Disclaimer: I don't own Mortal Kombat or its subsidiaries. The honor is bestowed upon Ed Boon for his creative genius and Netherrealm Studios for their production.

Author's Note: Did anyone happen to guess who the mysterious man was? What about that cryptic message Cassie sent Jacqui and her mother? These will be answered in the chapter below. Enjoy!

At the Cage house, a bunch of Earthrealm's defenders gathers around Jacqui as she sits on Cassie's computer. At this point, she has already guessed the password twice with failed results. She only has one more chance before she erases everything in her best friend's hard-drive, something everyone wants to avoid. She curses herself inwardly for triggering this protective response in the first place. While she was on Cassie's computer a second time, she accidentally clicked on a password protected file. Thinking nothing of it, she entered what she thought the password would be. As a result, Cassie's computer went into hypersensitivity mode, which is where she is now. Jacqui takes one more look at the message Cassie sent her through Friendships. "Fuck me," Jacqui swears, frustrated. Jax clears his throat behind her. "Sorry, Dad. But this is frustrating the shit out of me. What was so personal that she had to encrypt her entire computer when clicking on one file?"

"It was something she could not trust just anyone with, lest it is received by the wrong set of eyes," Hanzo guesses correctly.

Jacqui sighs, exasperated. "I'm trying my best here, Cass. But I need more help," she says to herself as if Cassie could hear her. On cue, Jacqui's phone vibrates. She unlocks it and reads the message she's sent. "Guys," she says, catching everyone's attention.

CassieCage: 145939N1030614E

Jacqui stares at the message in shock while everyone else has yet to catch up. It takes Sonya a few more seconds before the idea comes to her head. "Remember how Cassie left clues for us when she was kidnapped by Erron Black during the whole Blood Code business?" Sonya asks everyone. It clicks to Johnny as well, but Jacqui, Jax, Takeda, Kenshi, and Hanzo are still perplexed.

"I've only got one more chance guys," Jacqui warns them.

"Try the code as it's written. No spaces, case sensitive," Johnny tells her. She sighs and carefully types the weird numbers as the password.

"Here goes nothing," she mutters as she presses 'Enter'. There are a few moments of silence. Then, everyone struggles to cover their ears as the music on Cassie's computer blasts through their eardrums. Turning down the sound, Jacqui stares at Cassie's screensaver, which is currently a picture of the team with Johnny in the back. Blinking, Jacqui almost doesn't believe it. Then, "Fuck yeah!" she shouts triumphantly, pointedly ignoring her father's death glare. She gets to work. "These files have weird labels, but I'm sure they're messages we need to decipher in Cassie-speak. I think I can figure out some of this stuff though."

"Wait!" Takeda exclaims, catching on to something else in the files. There's a picture of what looked to be an abandoned warehouse. But the surrounding area is what really gets his attention. "I... I think I know that place," he says.

"Wanna enlighten us o' wise one?" Johnny asks him. Sonya glares at him. "I'm genuinely asking," he defends himself.

Takeda squints at the picture. Then, he has an epiphany. "Those are coordinates!" he exclaims. Everyone stares at him like he has two heads. "14 degrees, 59 minutes, 39 seconds north; 103 degrees, 6 minutes, 14 seconds east."

Knowing her geography, Jacqui states, "That sounds like it could be Asian coordinates. That is if it's anywhere on Earth."

"Indochinese to be exact," Takeda starts to explain to the group. "I grew up in Lampang, Thailand in a small village outside the woods before I was brought to Master Hasashi. The next town over, Buriram, was a place where a lot of shady things happened. It was made as a town to seem harmless, but one shortcut home as a young boy with my cousin proved otherwise. It's a scary place, with a lot of abandoned warehouses factories. Many of the places that do seem harmless were just illusions for running illegal fight and drug rings, along with who-knows-what."

"Ya think Kano moved the Black Dragon out there to cover up their tracks?" Jax asks the group.

"It is certainly feasible. The Red Dragon is based in Indochina. Maybe someone from the faction got close to the Black Dragon," Kenshi explains.

Johnny glares at the computer screen. "Maybe," he growls, "there was an infiltration of some sort, and one of the factions retaliated on the other."

"That still does not explain how Cassandra plays a part in this," Hanzo says, knitting his eyebrows in confusion.

It all makes sense to Sonya though. In total disbelief, she laughs despite her anger. "Damn, she is a smart kid..." she mutters, clenching her jaw. Taking a few deep breaths, she continues, "Cassie must've discovered the new location with the plan to bring the whole operation down. Somehow, she fell under Kano's radar and..." Everyone understands the unfinished thought.

"Not in Outworld!" Jacqui blurts abruptly. Everyone raises an eyebrow at her. "NIOW, that's what she wrote to me. Not in Outworld."

"Un-fucking-real," Johnny says, "she's been trying to tell us he's not in Outworld."

"And she encrypted her files with the coordinates of exactly where he is," Jacqui says as she slams a palm to her forehead.

While the group starts chattering excitedly, Hanzo receives a message on his phone. Disturbed, he clears his throat to try to get everyone's attention unsuccessfully. He whistles sharply, causing everyone to turn to him. "If we are to act, now is the time. We do not know what his endgame is; therefore, we cannot afford to have Cassandra in the crossfire."

"I agree. Let's get a team out to Thailand now," Sonya tells everyone. Everyone begins to move and she stops Jacqui with a gentle hand on her shoulder. Takeda sees this and asks Jacqui a silent question. She gives him a nod and he leaves. Now alone in Cassie's room, Sonya asks her, "You ready for a promotion?"

Jacqui's eyes widen in shock. "Uh... s-sure!" she answers, "I'd like that a lot, General!"

Sonya nods. "Then help me bring my little girl home," she says with tears in her eyes. Sonya didn't speak to Jacqui as her commanding officer General Blade. She spoke to her as Sonya, the mother, the wife, and the protector of Earthrealm.

Jacqui pats Sonya's hand tenderly. "We will, Aunt Sonya," she tells her as they leave the room.

All through the night, the mysterious man checks on Cassie without getting caught by his "boss". Truth is he was sent by another, Grandmaster of the Shirai Ryu, to do his own research. When he was made aware of Cassie's kidnapping, he tried everything in his power to make sure no ill will or harm crossed the petite blonde. He obviously failed the mission, having been an unwilling witness to her degradation. It's too bad Kano entrusted him with so much; it would serve to bite him in the ass later.

The next afternoon, Cassie wakes up to a bowl of chicken corn chowder. Mystery man paces back and forth as if expecting someone. He'd almost gotten caught by one of Kano's associates once and had to think fast. "You have to eat, Cassandra," the man encourages her; "you'll need your strength."

Cassie levels a look with the man. "Why are you risking your ass to save mines?" she croaks. The question has been on her mind for a while.

He hands her a bottle of water, which she takes greedy gulps of as he watches her. "Because the enemy of the Black Dragon is planning an attack. You need to be ready when they do," he explains to her. He finally decides to walk over to her, cloth in hand. He takes some water and pours it on the washcloth. He then proceeds to wipe the blood from her nose and chin delicately, doing his best to keep calm so she remains calm as well.

Initially, she flinches. She only manages to settle down when he wipes a spot on her cheek with the utmost care. When he's finished, he retrieves a clean piece of tissue from his pocket and hands it to her. She takes it as fat tears roll down her cheeks. "How can I repay you?" she asks the kind stranger.

There's a commotion outside of the room where Cassie is being held. He takes that as his cue to make his leave. He tells her two simple words, "Be safe," before leaving her to her thoughts.

It's only after a few moments of determining whether she's safe from any other visitors she finally moves over to the bowl left for her. Carefully, deliberately, she takes a few sips. After choking down a few bites, she takes out the phone she's been given and decides to send another secret message to her family. She'd already done most of her part of the deal she made with her father. Now she's leaving it up to him or her mother (or both) to finish the deed. Satisfied she's still breathing and not dying from being poisoned, Cassie continues to eat slowly. The mystery man was right; she'd need strength, especially if the Red or Black Dragon stick to their plans.

The leader in charge of the third team Sonya sent to Outworld brings back some interesting information. "So," the Lieutenant begins, wrapping up his story," he came back to Earthrealm after being banned from Outworld by the emperor. He has already planned a counterattack against Kotal Kahn, which failed. That's why he's rebuilding his arsenal here."

Sonya nods once as she continues building her own weaponry paraphernalia. Her mind has been made up since leaving Johnny's house and returning to base. She's going to find Kano and kill him once and for all, no gimmicks and no hesitation. And for the first time since being sworn to protect her country and realm, she'd be okay if this is decision causes either her resignation or dismissal. Her whole life was in the military to protect others; what good would it do if she wasn't able to enjoy time with the very same people she was sworn to protect? No, this has to be done. Forget crossing a line, Kano ran through that line several times over when he touched her daughter. "General?" someone calls out to her. She looks over her shoulder to see Jax, dressed in a white t-shirt and an army print bulletproof vest. "We're ready when you are," he informs her. She nods and checks her wrist gauntlets. Sighing deeply, she turns around and walks out the door, ready for the final showdown.

Cassie's in the middle of a nap when the door to her dungeon slams open. Jumping slightly, she rolls over, stuffing the phone she'd been using in her pocket. She's able to tell it's not her helper, but rather a different man who's not as kind. "Get up," the man tells her roughly as he grabs her arm harshly and stands her up. He walks her outside of the door and through a narrow corridor filled with pipe connections. After a quick glance at her surroundings, Cassie grabs the man's arm and swings him around, making him hit his head on one of the pipes. For good measure, she kicks him in the face with so much pressure she hears his spine crack. It attracts the attention of another man so she makes herself slink between spaces in the wall. When the man is too preoccupied with checking for a pulse, Cassie strikes him with a furious fist. He goes down with his comrade and she continues her trek down the hallway.

She makes a left turn and is almost caught by yet another henchman. She manages to dodge being seen before she tackles him from behind and takes him down with a punch to the face. Not leaving any room for revival, she grabs his knife from his holster and slits his throat. After pocketing the knife, Cassie resumes walking, watching out for any threats.

She finally lands herself in another room filled with boxes after a few minutes of aimless wandering. "Fuck!" she whispers to herself. Dead end. Or was it? She creeps closer to the boxes and inspects them. Just as she thought; there are enough explosives to destroy everything at least half a mile away. "I knew it," she grumbles to herself. She takes a picture of one of the boxes labeled with the Black Dragon emblem. Even if she doesn't take out the entire faction, at least she has further proof as to why she decided to pursue them. Just in case she was asked.

"Hey!" she hears him shout behind her. She turns around slowly to face Kano once again. He walks closer to her menacingly as she tries to dodge him. If you wanna catch me, you're gonna have to kill me, Cassie decides in her head. They circled each other like vultures, both with fire in their eyes. "How'd ya get out, Princess?" he inquires, dangerously tender.

She narrows her eyes at him. "Don't you worry your ugly little head," she growls at him.

"You think yer so smart, eh? Tracking me down here, following my men about," he taunts as they continue their circle dance. "Such a shame though," he says, wielding his butterfly knife, "I have to kill ya!" He lunges at her, arms raised in the air. She waits until he's closer before performing a sweeping kick, knocking him flat on his back as the knife flies out of his hand. "Ya little bitch!" he yells as he kicks himself back up. He goes in for a wide swing, but she counters by jabbing her knife at him. He sees this in his peripheral vision and dodges it.

When she goes to stab him again from the side he slaps her hand down with so much force she drops the knife. He grabs her hand and drags her to him so she's flush with his body. With an arm around her neck, he leans in close, breathing into her ear. "I guess you haven't learned from the first time, huh?" he whispers, licking the outside of her ear. She struggles to get one arm free but he holds on tighter. "Well, it's your lucky day. I'm in a teaching mood," he professes.

Before he can do anything else, a familiar female voice notes in a strangely calm voice, "You move, you die."

A/N: I'm kinda not sorry for this cliffhanger, especially considering that this was typed up on my phone in its entirety while working backstage on a production. I'm thinking about wrapping this up in about two or three more chapters. Don't worry; you all will get what you want. It's all planned out in my noggin. With the way I want this to end, I might play around with the idea of a sequel, only if people want it. Let me know your thoughts as usual.