Chapter 4

A man dressed in an ancient tattered white robe sat in a grand stone throne that looked thousands of years old, as if it was made in the early years of the world. The man himself looked as if he was just as old as the throne itself, his long grey hair was shaved into a long braided tail, long white strands sprouted from above the lips which matched the long wispy beard that hung from his chin. An emblem of a small circle with an intricate rounded shape within like three axe blades with their butt ends aligned together was stitched onto the chest above the heart. His wrinkled hand reached up and made a symbol with two fingers, calling for silence in the large room where thirty or so warriors in outfits with long shoulder padding that covered some of the chest which covered a cotton tunic.

"Lin Kuei warriors, we have been given a new task by the sorcerer Shang Tsung, he has given us the task of slaying the Earthrealm fighter known as Liu Kang." a soft murmur came from the crowd as a few discussed the known shaolin monk, the ancient man raised his two fingered sign again and the men silenced quickly, their discipline kicking in. "I would like someone to volunteer for this task so I do not have to choose." The man chuckled several times at his own joke as did many of the warriors around the throne. Four men of the thirty stepped forward, all clad in the same uniform and face masks but of varying colors.

"I volunteer Grand Master." All four men said at the same time, unaware of the others and only focusing on the old man that sat on the stone with the dragon medallion strung around his neck. One man dressed in a grey uniform turned to the others and struck out at the nearest one, a man in dark green, who blocked the blow quickly and returned the motion, giving him a quick shot at the rib cage. The two main doors at the other end of the halls burst open and a flash of cold wind blew through the cavern. In the doorway was a Lin Kuei warrior, his outfit a deep blue and from his face mask a thin mist of white cold breath flowed out.

"Ah, Bi Han, so happy for you to join us." The old man waved for the blue dressed warrior walked through the crowd and up to the man in the throne.

"Apologies Grand Master, someone neglected to alert me of the meeting and had instead barricaded me in my room." His eyes glanced at the man in grey as sweat began to bead across his forehead. As if to mock his antagonizing ally the cold Bi Han stood next to him, the frosty breath from his face mask seemed to crawl through the air toward him.

"I see, well I assume you wish to volunteer for the mission regardless of what it is." He nodded in affirmation, causing the grey man's eyes to open wide with fear and anger.

"No!" he shouted directing his anger toward the man to his left who wasn't supposed to be here. "This is my mission, I will not allow you to take it from me!" He swung his fist with speed and precision toward Bi Han's throat, only to have it blocked without his opponent even looking in his direction. He staggered back before lunging in the man's direction, and as he dashed forward he saw his enemy turn toward him and swing his hands out, two fingers outstretched toward him. In a flash of cold air and dim blue light the fingers made contact and a three inch layer of ice spread over the man's body holding him in place. After the layer of ice was fully covering the grey suited warrior Bi Han took a step back and gave the ice a quick chop causing it to burst into thousands of pieces, each on containing a small piece of the Lin Kuei assassin that had tried to take his mission.

"Well Sub Zero, I can see you have not skipped a beat on your training." The other three warriors stepped back from the area in front of the throne as Bi Han bowed in front of the Grand Master. "Very well, I choose Bi Han, assassin of the Lin Kuei, to take on the mission of slaying the shaolin warrior Liu Kang." All of the men raised their hands in the two fingers raised symbol that signified their respect to both the man chosen and the man that sat silently on the throne. Sub Zero stood straight once again and held out his wrist, the ancient man stood and placed his hand both on the dragon medallion and his other on the wrist of the blue warrior. A ray of light surrounded Bi Han and in a flash the man disappeared and left only a small thin sheet of ice where he once stood.

Liu Kang sat in the bushes, the heavy built dark skinned man crouched next to him as they waited for their prey to pass down this route.

"Are you sure they are coming this way?" Liu asked questioningly, unsure how Jax knew that two Outworld warriors were coming down this route.

"Yes, there is a castle nearby called Red Raven Manor, that was the last place that Stryker's locator was active, and the only person that is looking to pick a fight with him is an Outworld warrior named Motaro." Liu Kang raised his eyebrow and looked at Jax.

"Motaro? How does Stryker and Motaro have a rivalry, he's a centaur and they are only located in Outworld?"

"Couple of years back, one of the first portals in hundreds of years to Earth opened from Outworld, and about ten of these big horse man hybrid stepped out, an eleventh came out with a giant robotic tail, that was Motaro. Stryker and his partner at the time, a man named Jacob Long, had met them and spoke with them for a few moments and they acted peaceful. Then as Kurtis and Jacob turned to call for back up to escort them out of the area Motaro completely ripped Long apart. Kurtis managed to shoot down a few of the centaurs and hold them off before police returned and he has been hunting for Motaro ever since, I guess it was the other way around as well..." Liu Kang silenced Jax mid sentence as the sound of clopping hooves came to his ears. The muttering of distant voices could be heard by both of them as they sat in the silent forest.

Liu whispered, "They are coming, stay here, I'm going to that tree over there and when I attack come out and flank them." The red adorned oriental man snuck away into the tree line just as three strange figures appeared in the foggy haze.

"... are you from anyway?" The deep growling voice of Motaro finally reached Jax clearly, and it seemed that the question was directed toward a cloaked man that strode in between the horseman and the four armed woman. The squawk of a raven rang out over head and the strange feathery creature flew down from a nearby tree onto the left shoulder of the strange man in a dirty black cloak. The man stopped in the road, the others taking another few steps before realizing the stranger had stopped. The man seemed to be listening to the bird that had leaned its beak behind the area of his ear.

The stranger turned and moved out of the way as Liu Kang leapt from the tree with a flutter and fall of leaves, instead of hitting him his foot made contact with the abdomen of Sheeva who was taken aback at this sudden pain that filled her torso. Taking that as the signal Jax charged forward and tackled the giant horseman, his overly muscular arms stretching around the centaurs waist and forcing him to the ground. Sheeva slapped Liu Kang with two of his hands launching him through the air as Motaro gave Jax several blows to the face. No one noticed as the third man dressed in the black cloak gently walked into the forest as they were all distracted. The centaur stood back up and gripped the ankles of the black man, tossing him off about five or six feet further down the trail, while the four armed giant woman took two more blows to the face before Liu sent a ball of flame into her eyes, causing her to stagger backwards and fall to the ground. And leaping into the air he jutted his foot out, the sole of his boot going straight through the skull, killing Sheeva instantly.

"Liu, I could use some help here!" Jax shouted, but as the oriental man turned toward his ally three kunai daggers flew through the air into his left sleeve and pinned him to the tree directly beside him. The cloaked man leapt from a tree directly above Jax, and the black robe blew off of him, revealing to the four fighters the man who had already slaughtered two of their allies and enemies. The man was lean and muscular but not overboard like Jax but more like a balance of a sleek and powerful body, across his chest were several straps of fabric that created an x, matching bands on his elbows that had short ribbons that fluttered in the wind. His pants were black cargo jeans that laid over a pair of steel boots. The pale grey skin faded into the black leather gloves with tattered finger holes, and across his left cheek were three claw marks, one of which slid over his lip. In his left hand a hand axe made of a dark clean metal which sent shivers down Liu's spine as he saw it glimmer in the light, the sharp end seemed to glow orange like it was just heated in a furnace. The grey skinned warrior dropped behind Jax and span the axe in a lightning fast and intricate move set before bringing it down cutting off the man's right arm that was swinging in a violent bone breaking blow toward Motaro.

Jax let out an agonizing scream of pain, the wound had cauterized as the blade cleanly cut through the flesh and bone, so no spurts of blood sprayed around the dirt trail or onto the centaur. The metallic tail of Motaro whizzed through the air, letting out a wisp noise as the sharp steel tip ripped through the other arm of the officer, causing him to emit another throat tearing scream. Liu now moved with anger and ripped the sleeve from his tunic as he shot forward, striking Motaro in the lower jaw, knocking him back. But as he sent an upper kick toward the stranger he saw that no one was there, instead the grey skinned fighter leapt out from behind him, delivering three open palm strikes to the left rib cage that was wide open before leaping into the air and doing a downward spin kick, knocking Liu Kang's head straight down to the muddy trail.

"Finish them now!" Shouted Motaro as he pushed himself back onto his hoofs.

"No, they are alone and will die here on their own, they can't be of any harm now." The strangers voice was calm with a slight hint of wrath behind the disguise. As he wrapped the cloak back around his body he turned back to the corpse of the four armed woman and looked at Motaro, "What will you say to your masters?" Motaro gazed over at the body of Sheeva and shook his head with little emotion.

"Do not worry, she was weak, I will tell them that Liu Kang killed him and they will understand, especially after your display of skill after taking down that stupid shaolin warrior. What is your name by the way? I do not believe you have told me and Shang Tsung did not know either." The stranger didn't respond, only pinned small silver raven broach to the two flaps of his cloak, and the centaur took this as a general sign, many entities from outer realms preferred not to be known by those outside their realm, and even rarer outside their clan. "Well, if it is not a name, than what realm are you from?" The man looked up toward the horseman as he slid the hood over his head.

"You are from Outworld, are you not?" The man's voice this time was not calm and emotionless, but imitated slight aggression but also a tinge of curiosity as if he wanted to know what made this being so curious about him.

"Yes, I am. Are you from there as well?"

"No, I'm not." He paused for a time before looking down at the earthen trail. "Many years ago, when the realm of Edenia was taken over by Outworld the dark energy of Shao Khan's forceful rip through realms corrupted a lot of people, a lot of creatures." The raven alighted on his shoulder once again, the shiny black feathers glimmered all through till they hit the maroon red tips. "We happened to be on the border between Edenia and Outworld. so you might say we don't belong anywhere in particular. We're outcasts, from the between-realms, and we're immortal because of it, been around for nearly eight hundred years. So we came here to Earthrealm, and we built the castle with the gem and silver we brought from Edenia, and it was our home. But I guess we're going back now." He scratched the birds head affectionately, eight thousand years of being the only constant thing in each other's lives gave them a bond stronger than most partners.

"Is he your pet?" Motaro recalled how many Edenian nobles kept majestic exotic birds as pets.

"No, he is my partner and my friend, I am not his master and he does not stay because I force him, he stays because he chooses to." The tone had changed and it's aggression grew, he seemed insulted by the thought of the bird being his pet.

Liu pulled himself from the mud, the bright sunlight had disappeared and was now the light pink of dusk. He quickly accessed the scene, unsure how far away Motaro and the stranger had gone, but he knew he had to get Jax to safety and to get him checked out. Reaching into his small pouch that hung from his waist he pulled out a golden medallion lined with a blue sapphire ring, and embossed with a bolt of lightning.

"Raiden, I need you to help, Jax has been badly injured and we need you to get us out, we found some information about Shao Khan's plan." Clouds began to spiral together and grow grey above him, and the sound of thunder crackled through the sky. Bolts of lightning struck the ground miles away and the sound of thunder rolled across the now grey clouds. Another one struck the ground twenty feet away, creating a dome of blue light which, when it disappeared, revealed Raiden wearing his reed thatched hat and white robe, adorned with a blue sash.

"What happened Liu Kang?" Raiden's calm deep voice reached his ears as the god took quick strides over to the two humans.

"We tracked Motaro and Sheeva here after they killed Stryker, but another person was with them, he looked human but not entirely human. I was distracted with Sheeva and Motaro was fighting Jax only to have the man cut off one of his arms, than Motaro took the other."
"And how long ago was this Liu Kang?" Raiden began to grow worried for Jax's safety, he could feel the life slowly fading from the now armless man.

"I was knocked unconscious by the new warrior..." Liu stared down at the ground in disgrace.

"Liu, do not be embarrassed, you did not know there would be three of them. Do not blame yourself, we need to get Jax to the hospital, then you can pray for Jax to come around." The shaolin monk was silent, but nodded his head and held out his arm, which the thunder god took in his and placed his other hand on Jax. And in a flash of light the three appeared in the Deacon City hospital, scaring several nurses and doctors that happened to be standing in the lobby where they were transported to. But after a second or so they noticed the armless man they recognized as Officer Jackson Briggs and quickly ran to the strange group, calling for a stretcher.

Liu Kang and Raiden stood back as the doctors rushed away with the unconscious form of Jax, and they began to walk away, strolling outside the sliding doors while they worried for their friend.

"You must not blame your... self..." Raiden stopped midsentence, staring off over Liu's shoulder. "Liu, go check on Jax, quickly!" Unsure what his old friend was talking about, Liu Kang hurried back inside, heading straight for the door with the stair sign.

Sub Zero climbed up the side of the hospital wall with as much speed as he could, his hands covered in a thin layer of frost that spread across the wall and created a series of thick icicles, which he used as foot holds and he literally ran up the wall in a zigzag formation. The window he had his eye on was open, light trickled out from the orifice onto the cold cement that surrounded the white hospital. He had just seen Liu Kang and a man in a white robe exit this building, and that meant someone they knew was injured, and inside, which could be a great disadvantage to them if he got their hands on whoever it is in there. Pulling himself up into the window he stood on the cold tile floor and he nearly flinched at the bright hospital lights reflecting off the sickening pale green and white walls.

"Now where are you Liu Kang..." He spoke as he walked through the halls. Hurried footsteps drew his attention, the blue garbed assassin double backed and stepped back into a separate room as he saw the red garbed shaolin monk run by followed by the white robed god Raiden.

"Hurry Liu Kang, we need to make sure Jax is ok."

"So they have an injured friend, that could prove to be beneficial, for me." Sub Zero whispered to himself as he stepped out of the empty white room. In a burst of orange light a heavy black booted foot smashed into his mask, almost shattering it into his skin.

"Hello there... Bi-Han." Came a raspy dreadful voice from behind him. Sub Zero turned and saw a man whose eyes were pale white, his garb was made up of a black under tunic with a yellow robe that was double layered over it, burn spots were spread out across the outfit, and similar to his the man wore a dark yellow mask that covered his face along with a black cowl.

"Hanzo? You, you died!" Bi-Han rubbed the bruise on his face and stood back up, the shock setting in.

"After you killed me and my tribe? I should guess you would assume as much." The voice was hate filled, but the words that came out of his sent Sub Zero into a spiral of confusion.

"I never ordered your tribes destruction, you know I would never do that, even with our rivalry."

"You lie!" In a swift movement Scorpion launched a kunai with a thin strong robe, it whistled through the air and struck the blue assassin in the shoulder. "Get over here!" Using all his strength Hanzo yanked Bi-Han off his feet onto the tile floor, in the split second after he pulled the blade from the enemy and moved his arm like throwing a baseball and a ball of red hellfire sputtered through the air. Sub Zero pushed off the white tiles and leapt back and saw the flames explode where he would have been. He moved his hands together and opened them up in an X shape shooting a solid ball of ice back at his yellow assailant.

"I didn't kill your tribe!" Bi-Han shouted as the wraith moved away and seemed to burst through the wall in a splash of fire, causing him to disappear. The blue ninja looked around, and ran off after a second of not seeing his attacker he hurried in the direction that Liu Kang ran off to. He entered the room he had seen Liu Kang disappear into moments before Hanzo's attack, but all that was there was a blood soaked sheet, his target had escaped. The sound of a blade shattering bone came to his ears and he looked down to see the kunai of Scorpion sticking from his chest, one of his ribs sticking out from the wound.

"There is no escape from Scorpion." The blade ripped out of his chest, and fire erupted from the hole in his ribcage. And the hole spread until it drew a jagged burnt line from his left collar bone to his right hip and he fell to the earth.

"Sonya, do you know who killed Kano?" The woman stood confused at the question.

"Why do you ask Kung Lao?" The half wounded man still half sat up on the coach as he gripped his side in a grunt of pain.

"Well, it would have to be someone who knew about the past between you and him, would have to know that Johnny was injured, would have to be a phenomenal combatant, and would have to know where you lived." They both continued their own individual thoughts. "Could it have been someone paid to do so?" Kung Lao's idea first was shot down by the woman wearing a white tank top, but then she looked back up.

"You may be on to something, but in order to figure out who killed him, we'd have to figure out who Kano was working for, and who was a rival to that person. Perhaps Raiden knows who Kano was working for."