Chapter Seventy-Three
Shao Kahn's Fortress
Shattered stone laid all around the throne room as a majority of the statues in the room were long damaged. Along with it, many other artifacts laid on their side after being toppled over by the invisible energy that constantly formed around the large throne room.
In the middle of the room, the Outworld Emperor Shao Kahn and the Azure Knight Nightmare stood face to face. The two have been fighting for quite sometime with neither one of them sure of exactly how long. Even now, their fight seemed quite even.
After a stare down, Nightmare raised Soul Edge with a single hand, the eye on the large sword blinking a couple of times. "Have more of a taste of my cursed sword!"
In reply, Shao Kahn raised up his war hammer before letting out a battle cry and ran over to Nightmare. Before he reached the demon, the Emperor jumped forward with his knee out again as green energy trailed behind him. Nightmare evaded the attack by stepping out of the way before he was hit.
Now leaving Shao Kahn opened, Nightmare used the hilt of his sword and hit Shao Kahn in the small of his back. The force was enough for him to stumble forward, but he was able to stop himself after a few feet. Despite the sheer pain in his back, Shao Kahn was able to shake it off and turned around to face Nightmare again.
Quickly, Shao Kahn shot out a green projectile, which managed to hit Nightmare square in the chest, the force rearing him back a few feet. Shao Kahn then jumped forward to execute more attacks, but Nightmare had recovered in time. When the Emperor was close enough to him, the Azure Knight rolled forward before kicking upward, hitting Shao Kahn's shin. Then, Nightmare quickly got back on his feet before jumping upward and swinging his sword down. Shao Kahn managed to see this in time and stepped out of the way, causing the sword to hit the floor instead.
After landing, Nightmare got himself close to Shao Kahn again and spun his sword, which the Emperor ducked under. Then, Nightmare executed an uppercut with lightening suddenly surrounding the sword. Shao Kahn ended up being hit by the sword and suddenly found himself flying upward. Before he landed, he managed to catch himself and safely landed on both feet.
"You've been enduring my attacks quite well," Nightmare said. "Now… give up your soul and face this darkness!"
Shao Kahn gritted his teeth from underneath his helmet. "No one defies the Emperor of Outworld! No one!"
Quickly, Shao Kahn glided forward, intending on delivering a shoulder ram. However, by the time he reached him, Nightmare jumped up, intending on performing a drop kick. As fast as he could, Shao Kahn stopped himself and dropped his war hammer to the floor, now using his free hands to grab Nightmare's ankles. Once he got a hold of them, he lifted him up before slamming him to the ground, the slam causing the room to shake a little and leaving behind a dent on the ground.
As Nightmare got himself back up, Shao Kahn managed to get behind him and grabbed his right arm. He had only intended to twist the arm and as he did, something happened in which he never expected…
Nightmare's right arm was already large and grotesque, a dark brown color that was bumpy and slightly scaly, the hand itself larger than Shao Kahn's stomach which contained long fingers that were longer than the Emperor's own hand. Even with it's thickness, the Emperor was barely able to wrap Nightmare's upper arm with a single hand.
When Shao Kahn went to pull back on it, Nightmare ended up twisting himself around to face him. Having been surprised by the gesture, Shao Kahn ended up pulling back… peeling off the grotesque arm in one stroke.
The Emperor stumbled back, the thing that was once an arm falling into a few pieces on the floor. He looked up just as he heard Nightmare say something incoherent. His glowing eyes seemed to dim down a bit as he stood motionless.
It's as though he's distracted by something, Shao Kahn thought.
It was then that Nightmare let out a howling scream and he dropped Soul Edge in the process. A white beam of light surrounded him, the brightness forcing Shao Kahn to shield his eyes.
Not long after, the light disappeared and Nightmare was now on the ground. However, as Shao Kahn walked forward to get a better look, he realized that Nightmare was no longer on the floor.
Instead, a smaller, young man with long blonde hair laid before him unconscious. On either side of him, the grotesque arm and Soul Edge were surrounded by red energy.
Shao Kahn slowly picked up his war hammer from the floor. "Seems that I found your weakness… and discovered that you had a host body."
He then raised the hammer above his head as he looked down at the unconscious man. "No matter… you'll be dead before you know it."
Before he was able to make the final blow, another dark energy suddenly came into the room from behind.
"Now what?" Shao Kahn mumbled. He turned around and looked over at the throne room's entrance. Nearby, a demon with fiery red hair entered a room as energy that matched the color of his hair surrounded his body.
It was the Ansatsuken demon Akuma.
As he continued walking towards the Emperor, a rare grin came over Akuma's face. Shao Kahn's energies were even more powerful than he imagined… and it was going to be a power that he will take for himself.
Shao Kahn raised his war hammer again. "So… another challenger? Very well… I shall crush you just as I did with this one."
With that, the two of them charged towards each other, beginning yet another battle within the fortress's throne room.
Battleground
Blood spewed from three tarkatans after Yoshimitsu executed them with one quick swift with his sword. All the mutants screamed in pain before collapsing to their deaths.
Many of the opponents recognized Yoshimitsu as the leader of the group fighting against them… and many of them attempted to kill him in order to receive some glory. However, it only proved that they underestimated him and they end up lying on the ground dead in their own pool of blood.
"I've finally found you!" a demonic voice said from behind him.
Yoshimitsu turned himself around, only to be faced with yet another tarkatan. "Another one of your kind out to eliminate me."
The tarkatan growled. "I'm not like the others! I'm Baraka, General of the Tartakan Hordes! You took down many of my soldiers quite easily. Now, it is my turn!" He raised one of his arms up, his long blade covered in blood. "Soon, your head will be on his very blade!"
With that, the two charged towards each other. Once they were in reach of one another, their weapons collided, beginning their own battle. For a moment, they fought back and forth before Yoshimitsu executed a back flip, kicking the tarkatan leader underneath the chin.
Baraka stumbled back, but quickly recovered from the blow as he shook it off. He waited until Yoshimitsu was in front of him again before getting on one knee and moving his two blades up and down in front of him in rapid speed. Yoshimitsu was forced to stay away, keeping his katana in front of him in case the blades ended up hitting him.
Once Baraka was done, he began to stand up, only to be met by Yoshimitsu's two feet after he rolled forward, got on his back, and kicked upward with both feet, hitting Baraka in the stomach. Baraka was sent flying upward before crashing back into the ground. Despite the pain that coursed through his body, Baraka managed to roll back and stand himself back up.
When Yoshimitsu was close enough, Baraka delivered an elbow jab, hitting Yoshimitsu square in the face. Then, the tarkatan leader extended his other arm out, intending on landing a palm strike, but Yoshimitsu managed to duck out of the way in time.
After straightening himself up, Yoshimitsu pointed his sword downward and positioned himself on it like a pogo stick. Baraka was confused by the gesture, never seeing any fighter do such a thing. Then, Yoshimitsu spun himself forward, knocking Baraka back a few feet before crashing on to his back. Afterward, Yoshimitsu got back on his own feet with his sword in his hands.
Baraka got back on his feet moments later and growled. "You'll pay for that!"
The tarkatan quickly covered the space between him and Yoshimitsu and delivered a forward kick, hitting him in the stomach. Yoshimitsu was able to recover in him as Baraka lashed out his blades at him.
Yoshimitsu waited until the right moment came… and when it did, he jabbed his katana forward. He had intended on stabbing Baraka in the chest, but Baraka had ended up moving himself and the sword only managed to stab him in his right shoulder.
Baraka let out another growled as he reared back after being stabbed. In retaliation, he shot out a blue projectile, which managed to hit Yoshimitsu square in the chest, the forcing pushing him back a few feet before landing in the dirt.
After a brief recovery, Yoshimitsu got himself back up and ran back towards Baraka. Baraka did the same as well, despite the wound in his shoulder. Once the two reach each other, they continued with their battle.
Cathedral Grounds
"I think I sense something!" Ken Masters suddenly called out after a long silence.
Julia Chang turned her head to him as the two continued walking up a hill. "What do you sense?" she asked.
"I think I can sense a chi," Ken replied after briefly looking at his surroundings. "I think it's coming from this area."
Julia briefly looked up at the cathedral that stood on top of the hill that they were walking up. The building was made of dark stone and it seemed as though all of the windows on the building have shattered.
"Do you think Ryu could be here?" she asked.
"I don't know," Ken answered. "But looking around here wouldn't hurt."
Julia nodded. Once they reached the top of the hill, the two began searching the grounds, looking for clues. As they did, Ken was a bit overwhelmed by the dark energy that lingered in the air around him.
What happened here? he thought to himself.
After some time of search, Ken turned a corner with Julia behind him. That's when he saw Ryu lying on his back and unmoving, his white gi a bit charred.
"Ryu!" Ken called out as he and Julia ran over to him. When they reached him, they both got down on their knees. Ken immediately checked his vitals signs. He then sighed in relief when he felt a heartbeat.
"He's still alive," he said to Julia, who had a worried look on her face.
"Ryu, wake up!" Julia called out as she slightly shook his shoulder. Ken followed suit as well.
After a minute, Ryu slowly opened his eyes, his iris' a brown color. He blinked a few times to clear his vision and when he did, he saw both Ken and Julia.
"Wh… where am I?" he uttered.
Ken and Julia helped him to sit up. "We don't know Ryu. You were missing since last night."
"Do you remember anything from before you blacked out?" Julia asked him.
Ryu rubbed his head a bit as a headache came over him. He tried to remember the last thing that happened before darkness took over him.
Then, he slowly answered. "I was outside with Jin and Kenshi… the three of us couldn't sleep… I don't even remember what we were talking about… but now I'm wondering… how did I get here?"
"It doesn't matter," Julia said as she embraced him. "What matters is that you're okay."
Ryu was a bit surprised at first by Julia's embrace, especially after the events involving her mother during the last few days. Eventually, he slowly wrapped his arms around her, returning the hug.
Unknown to them, a grim look came over Ken's face. He wondered if Ryu knew the back of his mind on how he got here exactly.
His evil side must've awakened some time last night, the blonde millionaire thought. The side that our master warned us about. Why else would he suddenly be in this place?
After moments passed, Ken spoke. "I think we should get out of here," he highly suggested. "Now that we found Ryu, there's no reason to stay in Outworld any longer."
Julia pulled away from Ryu and looked up at Ken. "I just hope that one portal is still open."
Ryu began to stand himself up and was eventually helped by both Ken and Julia. "I don't want to be here anymore either. Let's go home."
With that, the three of them began heading to the portal's location.
Nearby the Battle…
Lightning surrounded his fist as Kazuya Mishima performed an uppercut. His fist managed to hit Heihachi Mishima square in the jaw, sending him flying up in the air. However, Heihachi managed to catch himself, somersaulting in the air before landing back on the ground.
Neither one of them were sure how long they've been fighting up to this point. However, during the fight, they brought themselves closer and closer to the ensuing battle near the palace grounds. Now they were just a couple of hundred yards away.
"This will end soon, old man!" Kazuya yelled out. "Give up now while you can!"
"I don't back down that easily, wretched fool!" Heihachi spat.
Kazuya then jumped forward with a battle cry, attempting to land a punch to his father's face. However, Heihachi managed to block the attack before punching his son in the face, followed by another punch to the torso. Afterwards, he crouched down a bit before jumping up, landing an uppercut to Kazuya's jaw. Just as he did moments ago, Kazuya flew up in the air, but despite the pain, he managed to catch himself before landing back down.
Retaliating after the attack, Kazuya jumped up and performed a drop kick, knocking Heihachi back a few feet. This gave Kazuya some time to get himself back up before Heihachi reached him. Quickly, Heihachi crouched down, his side facing his son, before bringing both arms out as they glowed a red color. The blow was actually enough to knock Kazuya back a few yards before crashing to the floor face down.
Heihachi covered the few yards before reaching Kazuya, who had managed to get himself back up. Heihachi attempted a flying kick to his face, but Kazuya managed to evade the attack.
Now leaving the older man open, Kazuya quickly delivered a roundhouse, forcing Heihachi to stumble a bit after being hit. He then let loose another two kicks to the torso before delivering an axe kick, knocking Heihachi to the floor.
Kazuya then proceeded to stomp his father on the back, but Heihachi rolled sideways before he was hit. Quickly getting back up, the older Mishima found himself blocking more of Kazuya's attacks before finding an opening. When he did, he executed a spin kick, his leg surrounded by red lightning as he hit the younger man's side, sending him rearing back a bit.
However, Kazuya was able to regain his footing. As Heihachi ran back over to him again, Kazuya delivered a high kick to his face before punching him in the chest. He then got in a low kick before a hook punch to his jaw forced the older man to stagger back.
Just as Heihachi recovered, they suddenly heard a pair of battle cries nearby. This caught both of their attention and they turned their heads in him to see two guards coming after them with their weapons. Quickly, the both of them grabbed the two by the neck before smashing them together with sheer force. After being dropped to the ground, blood began to seep through their helmets.
"Damn interruptions!" Heihachi yelled out. Not a split second after saying that, he was met with a kick to the face by Kazuya, knocking him down to the ground.
Shao Kahn's Fortress
The battle between Shao Kahn and Akuma continued within the throne room. In the beginning of battle, Shao Kahn had attempted to attack Akuma with his war hammer, but not too long after, Akuma managed to knock the weapon out of his hand, much to his surprise.
At one point, Akuma delivered a jumping uppercut, his fist covered in a purple aura. Shao Kahn managed to jump back from the attack. Before Akuma was able to land back on the floor, Shao Kahn did his own uppercut…which developed enough of a force field to knock the demon back a few feet, sending him crashing down afterwards.
As he sat up, Akuma shot out a projectile, which Shao Kahn barely moved out of the way from. The demon then teleported towards him, landing a double kick to his abdomen before grabbing him and throwing him over his shoulder. The room shook a bit as Shao Kahn crash back down on the throne room floor.
In retaliation, the Emperor shot out his own projectile. Akuma had been running towards him, only to be met by the green energy. It hit him in the chest, knocking him away from the Emperor.
The both of them stared at each other from where they were, having already lost some energy from their previous battles before this one.
This one is quite the challenge, Shao Kahn admitted to himself in his mind. Perhaps nearly as equal as my last opponent.
Akuma stared at the Emperor with no emotion in his face. Never have I fought someone with such power, he thought. … A power that will soon be mine to take.
Slowly, the two stood themselves back up. Then, in battle cries, they ran back towards each other to proceed with their ongoing fight.
Battleground
"Maki? Maki! Wake up! Maki!"
Slowly, Maki fluttered her eyes opened as she heard a male voice reach her ears. Who's talking to me? she thought to herself.
It took her a little while longer before she could open her eyes completely. For a moment, her vision was blurred, but after blinking a few times, her vision cleared. She happened to be looking up while lying on her back.
She then noted the face looking down at her… the face which belonged to Yang.
Yang seemed to sigh with relief upon seeing Maki's brown eyes open. "Good, you're okay," he said to her.
He then helped her to sit up. As she did, Maki felt as though her head was spinning and she placed a hand to her temple and closed her eyes, easing the sudden dizziness.
Once the spinning sensation ceased, Maki opened her eyes again and glanced over at Yang. "We're still here in Outworld, aren't we?"
Yang nodded. "My brother and sister made it out okay, that I'm confident about."
"Why didn't you go with them?" Maki asked.
The young man sighed a little before replying. "Because I didn't want to leave this place until I found you." He then smiled a little. "And I did find you."
Maki smiled back before bringing him into an embrace. Yang returned the hug as well, leaning the side of his head into hers.
"Why are Cody and Guy fighting at a time like this?" Yang suddenly asked.
Maki's eyes widened a bit, now remembering what was going on before losing consciousness. She looked around a bit before spotting her two friends battling it out a few yards away.
She slightly pulled away from Yang so that she was facing him. "It's Guy… I don't know what happened… but somehow he's been brainwashed. He's turned against us…"
Yang turned his head to the battle between the two. "Damn…"
As the battle continued, Cody jumped up and executed an air kick, an attack which Guy managed to move away from. Leaving the blond fighter opened now, Guy jumped up behind him. He placed one leg out in front of him before spinning himself a few times.
"Bushin Senpuukyaku!" Guy called out. However, Cody managed to duck under the leg after landing on his feet.
After landing back on the ground, Guy ran forward before spinning himself around landing a punch to Cody's jaw. Cody reared back from the force, but quickly shook off the pain as he did an uppercut in the air. Afterward, a tornado developed in front of him before it slightly moved forward, knocking Guy back a few feet.
Guy slowly got himself up after the attack. Just before he was completely on his feet, Cody had already got himself behind him. Quickly, he twisted his arm with one hand while wrapping his free arm around Guy's neck, catching him in the choke-hold.
As Guy struggled to get out of the grip, Cody spoke. "Now that I got your attention, listen to me! Snap out of it! This isn't the Guy I know! The real Guy wouldn't attack his friends for no reason! Fight it! Don't let this brainwash control you!"
With a growl, Guy managed to finally free himself by elbowing Cody in the ribs, forcing him to keel over in pain. As he was distracted, Guy grabbed him before throwing him over. Cody soon found himself a few feet away after crashing on to the ground.
Guy stood over Cody as he struggled to get up. As the blond-haired man looked up at his friend, he once again saw his colorless eyes.
Is there anyway to free you without killing you? Cody thought grimly.
Cathedral
"Wha… what happened?" Asuka mumbled to herself as she sat herself up.
All was quiet in the Cathedral aside from the distant sounds of battle outside. As Asuka got herself back up, she felt a headache develop. She briefly held her head as she stood herself up on her feet.
Asuka then briefly looked at her surroundings… until she saw an unconscious Jin lying in the middle of the large room A small gasped escaped her lips as she suddenly remembered what had happened in this building.
Jin had been in his devil form along with Ryu…
Then there was Sakura…
Asuka bit her lower lip a little as she ran over to Jin's unconscious form. She realized that the feathered wings and horns were gone, but the tattoos on his torso and forehead remained.
The young woman kneeled down next to Jin and began shaking his shoulder with her hands. "Jin! Jin! Wake up damn it! JIN!"
After a moment, she realized that he wasn't responding. Asuka began to look around the room nervously, her eyes away from Jin. "Damn it! Here I am all alone in this place!"
As thoughts ran through her mind, she was unaware of the fact that her hands were glowing in a misty white color. Moments later, the tattoos on Jin's body were also surrounded by the aura, only now in a purple color. Within a short amount of time, the tattoos seemed to burn away.
And as the tattoos on his forehead did the same, Jin slowly opened his eyes.
After another look around, Asuka glanced back at Jin and sighed of relief after seeing that his eyes were opened… and brown for that matter.
"Jin?" Asuka said.
Jin seemed to look up at her with a bit of confusion at first. Then, his eyes widen in surprise and his sprang up quickly into a sitting position.
"Mother!" he called out almost at the same time.
The sudden surprise caused Asuka to stumble back a bit. After being startled, Asuka took a deep breath as she watch Jin look at his surroundings. Then, his eyes met hers.
"What happened?" he asked.
"Well," Asuka began to say. "For one thing… you just called me 'mother.'"
Jin sighed a little as he looked down at the ground. "I'm sorry to have startled you," he replied. "I thought you were someone else."
Asuka nodded. "You seemed like you were still waking up anyway."
"Yeah… you're probably right."
The young woman moved herself so that she was kneeling again. "What the last thing you remember?" she asked curiously.
Jin thought of this for a moment… indeed the last thing he remembered was his fight with his father Kazuya. However, he decided to back that away for now…
"I remember walking with Cammy before everything went black," Jin replied. He then closed his eyes. "I don't need to guess what happened me… "
He then opened his eyes and they were suddenly filled with sadness. Asuka frowned as he looked at her. "…yet, of all the things I've done today, I can clearly remember one thing… I… I killed Sakura…"
Asuka placed a hand on his shoulder as she felt tears stinging her eyes. "It wasn't your fault. You weren't even aware that she was in the room… I know I tried to stop her from coming between you and-"
"All she wanted was to learn to fight," Jin cut in as he buried his face into his hands. "And I took that all away in an instant…"
The young woman was silent for a moment before a thought came to her. "My father once said… never blame yourself for your mistakes. If your heart is truly regretful, then you will be forgiven."
Underneath his hands, Jin's eyes widened in surprise. The advice Asuka had given him were the same words his mother had said to him years ago.
Jin moved his head before looking over at Asuka. "You're father…"
However, he was cut off as his name was heard from behind. He and Asuka turned around and ended up seeing both Cammy and Lita running towards them.
Asuka and Jin slowly stood themselves up before the two reached them. Immediately, Cammy ran to Jin and embraced him, extremely relieved to have finally found him. Jin returned the hug as well.
"I highly suggest we leave this realm now," said Lita. "I don't want things to get any worse around here."
A thought suddenly came to Asuka then. Briefly, she looked around the room.
Where's Sakura?! she exclaimed in her mind.
However, she began to realize that even if she tried, there wouldn't be enough time to find her body. Besides, from the way things sounded, escaping Outworld at this moment would have to be done either now or never.
"What about the portals?" Asuka asked. "Aren't they all-"
"There's one left and it leads to Earth," Cammy explained. "We're not sure if it will be open any longer though."
"And that's why it's best to leave," Lita said.
A sigh escaped Jin as a grim thought came to him. "Even if we do get out of here… something tells me that this ordeal isn't over…"
Battleground
Nina and Anna started at each other as they stood a few feet away from each other. Both were exhausted from their long fight against each other. However, neither one of them were willing to give up just yet… not until one of them was dead.
After a while, Nina mustered up some energy to run towards Anna and execute a cartwheel kick. Anna moved out of the way before she was hit. She got herself into position before performing three kicks to Nina's side. Afterward, Anna delivered an uppercut, sending Nina flying in the air before crashing back down.
Just as Anna reached her older sister, Nina kicked upward, hitting Anna in the stomach. Nina then rolled away once before standing herself up. Afterward, she leaned towards Anna and delivered a palm strike. However, Anna managed to block the attack with her arm.
"Nice try, but not good enough," Anna mocked before landing a knee at Nina's stomach. The blow caused the blond-haired woman to keel over in pain, giving Anna the chance to execute a back kick, sending her sister rearing back a few feet from the force.
Anna then spread her arms out as red energy surrounded her hands. "Eat this!" she yelled before jumping forward. She had intended on landing a double palm strike at her sister… however, she ended up missing as Nina dodged out of it's path.
"What?!" Anna cried out.
"Why are you surprised?" Nina said, now mocking her as well.
Just as Anna began to face her, Nina delivered a high kick to her face before using her other leg to execute a roundhouse to her side. The force of the kick caused Anna to stagger a bit before losing her balance and falling to the ground.
Afterwards, Anna tried to get up, but was then met with a pistol to her face. With no emotions in her blue eyes, she looked up and saw that it was Nina who was holding the gun. Determination was written on her face.
Turned out that Nina had this particular pistol hidden away.
"Go ahead," Anna said in a mocking tone. "Kill me! Do as you wish!"
Nina stared at her for a moment. Last time they encountered each other like this, Nina wasn't satisfied by their last battle… and she had refused to kill her because of that.
Now, she was satisfied. Even so, Nina was now debating in her mind whether or not she should kill her sister…
Shao Kahn's Fortress
"The end is near… give up now," Shao Kahn said.
A few feet away from him, Akuma stared at him. "Only fools would ask for such a pitiful request."
"Ah… but it was you who had chosen to enter this fortress and take me on. Who's the real fool now?"
Akuma didn't reply as he teleported himself towards Shao Kahn. Once he was close to him, Akuma landed a double punch, both in which the Emperor blocked. He then managed to break the block with a powerful palm strike before executing a forward kick, hitting Shao Kahn in the abdomen and forcing him to stumble back again.
A brief recovery later, Shao Kahn gathered his strength and waited as Akuma ran towards him. When the demon was close enough, the Emperor elbowed him in the face, following it with a punch to the jaw before kicking him in the chest, sending Akuma stumbling a few feet back.
After regaining his balance, Akuma jumped up and attempted a hurricane kick, but Shao Kahn easily evaded the attack. Now leaving Akuma open, Shao Kahn kicked the demon's side, causing him to lose a bit of momentum. Before landing on the ground, the Emperor delivered a powerful punch that sent Akuma soaring away.
For a moment, Akuma struggled a bit to get himself back on his feet. Shao Kahn himself found himself nearly losing his balance as he waited for Akuma's next attacks. Between this battle and their previous battles beforehand, their energies were slowly draining from them.
Once on his feet, Akuma teleported towards Shao Kahn. When close, he executed a round house kick, which Shao Kahn barely blocked. He then followed with a sweep kick which the Emperor jumped over. However, he was met with an uppercut to the chin, the blow causing him to rear back a few feet.
Akuma then attempted more attacks, but Shao Kahn managed to evade them before landing a punch of his own. He continued delivering more punches at Akuma before he was staggering enough so that he could easily lift him up by the neck. He stared at the demon for a moment before delivering a fist to his face, knocking him back to the floor.
After the attack, Shao Kahn suddenly fell to his knees, now feeling a bit weak. He looked over at Akuma and saw that he struggled a bit to get himself back up as well.
"It's time… to end this…" the Emperor uttered.
Shao Kahn looked around for a moment, hoping that his war hammer was nearby. However, it so happened that another weapon was just an arm's reach away…
…Soul Edge.
He already knew what would happen upon touching the sword's hilt… but he was willing to take the risk for just a moment.
Quickly, Shao Kahn grabbed Soul Edge's hilt. The eye of the sword suddenly snapped opened upon his touch and a glow purple energy surrounded the large weapon. Shao Kahn grunted as he felt a surge of pain course through his body.
The Emperor knew that he had a short time before Soul Edge would make an attempt to completely take over his body. Using all that was left of his energy, Shao Kahn stood himself up and quickly positioned himself to where he was standing above Akuma.
Akuma looked up at the weapon, his red eyes suddenly glowing and the purple aura surrounding his body much more brighter than before.
Unknown to Shao Kahn, a small side smirk appeared on Akuma's face…
Then, with a loud roar that echoed throughout the throne room, Shao Kahn raised the infamous sword above Akuma, preparing to strike down…
Portals
"Thank you for everything Rose," Dan Hibiki said as he stood next to the Earthrealm portal, which was still activated.
Rose managed to smirk at him. "It was our pleasure. Now, get yourself home before things get worse."
Dan nodded to her before entering the green portal.
Immediately after entering the portal, a dark energy seemed to suddenly run pass her. Rose turned into the direction it came from and note the fact that the flying Outworld species suddenly jumped away from the countless trees in the forest and flew away.
She also noted the fact that the wind suddenly picked up.
"What's happening?" she asked herself.
Suddenly, a vision came to Rose, briefly seeing both Shao Kahn and Akuma's faces. She saw that the two had their own battle.
In the vision, Rose saw the results of their battle… and gasped in horror.
Quickly, she opened her eyes as she suddenly began to feeling rumbling underneath her feet. Rose looked down the hill before her as she realized that there were still some chosen ones left on this realm.
Rose felt her heard sink upon this realization. "No…"