I'll be tired upon my return to the cave after all, he thought. Soon, he slowly got himself moving, hoping that no one else would try to attack him before he got to the cave…

In the cliff below, Astaroth's body laid on the ground below, leaving behind cracks around him. He wasn't quite dead yet as the heart outside of his body was still thumping a little. However, his eyes were closed, indicating his unconsciousness.

Moments after falling to the ground from the cliff, a group of Shadow Priests arrived and slowly got themselves to stand around him. They glided as they normally would.

Once the group was around him, they all removed their hoods. By the black emblems on their foreheads, one would know them as Servants of Ares, who was known as the God of Savage War. Standing in front of Astaroth's feet was their second leader Kunpaetku…Astaroth's creator.

"We've blended in with the other Shadow Priests long enough," Kunpaetku said. He looked down at his creation as thoughts passed his mind… since the day Astaroth was taken here over a month ago, Kunpaetku and the other followers brought themselves here in Outworld. They managed to obtain the same magical robes as the other Shadow Priests, posing as them until the right moment came to approach Astaroth.

"The time has come to take you back," Kunpaetku said to Astaroth. "It would seem that you will need to be renewed upon your return. It will take a year or two… but once we are finished, you will be good as new."

He then nodded at the other followers. One opened the portal which would return them to Keisei. All the followers, with the exception of Kunpaetku, lifted up Astaroth from the ground, only struggle just a little because of his weight. Soon, they all entered the portal. Kunpaetku looked over at Outworld once more before entering the portal himself. Moments later, the portal closed…

Other Side of the Forest

"The night seems different to me," Cammy suddenly said after some silence between her and Jin.

Jin looked over at her in reply. "Why do you say that?" he asked.

Cammy shrugged a little. "I don't know… I think I'm still not used to being in Outworld."

"Perhaps," Jin agreed. "But don't worry, we'll be returning home tomorrow."

Cammy nodded.

For the last half hour, the two walked around together just outside the cave grounds. Jin had suggested that they walk after realizing that he would need it. He wasn't able to get any sleep previously and he thought a good walk would do. Cammy happened to come up to him, wondering where he was, when the idea came to him.

As they continued walking, Cammy noted the worried-like expression on Jin's face. "Don't worry about the tournament," she said to him as she rubbed his shoulder a little. "You've tried your best."

Jin sighed a little. "That's not the thing that's bothering me though," he said.

Cammy raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Another sigh escaped his lips. "Cammy… something came up this evening. I want to tell you, but I can't right now." He then looked into her eyes. "All I know is that… I have to return to Japan right away to take care of it."

"I see," Cammy said frowning a bit.

Jin felt a bit bad then since he didn't tell her right away why he wasn't going to be going with her for a visit in England upon their return to Earth. Too much has been going on in his mind as of late…but he should at least try to tell of this problem… or should he hold back again.

Should I just tell her what's going on? he thought.

Before Jin could make an official decision however, a red projectile suddenly came from the shadows of the forest. Because it happened in such a close range, neither Jin nor Cammy had any time to get out of the way. The projectile ended up missing Jin, but it managed to hit Cammy right in the torso. With a short shriek, she went flying back into a tree, which immediately rendered her unconscious before her body fell back to the ground.

"Cammy!" Jin called out as he ran over to her. He bent down to her and briefly checked her vital signs. She was fine, just out cold.

Although she was going to be okay, anger still filled up in Jin. He realized who was behind the projectile as he straightened himself up and got into a fighting stance. He then looked over at where the projectile came from.

"Come out Heihachi!" Jin yelled out. "If it's a fight you want, then come out and fight me! Show yourself!"

Moments of silence passed before a low deep laugh was heard. Jin narrowed his eyes as he awaited for his grandfather to emerge from the shadow.

Soon, a body stepped into the light. Jin was about ready to attack… however, he stopped himself immediately as he realized something…

The man standing before him was not his grandfather Heihachi.

Instead, the man standing before him was the very man Jin believed was dead…

That man was his very own father… Kazuya Mishima!

A/N: Did I mention Kazuya was in the fic? (looks at cast list) Nope! (insert maniacal laugh).