The centaur had made his first mistake when he set off on his own. His second came when he fell for what should have been, to a trained soldier, an obvious diversion.
The village, populated by humans, was a day's walk from the entrance to Kuatan, and had been periodically terrorized by various factions of Shao Kahn's forces for ages. To Sindel, it provided an opportunity to make an early statement to the people of Outworld that change was coming.
"This one small community," she had said to her ragtag war council, "is the first of many, for us. We will win this war not only on large battlefields and in the strongholds of generals, but in such villages and towns, in front of the very people we mean to liberate. This not only isolates the Emperor's forces into small contingents which we can easily dispatch, but exposes us to the people of Outworld. To win here is not only to drive out whatever emissaries Shao Kahn has sent, but to win hearts and minds. To show them that there is hope, and that we can bring it to them."
This speech had led, at last, to mobilization. A large, primarily Shokan force camped nearby the village, and scouts had begun to take down the positions of a regiment of centaurs which currently occupied it. It was late at night that the first trap was sprung. Three centaurs remained awake, patrolling the perimeter of the village. One had simply heard a suspicious noise, and assumed it to be a wild animal. Another felt it necessary to investigate, and set off to the jeers of his companions. He was allowed to wander long enough to call back and signal that he was okay, but the fog was upon him moments later.
There was barely a grunt before a weight upon the centaur's back, and a blade dragging itself across his neck. The centaur fell, blood gushing from his neck. The fog quickly dissipated, revealing Baraka crouched on the ground, having just hopped from the back of his victim. He mockingly put a finger to his mouth, as if to silence Smoke, who now stood with his arms folded, surveying the kill. Baraka had already sheathed his wrist-blades, and now waved to the side, summoning Kabal and Nightwolf, who waited nearby in case of mishap.
Kabal approached the dead body of the centaur, grabbed its head, and yanked it backwards. Seconds later, the head snapped off. He zipped off, leaving Nightwolf to shrug, not knowing his plan.
"What is this?" somebody roared.
"Your friend is creative," Baraka chuckled. His blades slid out again, and he set off to find another victim. Nightwolf reached for his belt, and retrieved a tomahawk. He raised it in the air, closed eyes, and muttered something under his breath. In a moment, the tomahawk was glowing an ethereal green. He looked to Smoke, then took off following Baraka.
The stench of rotting flesh never left this place. There were no bodies around, but that smell never went away, as if to serve as a reminder that this was a land of the dead. It was the vast, open expanse of the Neatherrealm, constantly beaten down by something that resembled a sun but wasn't, populated by people who were no longer truly alive.
Today, a figure in black was running. He rarely had to run, but a rare surprise had made him panic. A rope wrapped around his ankle, and Noob Saibot tripped.
"Enough of you," the pursuer growled. Noob said nothing. The rope tightened. Noob winced, but remained silent.
"You're lucky it's me and not him," the pursuer said, now crouching down. She grabbed Noob's collar, then slapped him across the face. "I like the game, you know. The cat-and-mouse. I like seeing you terrified, and I like knowing that Quan Chi is disappointed in you."
Noob smirked, then contorted his chest. A shadow seemed to pop out from him, but moving through the air. It grabbed Noob's attacker, and heaved her to the ground before returning to its creator's body. Noob stood up and placed his hands on his hips.
"And I like reminding you that, no matter what, I remain superior to you, Sareena," he said. Noob's voice was deep and resonant, as if his mouth was a hollow amplifier. "And I'm certainly better than Hanzo. Did you know that was his name once? Hanzo Hasashi, leader of a pathetic band of ninja? He was a hateful, stupid man, and he deserved the pain he has endured. Your leader, "Scorpion", is an angry weakling, and beneath Quan Chi's notice. That is why he was cast off, and why I don't bother with him. Now, why don't I leave him a message? Surely he'll find you out here soon enough."
The shadow copy appeared again, now standing by Noob Saibot's side. The duo approached Sareena, and lifted her up, each taking a foot. They began to yank in opposite directions.
"H-help me!" Sareena cried. The response was a rumbling sound which caused Noob and his copy to drop their intended victim, and turn around.
"Oh, it's M-"
A massive iron ball crashed into Noob, sending him flying back. The copy vanished immediately.
"Geh ober hur!" an enormous creature cried. "Hahahahaha, geh ober hur!" It yanked back on a chain connected on one end to the ball, and to its wrist on the other. A smaller figure, dressed in white, appeared next to it.
"You said you could handle this by yourself, Sareena," the figure in white, another woman, said. She helped Sareena to her feet.
"He does have a lot of tricks," Sareena moaned. "Moloch, you did very well, thank you."
The massive creature, a tanned, hunched over giant, smiled.
"Should we bother finding Scorpion, or just finish him now?" Sareena asked.
"He may be our friend, Sareena, but he'll tear us all apart if we deny him the chance to destroy Noob Saibot himself," said Ashrah, the woman in white.
"Come back!" Moloch suddenly roared. Sareena and Ashrah whirled around, and saw Noob sinking into the ground and disappearing.
"He was toying with you, you know that?" Ashrah groaned.