Chapter 10: Next of Kin
From here on out, this story will walk into the events of MK11. There will be some twists in the AU, such as some additional characters not present in certain chapters or at all in the game.
Two years later
It has been three years since Shinnok's defeat and Alex's arrival in Earthrealm. The Special Forces moved to a new base ahead of time. Johnny and Sonya Blade have officially rekindled their relationship and wanted to make plans to remarry. Takeda Takahashi has proposed to Jacqui Briggs in hand of marriage, which she accepts with happiness. Everyone applauds them, even Jax. He was very reluctant at first. He was never fond of Jacqui joining in the first place, but eventually respected her wishes for his late wife's sake. Grandmaster Hasashi plans on setting up a Shirai Ryu Blood Ceremony once Takeda returns. Kung Jin has become an apprentice of the White Lotus, which took him by surprise. His friends made him promise not to brag about his newfound status.
Alex got promoted to Lieutenant and he and Cassie are still in a relationship and have taken a step further since their anniversary. Their 3rd anniversary is coming up. They have somehow managed to find a balance between their work together in the Forces and their love life. It has always been holding steady with little issues. Alex has had thoughts about marriage, but wasn't too sure. He has since given up on waiting for Fujin for answers, remaining unaware of his fate. Despite understanding his powers, he still has much to learn about them. He has not yet figured out the voice talking to him or the meaning of the five torches. He hopes to find out more. General Sonya arranged a meeting with the soldiers and plans on promoting Cassie to Commander.
Everyone stands in line with Cassie and her team up front and center. General Blade walks into the new base, ready to give her announcement. Everyone salutes her.
"As you were." Sonya salutes back. "For over twenty-five years, the Special Forces have been Earthrealm's sword and shield. We pushed back Shao Kahn, defeated Shinnok, but none of our victories have come without cost."
Jacqui has a sad expression on her face, knowing what she's about to say. "Recently, Jackson Briggs has been honorably discharged. His wounds, both physical and psychological, left him no longer fit to serve. We honor Jacqui's father, and we honor his sacrifice, by doing what he would do: tirelessly defending Earthrealm." Sonya finishes before looking at her daughter.
"Sergeant Cage. Step forward." Cassie does so. "Your leadership and war fighting abilities have earned you promotion to Commander. But there are no family favors here. By Special Forces tradition, you have to pass one final test."
"Gotta kick the CO's ass ma'am. Your ass, ma'am." Cassie smiles, knowing what she must do.
Sonya smiles back. "Alright then, Sergeant. Let's see if you can take me." They both get into position.
Alex looks on with a smile on his face, hoping that she wins. Cassie's leadership has influenced him to become more stronger around her and everyone else. He believed that if it wasn't for her, he wouldn't be standing here today. He always believed that she would be the best of them, while she thinks it may be him.
"Hey, Takeda. Five gold sickle coins if the general beats the shit out of her." Jin whispered.
"You're on." Takeda replied back quietly.
Sonya throws the first punches and knee, which Cassie parries away and kicks her ankle and face, causing her to stumble backwards and turning her around, allowing Cassie to execute a third kick to the back, sending her down. Sonya gets back up and charges at her. Cassie attempts to elbow her but Sonya rolls and grabs her legs with her own and trips her. She elbows her face and rolls off her. Cassie gets back up, but Sonya grabs her shoulders and does two knee strikes to the stomach and tries to stun her with the energy rings, but Cassie was quick enough to grab her arm, forcing the General to fire in a different direction. Cassie does a punch to the head and gut and kicks her backwards. Sonya executes a few kicks to the head, only for Cassie to block. She gets tripped again, but kicks Sonya off and rolls forward and surprise attacks her by doing two punches in the face and elbows her to the ground. Sonya rolls backwards to fire ring energy blasts which Cassie dodged and does a Shadow Kick and punch to the gut. Sonya falls to her back, defeated.
"Commander Cage reporting for duty." Cassie salutes the General and helps her back up.
"Congratulations, Commander." Sonya salutes back as Johnny approaches, proud of his daughter. They both embrace how far she has gotten. Johnny could never ask for a better daughter.
Jin scoffed in annoyance as he gives Takeda some gold that he just lost.
"Thank you very much." Takeda smirked.
"Shut up. She just got lucky." Jin claimed. Alex and Jacqui couldn't help but snicker at this.
"Alright. You can all resume your daily duties. I will call for you for any further instructions. Dismissed." Sonya ordered. Everyone leaves.
Alex turns to Jacqui. "Hey. You okay?"
"Yeah. It's just not the same without him here. It's been a couple of years since what happened." Jacqui looks down.
Alex puts a hand on her shoulder. "He'll be alright. If anyone knows Mr. Jax, it's us. Hopefully one day he'll move on. I know it isn't easy. You two honestly didn't deserve it. He's a strong person. So are you."
"Thanks, bestie. Glad to have you around." Jacqui smiles. "You still have something to do. You can do this, Alex." Jacqui motions from him to Cassie. She knows what he plans on doing. Alex nervously nods and gives her shoulder a squeezing comfort before walking over to his girlfriend.
Takeda walks and holds Jacqui's hand. "So. Only a matter of time before you get your own promotion."
"Oh, I don't know which. Either a commander, or maybe a mistress of the fire clan." Jacqui flirts with him before they kiss.
Cassie smiles upon the two being engaged and becoming commander. Then she sees her own boyfriend approaching her. "Congrats, Commander." Alex salutes her.
"No need to call me Commander when it's just us, Lieutenant." Cassie teases before hugging him.
"Yes, Commander." Alex joked.
"Stop. Do you have to joke like this?" Cassie smiled.
"Maybe." Alex said before he kisses her.
Cassie kisses back and giggles. "I gotta do a little something before we have to say bye to dad. Don't forget to meet us outside."
"I won't." Alex said as she walks away, winking at him. He notices the glow in her eyes, sensing her pride of her new position as Commander. He noticed lately that she sways her body whenever she's close to him but not around others. This reminded Alex of something. "General, may I have a word with you?"
"Of course, Lieutenant. Let's talk in the meeting room" Sonya said. They walk in and cleared out everyone so that they're alone. "What seems to be troubling you?"
"Well it's just that, well uh, it's embarrassing to say this." Alex nervously said.
"Lieutenant, you're not giving a speech in front of everyone, it's not a school play. Speak what's on your mind." Sonya said.
"It's just that, over these last years, I've pretty much given up on finding the answers I was hoping for. I do love it here I really do. I've grown to accept my fate to be here for the rest of my life. And I wanted to ask you a personal question. I have been having thoughts about marrying Cassie, but I don't know." Alex admitted.
"Alex. Alex, you should know Johnny has accepted you quickly much faster than I have. After a year being with Cassie, we thought about accepting you as part of the family. I want you to marry her, she loves you." Sonya smiles.
"Thank you, General." Alex sighed.
"Call me Sonya when we're alone. Just promise me one thing." She said.
"What's that?" Alex asked.
"You better protect her and take care of her, otherwise I'm kicking your ass." Sonya playfully threatened him.
"Still not scared of you. I promise you that you have my word." Alex salutes her.
"Come on, let's go say bye to Johnny." Sonya said and they walk outside. Sonya has grown fond of Alex after he saved Cassie's life from Kano. He has made her and the family very happy as much since her family reunited and thought about seeing him as a son of hers and Johnny's.
"C'mon, dad. You really have to go?" Cassie asked, a little saddened.
"You've got your duty, Commander. I've got mine. Unlike you, I got two jobs." Johnny said.
"I'm willing to bet it's gonna blow at the box office. No offense, though." Alex jokes.
"Here here." Takeda agreed.
"Very funny, I bet it's gonna make everyone cringe. You can count on it." Johnny replied.
"Staring in another Ninja Mime sequel isn't exactly what I call duty. I'd rather call it a chore which then leads to drinking cheap beer." Sonya replied.
"I need to provide for you in the manner to which you've become accustomed as fine wine." Johnny flirts as he and Sonya kiss. Alex and Cassie look at each other and roll their eyes about how weird they flirt and kiss compared to them. Sometimes they wonder if they even listen to what they're saying to each other.
Before Alex can say anything to Cassie, red lightning strikes, and Dark Raiden appears. They're surprised to see him again after the past few years. "General Blade. Cassandra Cage. I must speak with you urgently."
"What is it, Raiden?" Cassie asked.
"The Netherrealm has sent a message for me to inform you." Dark Raiden replied. They go inside the base to look over intels on what's going on and the threats they could be facing. He warns them about the Revenants, led by Liu Kang and Kitana.
"We should open a dialogue. Liu Kang and Kitana were friends once." Cassie said.
"They are irrevocably polluted by Shinnok's evil. They are no longer Earthrealm's champions we once knew. We must strike preemptively." Raiden said. He still holds a grudge against them after his warning to them.
"An army from the Netherrealm brought to Earthrealm. That's gonna end horribly." Jin stated.
"Well I guess it's time we bring a fight to them and have a meeting with them. What's the target?" Alex asked, bringing up a hologram of a castle.
"Buried beneath Liu Kang and Kitana's castle is the Cathedral of Shinnok, the source of their power. Destroy it and their undead army will fall, removing its threat to Earthrealm." Dark Raiden said.
"Aren't your powers weaker in the Netherrealm?" Cassie asked.
"Yes, but I will have enough strength to occupy the undead." Dark Raiden answered.
"That will buy us time to infiltrate the Cathedral. Destroy it from the inside." Sonya said.
"But that won't mean that Liu Kang and his buddies will not notice us the entire time. Which means we need to be in and out as quickly as possible." Takeda advised.
"Guys? You realize that we might get stuck down there, with no way out, no rescue. We need a lot of men for this." Alex states.
"To ensure Earthrealm's safety, we must all be willing to sacrifice." Dark Raiden replies. This irritates Johnny and Jin.
"You know, it's been a few years too much of your grim and gritty makeover, droning in about sacrifice. You don't have a family to lose." Johnny points out. He still doesn't seem to trust Raiden after taking on the dark persona, showing a more authoritarian attitude towards everyone, especially his brother in arms, Fujin.
"And now you don't seem like you have no regrets." Jin accused him.
Dark Raiden remained silent for a moment before speaking. "I know loss, Johnny Cage." Despite what he has become, he isn't wrong, given how he accidentally killed Liu Kang and when Kung Lao died in Outworld as well as most of his allies.
"Raiden has a point, Johnny. We're not ready for another war. We've got to take out Netherrealm's army before Liu Kang decides to bring it here." Sonya corrected him. Johnny still does not like the idea of Raiden leading them to a suicide mission which could cost the Special Forces their lives, especially his family. But at the same time, he knows that they have to strike now, otherwise more people will die.
"When do we leave for the Netherrealm?" Alex asked.
"As soon as possible. You must gather your soldiers. We need all the help we can get. Are you coming with us, Alexander?" Dark Raiden said.
"I am. They told me everything, including the Netherrealm and the revenants. They trained me, they're gonna need a lot of help." Alex replied.
"Very well. I will be waiting for you outside." Dark Raiden said before walking out. Alex was careful enough to not tell Dark Raiden about his mysterious powers, otherwise he would've made the former raise heavy suspicions on Alex.
After Dark Raiden exits the base, Cassie grabs Alex's arm to talk to him in private. "Are you sure you want to come? You realize this is your first time going to the Netherrealm. Outside of Earthrealm. These revenants are strong and can be dangerous. The last thing I would want is for you to get captured or killed. You get what I'm telling you?" Cassie worries for him.
"I'm sure. I get what you mean, but I'm not afraid. You know I'm willing to lay down my life for you and everyone else in Earthrealm. Raiden has a point, it's now or never." Alex said.
Cassie felt reluctant to let her boyfriend come along, fearing the revenants may target him because of his powers but she lets him. "Alright. Gather Jacqui and our other teams. We're going in big and stealthy."
"Yes, Commander." Alex acknowledges. He doesn't care if he gets hurt. He will do whatever it takes to get the job done to protect his girlfriend Cassie, the Special Forces and Earthrealm. He gathers everyone while Johnny stays behind to ensure that everyone makes it back alive.
The Special Forces, led by General Sonya and Commander Cassie, step into the Netherrealm thanks to Dark Raiden and his powers. Cassie sees the Castle of Shinnok, guarded by the undead.
"So this is basically hell?" Alex guessed.
"Oh yeah, the one place where you do not want to die." Cassie said.
"Noted." Alex said as they follow Sonya around while staying low so no one can see them. They wait for Raiden's signal.
"We're in position. I hope Raiden's planned one hell of a diversion." Cassie hoped.
"Looks like you might be right about that, Cage." Jin said, gesturing to Raiden's spot. Dark Raiden activates the amulet and walks in front of the undead army.
"Withdraw, or suffer the wrath of Earthrealm's protector!" Dark Raiden threatened. He raises his amulet to the sky and red lightning starts striking down the undead. Revenants Liu Kang and Kitana look from above the castle to see the undead attacked by their worst enemy. They send more of their undead outside to kill him, and unknown to them, they pass by the hiding Special Forces. Once the coast was clear, Commander Cage runs inside with Sonya and her team behind her. Takeda swiftly decapitates one undead monster as they continue downstairs. They reach downstairs and hide behind big doors and behind them, is the head of a familiar face attached to the walls.
"Is that who I think it is?" Alex asked.
"Yup, that's Shinnok." Cassie answers.
"Raiden must've fucked him up good." Alex guessed. He was told that Raiden took Shinnok away after his defeat at Cassie's hands.
Before they could head inside, they see more of the army and hide behind the doors. Revenants Jade and Kabal come in.
"Should Raiden get this far, eliminate him." Revenant Jade commands the undead. She and a masked Revenant Kabal walk to Shinnok's head and bow their heads before it out of loyalty.
"You guys told me about Jade but who's the other guy?" Alex asked. He quickly figured who Jade was given her attire and green bo staff.
"I think that's Kabal. Wasn't he Kano's goon back in the day?" Cassie asked.
"Don't let the scars fool you. Remember he has super speed. Take him and Jade out. I'll go downstairs and set the C4 charges. Takeda. You and Jin cover us." Sonya tells the team and they nod.
"Roger that." Cassie acknowledges her command. They run in and start firing their guns at the undead. They do a good job at killing many but some soldiers start falling victim to the undead while Cassie meets Kabal and engages him.
"Move! Charges on every column!" Sonya ordered. She and her group set charges on the columns, set apart by a good distance.
Cassie dodged his hook swords, but he slices her rifle in half. She tosses the two pieces aside and prepares to fight. "You're a dead ringer for your mother." Revenant Kabal said.
"I'll kick your ass on her behalf, Kabal." Cassie said before they fight. Revenant Kabal swings his hook swords twice but Cassie ducks and knees his stomach and punches him in the neck and trips him. Revenant Kabal kicks back up and speeds runs through her, making her spin. Revenant Kabal throws his swords around her shoulders and throws her down, back first. Cassie shoots his shoulder and kicks his chin and gets back up. She elbows his bad shoulder, knees his chest and kicks him in the gut, sending him backwards. Revenant Kabal isn't finished, as he tries to throw a cross saw, but Cassie jumps over it and gives him two kicks to the head, a kick to the crotch area and a final punch to the stomach. Revenant Kabal lays down, defeated. "You lose as fast as you run." Cassie mocks him and raises an eyebrow.
Takeda and Kung Jin defend Sonya Blade as they keep any monsters from trying to interfere with her work. He continues swinging his chain whips, slicing and dicing any that approach while Jin fires his arrows at many of them. Elsewhere, Jacqui started getting the upper hand against Revenant Jade until one of the undead step in, forcing her to shoot it dead. Alex was left alone to fight her.
"You are a fool to fight me, boy." Revenant Jade said as she swings her staff trying to hit Alex, but he dodges them.
"Well, you'll find out I'm full of surprises." Alex replies. He double kicks Jade backwards. She throws her staff and barely misses his face as he catches it, but it was a trick as Revenant Jade kicks and elbows him in the face, momentarily stunning him. She grabs her staff and was about to swing down on him, but he rolls out of the way and grabs it again, pulls her in and knees her in the stomach, elbows her back and throws her. Revenant Jade manages to quickly recover.
"Not bad. I don't recognize you but you are a skilled opponent." Revenant Jade said.
"Don't try to flatter me, Jade. There's more where that came from." Alex said. He runs towards her but is tackled by an undead. This gives Jade a chance to escape and warn Liu Kang. Alex fires a beam at its head, killing it and getting back up. Alex used his twin pistols to shoot several more dead while making his way to Jacqui. "Jacqui. You alright?"
"Yeah. Where's Jade?" She asked.
Alex sees her running upstairs. "Shit. She's gonna warn them."
"Come on, let's catch up to Commander Cassie." Jacqui said. They find her after she has defeated Kabal. Takeda and Jin follow them. The attacks have stopped for now. It appears that Dark Raiden has attracted more than they anticipated.
"Guys. Where's Jade?" Cassie asked.
"Getting help." Jacqui replied.
"General, how are we doing?" Cassie contacts her mother.
"We need ten more minutes. These columns are further apart than we expected." Sonya said.
"Need help?" Alex asked.
"Negative. Just watch our backs." General Sonya ordered.
"Ten minutes? We needed to be tail-lights in five." Jacqui states the facts.
"She's right. It won't take long for Liu Kang to figure out the plan, and there are more of those fucking things coming soon." Alex backs her up. They hear more coming to them.
"Well we're in the shit now." Takeda said. "They're gonna outnumber us. We need a plan.
Cassie came up with an idea and turned to her best friend. "Do we still have extra C4s?"
"Yeah. Why?" Jacqui asked.
"Let's buy ourselves time." Cassie grabs two packs and heads to set the charges on the doorways as a trap.
Outside, Dark Raiden continues to fight off the undead, buying the Special Forces time to destroy it. Despite his powers being weaker, Dark Raiden is not showing any signs of getting weaker or tired. As the two rulers from above watch, Revenant Jade comes in.
"Emperor Liu Kang. Empress Kitana. We've been infiltrated. The Special Forces have taken the Bone Temple." Revenant Jade said.
"But Raiden." Revenant Kitana questioned before they all looked down at him.
The former chosen one looks closely to Dark Raiden and sees that he isn't even trying to fight through them. "He's the diversion. Gather who we can spare. It is time we show Raiden why the Netherrealm will prevail."
"Take cover. We're gonna have an unwelcome committee from both sides." Alex ordered. Cassie and Jacqui have finished setting up the C4s.
"Lock and loaded." Cassie finishes as she and Jacqui run behind cover. Cassie and Alex grab their pistols and Jacqui has her rifle. They look up and see the undead army running down. Several moments of silence and then they begin charging. The explosives go off. Unfortunately it didn't work much and they shoot as many as possible.
Below the stairs, the floor shakes, gaining the general's attention. "What's going on up there?"
"Watching your back, General." Cassie reminded her of the orders she gave them.
Cassie and her team shoot as many as possible rapidly, stopping many in their tracks. As Alex predicted, there are more coming from the back.
"Behind us!" Alex said as one tries to jump attack but he dodges and stomps on its head and crushes it. His team backs him up as several more come behind them. Jacqui shoots most of them but she sees Revenant Liu Kang shoot a fire skull, which they narrowly dodged. Cassie jumps out of the way and was nearly cornered by Revenant Kitana, who keeps swinging her fans to try to kill her. They are now aware that Raiden was only a distraction. Cassie rolls backwards and onto her feet, ready to fight back.
"Kitana. Empress of the undead." Cassie mocks her.
"Don't think I've forgotten our last encounter at the Sky Temple." Revenant Kitana said.
"How are your scars healing?" Cassie insults her before they start fighting. Revenant Kitana throws a fan at her ankle which Cassie jumps over and punches her. They continue to switch between offense and defense. Cassie punches her in the face and left shoulder and elbows her neck. Cassie attempts to kick her but Revenant Kitana grabs her ankle and chops her in the head, then in the stomach and triple kicks her, sending Cassie in the air and knocking her down. Cassie gets up only to receive another kick to the chest, sending her sliding down.
"You will not survive this battle, Cassandra. You will answer for Lord Shinnok." Revenant Kitana said.
"We'll see about that. I'll leave more scars for you this time." Cassie gets back up. Revenant Kitana throws her fans but Cassie swiftly dodges them and drop kicks her left shoulder, elbows her in the face, grabs her by the neck and throws her down. Revenant Kitana kicks back and attempts to do the same thing again, but Cassie was prepared. She dodged and knees her in the stomach, punches her in the face and backhands her, and grabs her and does a suplex on her, face planting her in the wall. Revenant Kitana is knocked down. After making sure, Cassie goes to help out more soldiers, hoping Sonya is doing alright.
Alex and Jacqui are engaged in a fight with a few left. They shoot the last of them but more are coming soon. They as well as Takeda and Jin were about to help Cassie but are interrupted by four revenants: Kung Lao, Sindel, Nightwolf and Jade.
"Okay. Four us and four of them. I'll take Jade and Nightwolf." Alex said. You with me, Jin?"
"Definitely." Jin nodded.
"Looks like we got Kung Lao and Sindel to ourselves. Let's do this." Jacqui said, leaving him with Nightwolf and Jade.
"So you're the Nightwolf, right?" Alex guessed correctly.
"Correct. I am Nightwolf. For a mere Earthrealmer, something I sense about you. Something strange. Tell me what it is about you." Revenant Nightwolf demands.
"Why don't you two come over here and find out?" Alex challenges them. They both charge at the heroes. He dodges to the right, ducks Revenant Jade's swing, grabs the staff and kicks her in her gut and mouth. Kung Jin dodges Revenant Nightwolf's green tomahawk a few times before being kicked, sliding backwards. Revenant Nightwolf fires arrows which Jin dodges, ducks and back kicks him in the stomach before throwing his bow staff upwards at his chin, making him fly. Jade comes back into the fight and throws a Razor-Rang at Jin's shoulder, cutting it before he gets hit by Jade's staff to the head, left shin and back kicks him acorss the chest before slamming it down onto his head. Kung Jin is knocked down and incapacitated. Alex is alarmed with seeing what happened to his friend. He barely dodges her attacks.. She jumps to kick him but he grabs her leg and throws her. He charges to dropkick her, but she kicks him in the chin and puts her staff around his neck, preventing him from moving. Revenant Nightwolf plans on killing him by firing a cloud of lightning down at him. He charges up, signaling her to let him go. Revenant Jade pushes Alex into the spot where he would be struck.
"No!" Kung Jin shouted while trying to get up.
Fortunately, Alex holds his hands up and glows blue aura, knowing he has no choice. Lightning comes down at him and he absorbs it without any injuries, much to both of the revenants' shock. He stood there, glowing bright after absorbing that.
"What?! It can't be! How dare you defy my great power? It should've killed you." Revenant Nightwolf is shocked and angry at this.
"Surprised, yet?" Alex said, angering Revenant Nightwolf. He charges in to kill him with his tomahawk, but Alex steps back, kicks Jade and fires a lightning at him, knocking him unconscious. All that's left is Jade.
"You are human, but you are different from the likes of Cassandra Cage. Tell me how did you do this or I will drop her head off this very castle to feed my undead, boy." Revenant Jade said.
Alex closes his fists in anger. "Not with that attitude, bitch."
Revenant Jade charges in, and Alex parries her staff, kicks her in the face. She kicks him in the stomach and knees his face and throws him down. She tries to stomp him in the neck but he grabs her ankle and pushes her, stumbling her. Alex elbows her face and kicks her stomach and backflip kicks her in the head, stunning and defeating her. Alex falls to his knees, exhausted. He summoned thr strength to get up and help his friend.
"Are you okay, Jin?" Alex pulled him up.
"I've been hit worse. But still, nice one. Took down Jade. That takes guts." Jin complimented. Alex nods as they go to help out more soldiers.
Meanwhile Takeda is facing Revenant Kung Lao while Jacqui faces Revenant Sindel.
"Your wounds have healed, Shirai Ryu Chujin. But you'll be receiving fatal ones from the Great Kung Lao. If I were you, I'd surrender." Kung Lao threatened.
"Yeah. That's what cowards say because they know they'll lose." Takeda said. This ticked him off.
"No one calls me a coward." Revanant Kung Lao said in anger before he attacks.
He swings his hate at him, but he avoids the blows and counters with his sword. Takeda overpowers him before punching his face and thrusting the sword handle at his throat and kicking him across the jaw. Kung Lao stumbles, allowing Takeda to launch one of his chain whips through his left leg, stabbing it and nearly breaking it. He pulls him over to him and gives his chest a good kick before Takeda leaps in the air and does a dive kick, knocking him down and cracking his chest, defeating him.
"Did I step in your moment?" Takeda mockingly asked. His fiance continues fighting Revanant Sindel.
"Jacqueline Briggs. I remember you. The daughter of Jackson Briggs. I stabbed his neck and killed him with my very heel. How does that make you feel?" Revenant Sindel insults her.
"He's alive again unlike you, you fucking douche." Jacqui said in anger.
"I'll put that tongue of yours in your place as I'll scream until you're nothing but a corpse." Revenant Sindel said.
Jacqui charges in with a punch from her gauntlet, only for Revenant Sindel to dodge and trip her. She grabs Jacqui by the ankle with her hair, hanging her upside down, but Jacqui fires from her gauntlet, forcing her to let go. Jacqui jumps and smashes her head with her wrist gauntlets, and shoots electrical shocks at her, and kickbox combos her and shock punches her in the face. Revenant Sindel recovers and blasts energy at Jacqui's feet, nearly making her fall. Revenant Sindel then cartwheel kicks her in the chin and backflip kicks her in the spine, partially damaging it. Revenant Sindel grabs her wrist with her hair but Jacqui pushes a button on her gauntlet with her free hand and electrocutes her, forcing Revenant Sindel To let go. Jacqui jumps on her shoulders, wraps her legs around her neck and throws her down, and back kicks her forehead, defeating her. "That was for my dad, asshole." Jacqui said.
Before Jacqui could kill her, Revenant Kung Lao uses his hat and teleports, grabs Revenant Sindel and they teleport away. Revenant Liu Kang comes out of nowhere and overpowers Jacqui. Takeda tries to use his chain whips, but the former chosen one avoids them and gives Takeda a good fiery dragon kick to the head, knocking him down and easily defeating him. Kung Jin tries to fire his arrows, but Revenant Liu Kang easily deflects them with his nunchucks before blocking a blow from his weapon and does a fiery palm strike to the chest, knocking Jin into a wall and defeating him. Alex steps and takes him by surprise by hitting him with an energy charges punch in the back of the head and kneeing him in his back before kicking him forward. The evil revenant emperor was surprised by his strength for someone so young. Before Alex could do another attack, Revenant Liu Kang Bicycle Kicks him and a final strong kick to the face, making his mouth and nose bleed a little. Alex is knocked down next to Jacqui, defeating him as well.
"Move, everyone! Move!" Sonya said. The soldiers attempt to escape to a safe distance to activate the charges, but their escape is halted by Revenant Liu Kang. He shoots fire from his hands at the ceiling, and some rubble fall down on the soldiers, Sonya included.
"General? General!" Cassie calls out to her, but no response.
"She is trapped, Cassandra Cage." Revenant Liu Kang smiles deviously at her.
Cassie was pissed. He'd better hope she was still alive, or else he would be the next to die. With Alex and Jacqui recovering, she was left alone to fight the former chosen one. "How the Chosen One has fallen. Raiden's right. Whatever Shinnok did to you, you're a lost cause."
Revenant Liu Kang attempts a fire kick but Cassie ducks and tries to shoot him. He sidesteps the bullets and goes into a Dragon Stance. Cassie tries to kick, but Liu Kang counter attacks with his nunchucks, sending her backwards. She recovers, uppercuts Revenant Liu Kang and elbows him to the ground. He trips her, but she backflip kicks him in the chin. Cassie executed a kick to the knee, one to the head and a third to the chest. He fires two fire balls but she ducks and shoots an ankle, injuring him. Cassie pulls off a shadow kick to the chest and a shadow tackle and punches and elbows his head. Liu Kang gets back up with some injuries.
"Your skills are quite impressive, but they will not save you from the inevitable. You will die with your mother." Revenant Liu Kang said.
Cassie closes her fists in anger, completely turning on her powers. She and Revenant Liu Kang clash fists together. Despite his fists covered in flames, Cassie isn't burned one bit. Revenant Liu Kang kicks her in the right ribcage twice and unleashes a double kick to the upper chest, sending her backwards and making Cassie spit out a couple drops of blood. Revenant Liu Kang does a bicycle kick on her, causing more damage and cracking her chest. Cassie kicks back up and is ready to take him down. She swiftly dodges two of his fireballs. She rolls under, punches his left knee, elbows his gut, and double kicks his forehead, making him stumble backwards and cracking his skull. Revenant Liu Kang attempts to do a dragon kick in hopes of finishing her off, but Cassie jumps backwards, does a shadow dive kick, does three shadow punches to the face, hits him on the left cheek with the handle of her gun, then on the right shoulder, shoots his left foot, and shoots his right shoulder three times. Cassie unleashes a punch and kick to the face. The Revenant chosen one falls down, defeated.
"Fuck! You!" Cassie said to him. She is very tempted to kill him, but family comes first. Cassie runs to help her mother.
Alex recovers just in time and helps Jacqui up. "Go round up the soldiers. I'll help out General Sonya." He tells her and she nods. Alex runs to help Cassie and Sonya, leaving Jacqui with some soldiers still alive.
"General, can you hear me?!. General? Mom?" Cassie tries to get to her.
"I'm here, Cass." Sonya said weakly.
"Hang tight, we'll get you out." Cassie tells her in a scared voice.
"They're gone, Cass. And I'm not gonna make it." Sonya said. She tries to push through but is unable to move.
"What?! I'm not leaving you behind!" Cassie tells her.
"Are you crazy? We need to get you out! You're our leader! We need you, Sonya!" Alex protests.
"Get the team home. That's an order. Your duty. Mine's to finish the mission." Sonya said, holding the trigger.
"Sonya, please don't. We need to help you! We have time! Don't do this!" Alex yelled.
"Alex. Remember what we talked about. You promised. Please keep my daughter safe and happy. Protect her... Cassie. I love you. Give your dad a kiss for me." Sonya closes her eyes and pulls the trigger. Her eyes drop with a tear.
"Mom? Mom!" Cassie and Alex attempt to pull her out. They try to get as much debris out of the way as possible. Alex thought about using his powers, but doesn't want to chance hurting her just in case. Jacqui looks and sees the timer has started.
"Cass, she started the countdown." Jacqui tells her.
"Override it! Hurry, Jacqui!" Cassie continues.
"There is no override." Jacqui reminds her.
"We gotta get her out first! We can't leave her." Alex tells Jacqui. This does not stop her. Jacqui is also reluctant to leave her, but she knows they have no choice. She tries a couple times to pull Cassie away from the rubble, but she is defiant and keeps pushing her best friend away, wanting to save her mom. Jacqui stops her and grabs her by the shoulders. Alex stops to look at them.
"Our orders are to leave." Jacqui reminds her of Sonya's final orders. Cassie looks at the rubble she's trapped in. Takeda and Kin remain silent on what's happening as they couldn't believe their eyes and ears. They hear monstrous screaming as more undead come down.
Cassie and her team shoot as many as they could as they make their escape."Come on! Move it!" Cassie orders.
They reach outside the castle just in time as it starts to explode and crumble. Dark Raiden sees the job done and teleports everyone and himself back to Earthrealm. They reach back outside the base. Cassie falls to her knees with Alex and Jacqui comforting her. Takeda and Jin were both out of breath, but still in shock. But Dark Raiden steps in.
"Your mother died a warrior's death. May we all be so fortunate." Dark Raiden said with no care.
"You did not just say that." Jacqui tells him in disgust. Alex couldn't believe the words that he said.
"Why you fucker!" Alex yelled at Dark Raiden. He gets up and was fixing to approach him out of anger and use his powers to attack him, but stops when Johnny's voice approaches them.
"Oh, thank god you're back. How did the mission…" Johnny stops mid-sentence. He sees one person missing and was hoping it wasn't true. Cassie looks at him with a sad expression and bends her head down.
"Cassie?" He slowly walks over to Cassie and lifts her by her chin and sees tears in her eyes.
"She's gone, dad. Mom's gone." Cassie said, her voice feeling weak from crying. Johnny and Cassie embrace the loss of their mother and wife Sonya Blade. Jacqui puts a hand on her best friend's shoulder while Alex holds Cassie's hand. Takeda and Kung Jin closes their eyes and bow their heads in complete silence at their tragic loss. Alex continues to glare at Dark Raiden, blaming him for Sonya's death while doing his best to fight back tears. Victory came at a big cost. The fight is over... for now.
Note: So I have included Nightwolf and Sindel into this chapter since they were playable as DLC characters and were playable in the Aftermath story. Don't worry, you'll find out who else will be coming. And for those wondering, Alex could've absorbed the earth from the rubble covering General Sonya, but he didn't want to chance getting her crushed and he was desperate. And the final moves Cassie pulled on Revenant Liu Kang was her fatal blow from MK11. Takeda and Kung Jin are part of the story as well. If anyone has any questions, I can answer them at the end of this story. And I may or may not be uploading as often due to my new job. Until next time, everyone.