Chapter 14: Old Friends, Unfortunate Enemies
As Liu Kang and Kung Lao spar with each other outside the Special Forces, Raiden makes his return to report what he has discovered.
"Lord Raiden. Did you learn anything from the Elder Gods?" Liu Kang asked.
"Yes. Our enemy is Kronika. A Titan and ally turned traitor. We must find her Keep and take control of time from here. If we succeed, we can change our destiny." Raiden said.
"So what we were told is true then? You were involved with our original fates?" Kung Lao asked.
"Yes. If the timeline continued, my decisions would have led to your deaths. The Elder Gods assure me that a future such as that is not inevitable. This is only one but many timelines." Raiden sadly said.
"That is a lot to take on faith." Kung Lao said, which earned him a slight smack to the chest by Liu Kang.
"Rest assured, Kung Lao, I am now aware of what has happened. You have my promise that I will never bring harm to either of you." Raiden said. "We must find Kronika's Keep and strike it hard and fast, otherwise all will be lost forever. But we need allies. Kronika is more powerful than we believe." The master and two students bow their heads to each other, though Kung Lao still has doubts about Raiden.
After talking to his students, they head back into the base where Raiden talks to Cassie and Alex about what they discovered.
"We're tracking sites around the globe with major temporal anomalies." Cassie said.
"We have information that tracks the attacks caused by the Netherrealm with the time anomalies." Alex tells him.
"Helpful, but we have more to worry about than the Netherrealm." Raiden reminds them.
"Right. Grandmaster Sub-Zero reports heavy losses to his Lin Kuei clan. Apparently the time merger brought back his old enemy, Sektor." Cassie reports.
"Sektor? Was he not the Grandmaster years ago who enslaved the Lin Kuei?" Raiden was surprised.
Alex brings up a hologram of him. "That's him. Sub-Zero killed him several years ago for disgracing the Lin Kuei. He's reactivating and giving the factory more upgrades to make more like him. He converts the living Lin Kuei into cyborgs by killing them and inserting parts of them into these killing machines." Kung Jin explained.
"Undoubtedly to construct new and more powerful Cyber Lin Kuei. Kronika may seek to co-opt them." Raiden said.
"Sub-Zero is already on his way to the factory to shut it down. Grandmaster Hasashi is accompanying him." Takeda added. Raiden is all too familiar with those words.
"Grandmaster Hasashi? Hanzo Hasashi?!" Raiden exclaimed.
"Oh yeah. Forgot to tell you about him." Takeda facepalmed himself.
Cassie explains what happened to them. The time they were revenants and brought back by Raiden and that they made peace with each other after finding out Sektor and Quan Chi were responsible for the Shirai Ryu's massacre and Hanzo's wife and son's deaths. Up to now, they have been working together. Sub-Zero has since forgave Hanzo for the death of his older brother.
"I see. So Quan Chi was using Hanzo as his slave this entire time. What has become of Quan Chi?" Raiden asked.
"My parents as well as Jax captured him and wanted to wait for you to come back to merge your magic with his to bring back everyone, but Hanzo invaded them and killed Quan Chi right after he released Shinnok, his actual master." Cassie said.
"No Quan Chi means we cannot reverse the effects on the other revenants." Alex said before turning to Cassie. "Cassie. I think it's time I tell him."
Cassie looks at her boyfriend and knew what he was referring to. "Yes. I think it is best that he, Liu Kang and Kung Lao know." Cassie nods and approves.
"Tell us what, Alexander?" Raiden asked with Liu Kang and Kung Lao listening with interest.
"It started almost immediately after Shinnok got beaten. I got here similar to how you did." Alex tells them about how he got from his earth to Earthrealm. How he came across Cassie and the Special Forces, being trained and how he met Dark Raiden and Fujin. Takeda backs him up by mentioning that he used his telepathy and looked in his head to find out the truth and confirmed his innocence when he was arrested and interrogated. He was told everything by the Cage family. He lastly tells them about his powers, how he discovered it when facing Kano and it works and gave a brief display from his hand glowing blue as well as his eyes.
"I have never seen that kind of power before." Raiden said, surprised. "And you do not know where this came from?"
"I don't apparently. I have learned how to control it. Absorb energy and use it for attack, cancel it out in my body, and somehow absorb elements. I got pulled here similar to how you did." Alex said before he realized something.
"What is it, Alex?" Cassie asked.
"What if….. What if I wasn't brought here by an accident?" Alex said.
"What do you mean by accident? Surely Kronika must've made a mistake and brought you here. What if we were brought here by accident as well if Kronika wanted to recruit our enemies?" Liu Kang asked.
"That's what I thought for the past three years, until now. I don't think this was a coincidence, and surely Kronika might've done this to me and to y'all on purpose. You said she spared you on purpose, knowing that the revenants would die if you die. It might be because of what I could do?" Alex theorized.
"Hmm. A big assumption, Alexander. Perhaps you may be right. There must be a real reason you were summoned here from the other earth. This power of yours could not be from that earth, but from this one." Raiden said. "Have you heard from Fujin?"
"No. That was the only time I met him. I don't know what happened. He said that I may have either came from a different dimension or different timeline, now I'm thinking it's the latter but I'm not sure. Maybe he got lost in the time-merger?" Alex said.
"That's a big possibility. We can only hope that he's alright." Cassie said, feeling worried. She knows that Fujin would not just abandon his duties, but at the same time, she feels that something may have gone wrong.
"I hope you are right, Cassandra Cage. Knowing my brother, I know he is strong. I must check on Outworld for any progress on Shao Kahn." Raiden said.
"With your permission, Lord Raiden, we would like to return to the Academy to bury the Shaolin Monks as honor." Liu Kang asks with his teacher nodding, giving him the go ahead. They each take their respective departure to deal with their own business.
"Hey. Takeda. Jin. Why don't you two go help them? They could your help. And maybe get to know them better." Cassie suggested.
Kung Jin smiled. Finally, he gets his chance to talk to his uncle and for them to interact. He and Takeda leave while Alex, Cassie and Jacqui stay behind.
Alex still could not help but feel worried. Cassie sees this and puts her hand on top of his. "He'll be alright. Trust me. We will get to the bottom of this. If it's true on what you said earlier, then that time-stopping fucker better not lay a finger on you." Cassie tells her boyfriend.
"Yeah. I guess you're right. Just remember that it's also my job to protect you, you know." Alex replied. Cassie giggled before she and Alex kissed.
Elsewhere in the cold mountains, Grandmaster Liang is looking through a telescope, inspecting the new Cyber Lin Kuie factory. As he looks, Hanzo Hasashi sneaks up behind him, holding his sword. He turns around just in time.
"Your hearing is starting to fail." Hanzo Hasashi tells him.
"I recognized your footsteps, old friend." Sub-Zero said.
"Where is Sektor? I will not allow him to threaten our clans again like he did before with Quan Chi." Hanzo swears revenge.
"The old Cyber Lin Kuei was defunct, buried beneath the quarry, until the time disruption. Now Sektor has revived it and is processing more cyborgs from the warriors he took from me." Sub-Zero said.
"Now I see why you need me." Hanzo realized.
"There are two entrances. The one in front we could enter, but the frontal assault would be bloody. There is another entrance, less populated." Sub Zero pointed out once Hanzo was looking through a telescope.
"What is the plan once we get inside?" Hanzo asked.
"We will get help from the inside." Sub-Zero answered.
They take the rear entrance were there is only one cyborg guarding it. They quickly stab its head and chest and destroy it as they head inside. They reach inside a room and it is worse than Kuai Liang thought. There are capsules with floating heads and limbs in them. And on the ground are several dead bodies, split apart limb from limb. Blood stains everywhere on the floor and even on the walls. He finds a Lin Kuei emblem covered in blood and picks it up. Liang holds back his tears as he grieves for the loss of his warriors. His clan is now lost.
Hanzo puts a hand on his shoulders. "I promise you we will avenge your clan." They hear someone come in and quickly hide behind the capsules and see the woman in robes walk in with a yellow cyborg. Someone that Sub-Zero is all too familiar with.
"Cyrax." Liang recognized.
"He is your inside man." Hanzo stated.
"He was converted against his will by Sektor. According to Alexander, we need to disable the behavioral modifications that are controlling him." Sub-Zero said.
"If we do that, he will regain his free will." Hanzo guessed correctly.
"All of the cyborgs are linked together to one network. Cyrax can shut down the factory, though it may cost him his life." Sub-Zero said.
"Who is the woman in the robes?" Hanzo asked.
"I don't know, but we must free Cyrax. He is the key to victory." He said. He stands up and freezes the woman, gaining Cyrax's attention.
Cyrax charges towards Sub-Zero, but Hanzo teleports behind him and holds him in place. At the same time, the woman breaks free, revealing herself to be Frost. She is in fact working with Kronika. She fires an ice beam at their feet, forcing Hanzo to let go of Cyrax.
"Miss me, Sub-Zero?" Frost mockingly asked.
"Frost. I gave you a home. Became your teacher, and after all of this, you choose to ally with Sektor? He corrupted the Lin Kuei." Sub-Zero said.
"You're a hypocrite, Liang! You corrupted it when you made peace with him, the Lin Kuei's sworn enemy!" Frost said. "With Kronika, I will be the true grandmaster of the clan!"
"Help Cyrax. I'll discipline your former student." Hanzo instructed.
"I should've killed you the moment Liang brought you to the Lin Kuei Temple. I will finish what I've started." Frost said.
"And you have failed because you are incompetent and not as smart as you think. That's why Sub-Zero expelled you from the clan." Hanzo said, making Frost snarl out of anger.
"Shut up!" Frost yelled.
Frost leaps forward to try to stab Hanzo with two lance-like blades, but Hanzo jumps over her and back kicks her in the left hip and in the back of the head. She turns around and they clash swords. Frost was fast, but Hanzo was faster and smarter. He kicks one blade away and overpowers the other with his sword, punches her across the face, knees her in the chest and stabs her left shoulder and left leg with one of his short swords. Frost and Hanzo shoot fire and ice at each other. Hanzo's fire overpowers her and temporarily stumbles and blinds her. He punches her right shoulder, stabs her left shoulder, teleports behind her, double kicks her in the back, sending her flying. Hanzo fires his chain spears at her, partially breaking her spine, pulling her to him and does a series of three fiery punches to the chest, cracking it. Frost falls down in defeat.
"Sub-Zero can decide your fate." Hanzo said before going to help his friend. Hanzo knocks Cyrax back, but Cyrax activates several more cyborgs to back him up.
"I have more upgrades, Sub-Zero. Kronika will rewrite history and the Cyber Lin Kuei will prevail over yours." Cyrax said.
"You're nothing but pawns to her." Hanzo said.
"We act to secure the Cyber Lin Kuei's glory in the New Era." Cyrax replied.
"You must face Cyrax. I will deal with the others." Hanzo said. Hanzo goes and starts overpowering the cyborgs by slicing their heads off, stabbing them and using his chain spear and throwing them. More are coming soon. All he can do is stall until Sub-Zero stops Cyrax.
"You have been enslaved twice. By Sektor. By Kronika. They're corrupting your soul. This ends now." Sub-Zero said.
Cyrax tries to trap him in an electrified net, but Sub-Zero summons an ice wall and it gets crushed. He rushes forward, slides and shoulder bashes him, grabs his robotic ankle, throws him into an ice wall and slide kicks him backwards more. Liang swings an ice axe at his shoulder, damaging it, roundhouse kicks his chest and freezes him in place. Sub-Zero uppercuts Cyrax, and does a one-two punch followed by a mid-air kick to the chest, making the yellow cyborg go flying down. Cyrax gets back up, rolls a bomb at Kuai Kiang's feet, but Sub-Zero jumps over it, but it was actually a distraction as Cyrax grabs him by the throat and slams him down, head first. Cyrax brings out a built-in wrist blade, but Sub-Zero grabs it, freezes it and the blade shatters. He rolls backwards, but Cyrax punches the right side of his face, slams a fist on his right shoulder, and kicks him upwards. Cyrax fires another bomb, but Liang quickly uses his ability to create fake replicas made of ice and there's an explosion. As the smoke clears, Sub-Zero appears behind Cyrax, punches his back two times, kicks him backwards, sending him flying, but Sub-Zero grabs his ankle, and throws him to an ice ceiling and the cyborg falls down, deactivated.
Sub-Zero flips him over on his chest as Hanzo walks over to him. "You know how to bring back his free will and memories?" Hanzo asked.
"Yes. Alexander has shown me how to do so." Sub-Zero said as he opens his back and recalibrates and disables his behavioral inhibitors. "He needs a moment to reawaken." Liang looks up and sees some dark fog.
All of a sudden, Hanzo is kicked in the shoulder. "Who are you? Show yourself!" Hanzo demanded.
All of a sudden, a dark figure appears from the shadows. "Recognize me, Kuai Liang?" Noob Saibot said.
"Bi-Han?!" Liang is surprised to see him again.
"How are you here? You were swallowed by the Soulnado. You should've died." Hanzo stated. He heard that Nightwolf knocked him in and it presumbly killed him.
"Quan Chi's creations do not die so easily. Kronika offers me a new clan in the New Era. I will have someone help me rule the realms in the shadows." Noob said.
"And who would that be?" Hanzo asked.
"That would be me." A voice said. In a puff of smoke, someone appears before them. An old friend, an unfortunate enemy. It's Smoke. And he's still a Revenant.
"Smoke? Is that you?" Sub-Zero is more shocked.
"Yes. Kronika offers me a place in her New Era. A new Lin Kuei led by me, you and Frost. It is not too late, Liang. You can still join us. Leave your old warriors behind. They are no use to us. Let us start over. Us and Frost." Revenant Smoke said.
"That is not the only way. Kronika's way is wrong. Frost is not worthy of being a leader. She doesn't deserve a place, but you do. It isn't too late to turn away from Kronika." Sub-Zero tires to plea with him.
"If you can't be convinced, then I would have no choice but to bring you to Kronika herself." Revenant Smoke said.
"I'll leave him to you, Kuai Liang." Hanzo said as he begins to fight Noob.
Kuai Liang and Revenant Smoke fight. Sub-Zero uppercuts his former friend and freezes him in mid-air. He jump kicks Smoke, breaking him out of his freezing, does a double kick to the back, grabs his ankle and throws him into an ice wall. Sub-Zero then kicks his ankle, punches his chest and gut and grabs his throat, jumps up and throws him. Sub-Zero uses his ice to fly over and kicks his chest twice, cracking it. Revenant Smoke disappears and reappears in front of him and does a backflip kick to the face, sending Sub-Zero in the air. Smoke puffs up in front of his former friend and chops and elbows his chest, cracking it, sending him straight down. Sub-Zero gets back up and grabs Revenant Smoke's wrists and kicks him back and swings the ice axe at the non-sharp end at the left side of his face and shoulder bashes his back, cracking his spine. Sub-Zero punches his stomach, grabs his throat and headbutts him, cracking Smoke's skull. Revenant Smoke falls over in defeat.
"Forgive me, my old friend." Sub-Zero regrets fighting him. He wished that he was saved.
Meanwhile, Hanzo continues to fight Bi-Han. "Quan Chi unleashed your inner vengeance. You are nothing without him." Noob Saibot said.
"Quan Chi was the one who killed my family and he paid for it with his life." Hanzo said as they resume fighting. Noob sends a shadow clone to do a shadow kick but Hanzo blocks and throws the clone. He leaps forward, knees Noob in the chest, stabs his right shoulder and kicks him across the face. Hanzo does a swift kick to the ankle, and stabs his right shoulder twice. Noob swings his sickle but misses, allowing Hanzo to kick his chest twice, cracking it. He punches and uppercuts Noob in the air, but Noob transports via a shadow portal and kicks Hanzo twice from behind, and Hanzo is in the air. Noob opens another portal and a clone pops out, grabs Hanzo and throws him down. Hanzo gets up, but Noob elbows his face, grabs his shoulder with his sickle and kicks him in the neck. Hanzo recovers and was ready. Noob opens a portal under Hanzo's feet to grab him, but Hanzo teleports behind him, does a fiery kick to the knee, shattering it, and kicks him in the right rib cage, breaking part of it. Noob is knocked out along with Revenant Smoke.
"Are you alright, Hanzo?" Sub-Zero asked.
"I am fine." Hanzo said as he looks at Smoke. "I am sorry about all of this. Smoke did not deserve the fate that we once shared."
Liang puts a hand on his shoulder. "You are not to blame for any of this, Grandmaster. Don't forget it." They walk over and see Cyrax waking up.
He finally gets up and sees Liang. He pulls Cyrax up and as soon as that happens, he looks at his hands and sees what has become of him. "I….. I'm one of them. Sektor took me. He ripped out my heart and made me into this." Cyrax said, feeling horrified by his appearance. He looks in a reflection from one of the monitors and swiftly reacts by punching the reflection, shattering the monitor in the process
"You still have your soul, Cyrax. Trust me, I speak from experience." Sub-Zero approached him and places a hand on his yellow metal shoulder. He's not wrong, given that Kuai Liang himself was turned into a cyborg during Raiden's attempt to change the future. Thankfully Jax gave him back his free will when they joined with Raiden. Not to mention that Quan Chi restored his human form, having never trusted technology in the first place.
"Kuai Liang. It is you. You look older than before. And Scorpion?" Cyrax is surprised to see them working together and not fighting.
"It is a long story. We share the same goal: defeating Sektor and ensuring the factory's destruction." Hanzo said.
"I can disable the network. It will take the factory and every Cyber Lin Kuei along with it." Cyrax said. The three suddenly hear missiles coming in, but Cyrax uses his electro-net to grab them and cause tiny explosions. It was Sektor walking in with more cyborgs.
"Frost has told me about you two working together. I did not think that you would be the one to dishonor your own clan, Sub-Zero." Sektor claimed.
"I'll stop Sektor. Help Cyrax." Hanzo tells him and Liang nods in acknowledgement. Sektor shoots flames at Hanzo, but has absolutely no effect. Not even a single burn on him. "You sold out your own clan so Quan Chi would slaughter mine. You are the one with no honor."
"He should've killed you instead of using you as his slave. I will finish what he failed to do. I always keep my word." Sektor claimed.
Hanzo starts by stabbing his ankle and kicking him across the forehead, but Sektor teleports and uppercuts Hanzo in the upper spine, grabs him and throws him down, head first, cracking his skull. Hanzo teleports backwards and Sketor fires missiles, which Hanzo was able to evade. He punches Sektor's metal face, neck and does a fiery punch to the chest, bending it. He fires his chain spears towards Sektor, and it goes through both of his shoulders, pulls Sektor towards him, elbows him in the face, damaging it, and he does a kick to the chest and swings his sword and slices his chest open, short-circuiting him. He thrusts both of his chain spears up his metal chest, kicks his face and sends him flying, pulls him back, kicks his face again, and throws him down on top of the daggers, causing Sektor to shut down in defeat.
Cyrax gains access to the network. "I'm in. I can reprogram the drives and shut everyone down, myself included. Goodbye Kuai Liang."
"It is never goodbye. We will find a way to restore you. Hanzo and I are living proof." Sub-Zero reassures his old friend.
"I don't know if they will accept me." Cyrax is worried.
"Regardless of man or machine, you have a soul. As long as I am the current Grandmaster, I will welcome you." Sub-Zero said and they shake hands.
"Until we meet again, old friend." Cyrax said.
"Are you sure there isn't another way? You don't have to do this to give up your life." Hanzo said.
"This is my choice. I am sorry for what you have lost. You did not deserve to lose your family. Hope you can forgive me. For what I have said to you during the tournament." Cyrax said.
"I understand, Cyrax. One day you will be back to your former self." Hanzo said.
Cyrax opens a panel but sees even more Cyber Lin Kuei coming. Hanzo and Kuai Liang attend to fight but are stopped by Cyrax. "No. You must save yourselves. I have to shut them down, it's the only way." Cyrax orders them to leave.
Liang is reluctant to leave him behind like this, but given that there are more and more coming, he has no choice. He and Hanzo teleport away, while Cyrax is getting shot and attacked. Cyrax fights off as many as he can while he attempts to complete his mission. He defeats several at the same time with small bombs, built in wrist blades and the electro net. Cyrax is facing many injuries, with circuits sticking out, parts of his metal body being dented or have holes in them Despite being heavily damaged, Cyrax uses his remaining strength and he manages to pull the wires and shut down every one of them in the factory, himself included. He falls over, deactivated permanently. Cyrax's sacrifice was not in vain. They will not forget that day. Sub-Zero hopes that one day, Cyrax can be restored. He looks down in sadness at the loss of him and Smoke.
The grandmasters see Frost, Sektor, Revenant Smoke and Bi-Han being transported away with Kronika's time powers. "Frost got away with Sektor and the others." Hanzo said.
"First, we must speak with our other allies. They can wait." Sub-Zero said.
Back at the Keep, Geras leads the past versions of Kano and Erron Black to Sektor's deactivated body, where Past Kano scans for any problems.
"His armor needs to be repaired, so do some circuits, but his software has been washed up. It won't be easy trying to restore him." Past Kano said. "That's a tall order, but I can do it with the right help."
"You wanna take the deal. It'll be fucking worth it." Present Kano comes in.
"I'll be damned. Over fifty and you're still kicking ass." Past Kano said.
"Kronika will pay us in the New Era and make sure the Black Dragon come out on top. Every single market in Earthrealm. Let's get this done." Present Kano said.
"Once you are done rebuilding Sektor and make more Cyber Lin Kuie, elder Kano, I have a task for you." Kronika said.
"What would that be?" Present Kano asked as he and Kronika walk alone.
"You must invade the Special Forces base." Kronika said, intriguing Kano. "Without a doubt that the younger Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade are there right now with their future daughter Cassandra. Capture her younger parents and hide them. Cassandra will no doubt come to rescue them. That's when Geras will come for her and bring her to me. Her other friends will split up and do their own duties, she will be left vulnerable. I have seen it."
"I can definitely get the job done. Anything else ya need?" Present Kano asked.
"There is one more thing." Kronika said. She whispered something in his ear, surprising the old man a bit, but he nods in understanding. Kano smiles, apparently already loving the task she is giving him.
Note: That's right. Smoke is back and is still a revenant as of MK9. I thought it would give Kuai Liang a more emotional impact than with Frost given that he and Smoke were really close friends, no matter what. I gave Cyrax a little more heroic sacrifice since his death was anticlimactic and Hanzo used his fatal blow on Sektor during the fight. It would be good to see him and Cyrax playable again since he and Sektor are the only other NPCs you fight other than Kronika. And don't worry, you'll see Cyrax again.