Chapter 24: Pattern and Purpose
Hanzo and Sub-Zero arrive in the Netherrealm and see the combined armies of the undead and Cyber Lin Kuie crossing a bridge made of stone, held by Cetrion herself, using a lot of her strength.
"Those warriors are heading to the Keep." Hanzo said.
"Yes, but why not Kharon's fleet? Clearly holding this bridge up is causing Cetrion to use up a tremendous amount of her strength." Sub-Zero said.
"Because the fleet is bound to Kharon. Only he can control them. He has told me that he won't help Kronika." Hanzo said. They see the bridge disappearing with Cetrion. Then they hear something unexpected coming from Kharon's cabin. "Kharon is home and has some unwelcome guests. Return to Earthrealm. Tell them that I will return as soon as possible."
"Are you certain that he will help us?" Sub-Zero asked.
"Yes. He is our best chance." Hanzo said. Sub-Zero leaves with some reluctance while Hanzo sneaks to Khraon's place and finds him tortured by D'Vorah.
Kharon is being held down by a bunch of webs and is having a hard time breaking free. D'Vorah descends down from the ceiling and comes to Kharon. "You should have accepted Kronika's offer. Now you will suffer." D'Vorah said.
D'Vorah summons more than several small bugs from her wrists and they fly and crawl over his face. It looks as if she is trying to kill him or at least make him sick.
"You cannot kill me, Kytinn. I am immortal." Kharon said.
"True, Kharon. This One only needs to incapacitate you long enough to make sure you are unfit to sail your fleet and help Raiden." D'Vorah said. She continues to torture Kharon, but then feels a sharp pain through her stomach. One of Hanzo's chain spears impaled her.
"GET OVER HERE!" Hanzo yelled as he pulls D'Vorah out of the hut and she crashed down. "First you served Shinnok, and now Kronika. You are nothing but a lost cause."
"This One ensures the Hive's survival. You will not save your Shirai Ryu, Hasashi." D'Vorah said as they fight.
D'Vorah swings with her four stingers, but Hazno was prepared this time. He blocks all of their attacks. Hanzo stabs her left knee with his sword, knees her chest and sends a fiery fist to the head. D'Vorah is down to a knee as Hanzo uses his chain spears to stab her in the stomach twice and kicks her in the face. D'Vorah tries to block his swings, but Hanzo swings his chain spears in a circle, cutting her shoulders, and plunges them through her shoulders. He pulls her to him and he knees her face, cracking her skull and does a fiery back flip kick to the chin, cracking her jaw. D'Vorah lands on her back in defeat and is bleeding out.
"The Shirai Ryu will not fall by anyone's hands, D'Vorah." Hanzo said.
Before he could kill her, Scorpion comes out of nowhere and surprise punches Hanzo in the face. Hanzo recovers and meets his past self.
"Your pathetic excuses of a clan will indeed fall, by my hands with help from Kronika." Scorpion said.
"I have restored the Shirai Ryu. I have built the clan to be even stronger than before." Hanzo said.
"Your followers are nothing but pretenders. Kronika told me everything about you." Scorpion said.
Hanzo and Scorpion clash their swords at each other. They seem to be pretty evenly match though Hanzo can read his past self's movement, given that he has his memories and thoughts and not to mention all the training Hanzo has been through. Scorpion teleports behind him and fires a chain, but Hanzo deflects it with his sword, grabs it and pulls Scorpion in and kicks him back.
"You must listen to me." Hanzo pleads.
"Without the original bloodlines, the Shirai Ryu will not exist. The great massacre destroyed them. Kronika promised the original clan's return in the New Era." Scorpion said.
"Kronika will not keep her promise. Do not let your anger enslave you. That is how Kronika is taking advantage of you as Quan Chi once did. Letting your rage go is not the answer, as it has led to consequences." Hanzo said.
"I let go of my rage. You must do the same." Scorpion said before they fight.
Hanzo and Scorpion resume clashing swords with each other. Scorpion has trained in the clan for years, but Hanzo is a better fighter because of his extra years. Scorpion tries to breath fire, but Hanzo jumps back and Scorpion charges at him. As their swords collide, Hanzo elbows his past self, jumps over him and knees his back. Scorpion teleports and tries to kick Hanzo high in the back of the head but his future self grabs his foot and parries it away. Hanzo can think of what he can do. Hanzo trips his past self and knees him in the stomach. Hanzo chains him together, pulls him over and elbows his face and kicks him in the chest, defeating him.
"I know it is not just your Shirai Ryu pride. It is your wife and son." Hanzo said.
"Harumi. Satoshi. They were wrongfully stolen from me. Gone. Seeing them again is all that matters." Scorpion said. He cannot help but still feel the pain he has gone through during his first life as Hanzo Hasashi and the time he spent as Scorpion.
"Quan Chi murdered your clan and framed Bi-Han. Quan Chi used you. We both share this pain. I have thought through hell to end it. Kronika's New Era is not the remedy. She plans to resurrect Shinnok, her son. The monster, the lord to Quan Chi. He also helped with the massacre. He cannot be allowed to return. When I revived the Shirai Ryu, I vowed to protect Earthrealm. Help me keep that promise." Hanzo said, offering his hand.
Scorpion hesitates to think about what to say. He has a strange feeling deep down, that he feels as if Hanzo is right. Before he can respond, his eyes widened, and Hanzo realized too late of his reaction. He turns around and is stabbed through the right shoulder by D'Vorah, who is still weakened and dropping blood from her battle. Before she can finish him, Hanzo bursts fire out of his body and knocks her back. Hanzo suddenly feels pain going on in his body, poisoned.
D'Vorah falls to both of her knees, still weakened. "K-Kronika k-knew your past sins would d-distract you. As Th-this One is already dying, she will take the grandmaster with her." D'Vorah can barely stand, and she puts her main focus on Hanzo.
Before she can execute him, she is stabbed by a hot chain spear. It came from Scorpion. He jumps over her and dives into the ground, vertically wrapping the chain around the Kytinn. Scorpion rises from the ground in front of her and pulls on the hot chain like a whip and D'Vorah is bisected into two. Her broken body falls over on opposite sides, dead. Scorpion turns to Hanzo.
Hanzo is on a knee, can't even stand. He looks up at his past self. "Raiden is in the Fire Gardens. Enlist of Kharon's aid. Please. Bring Raiden and his friends here. You must." Hanzo weakly said.
"You have my word." Scorpion said, feeling remorse. He holds his future self in his arms.
"The new Shirai Ryu are worthy. It is heart, not blood that makes them warriors." Hanzo weakly said before he closed his eyes. Scorpion can feel his heart beat slowly. He must find a way to help him before it's too late. He remembers the things Hanzo said.
In the Fire Gardens, Sub-Zero conspires with Liu Kang, both worried about Hanzo, but they are about to run into some bad news.
"Are your Shaolin Masters ready for this fight?" Sub-Zero asked the chosen one.
"They will fight to their last breath. I'm only hoping there will be a fight if Kharon helps us. Have you heard back from Grandmaster Hasashi?" Liu Kang asked.
"No. If we do not hear soon, I will return to the Netherrealm and check on them." Sub-Zero said.
In front of them, Scorpion suddenly appears in front of them, holding the body of the grandmaster.
"Wrong Scorpion. This cannot be good." Liu Kang said.
"This is not a good sign. I will hold him off. Get Raiden." Sub-Zero tells him and he runs off. He turns to face his past rival. "Why are you here, Scorpion? What have you done to Grandmaster Hasashi?!"
"He is dying." Scorpion said.
"And now you've come to finish us." Sub-Zero assumed.
"I understand your mistrust, but I am here to assist you." Scorpion said, putting down his future self's body and it's being carried away by a couple of monks.
"I find that impossible to believe." Sub-Zero said. He brings out his ice powers, ready to fight. Scorpion is reluctant to fight, but given the fact that they don't trust him, he has no choice.
Raiden arrived back at the gates of the Fire Gardens with Alex and Kung Lao. Alex always enjoyed the sights and smell of fresh air of the place. It would be a great place to get away to and relax. They walk back and see Cassie, Jacqui and Past Jax waiting for them. Alex fistbumps Past Jax and Jacqui, high fives Takeda and Jin before Cassie pulls him in for a tight hug.
"Raiden told us what happened. Are you alright?" Cassie looks at him with concern in her eyes. She can't stand it when he gets hurt really bad. He isn't as reckless in fights as he was before, but she still likes to be protective of him.
"I'm okay, I promise. You have Kung Lao, Kitana and Jade to thank for that. They're really nice and as protective as you are." Alex tells her. "And this as well." Alex shows one of his hands and both his eyes glowing orange for a second.
"Well I'll be damned. At least you kicked both their asses. That's what makes you a total badass." Past Jax said as he pats him on the back lightly.
"Yeah. I wish I was there, you took all the action." Jacqui smiles.
"So is it true? Sindel is back?" Takeda asked asked.
"Yeah. Turns out, she was never evil to begin with. She was brainwashed by Shao Kahn. That's why she did that massacre. Sindel was horrified for what happened. You should have seen her face." Alex said.
"And how did all that happen?" Jacqui asked.
"Her realm called Edenia, which was where Kitana was born, was invaded by Shao Kahn. He killed Kitana's father Jerrod and forced Sindel to marry him. Shao Kahn almost killed Kitana, but Sindel begged him to spare her and he did. Sindel committed suicide, which placed a barrier to keep Shao Kahn from merging the realms together. Now she plans to fight alongside her daughter and get back at Kronika." Alex explained. Now he feels very bad for Sindel, given her story and could tell she was telling the truth.
"That explains a lot of things. Hope Kitana is taking things well with her mother being back." Cassie said.
"Oh yeah. Sindel told me they staged the assasination attempt on me on Kronika's orders and tried to kidnap me and apologized for it. Kronika hoped to break me after Cetrion told me the truth but failed." Alex said.
"I don't know what we'd do without you. I'm so glad we trained you." Cassie said, stroking his face.
"I hope you're right about what you said, Alex. What's more important is that you're alive and still kicking ass." Jacqui said with a hand on his shoulder.
"Oh don't worry. Once the battle starts, you and Jade will have your payback." Alex smiles, making both her and Cassie laugh. They start smiling until Liu Kang came running in.
"Lord Raiden. You must come quick. It's Scorpion. He's here. Sub-Zero is keeping him occupied." Liu Kang reports.
"Take me to him. Now!" Raiden said as they come running. Cassie and the others look at each other before running after them, wanting to see what's going on. In front of the temple, Sub-Zero is lying down, defeated.
"You misunderstood my intentions." Scorpion said before being attacked by Raiden, zapped by his lightning and knocked away.
"Who sent you here, Scorpion?" Raiden demands.
"My future self. Your monks are tending to him as we speak." Scorpion said, pointing to his future self.
"Grandmaster Hasashi sent you?" Liu Kang asked, still suspicious, not as much as Raiden, though.
"I honor his wish." Scorpion said. "Kharon will ferry your armies to the isle of Kronika. We must leave at once."
"Do you have proof of Kharon's offer?" Raiden asked.
"Only my word." Scorpion said.
"Your word is worthless. At the tournament I asked that you spare Bi-Han, and you betrayed me." Raiden remembers Scorpion breaking his promise. While Hasashi's past self is undead, he is not as insane as the revenants are.
"It was a mistake born of rage. I seek redemption." Scorpion admits, feeling guilty about breaking his word.
"Lies, Scorpion. You are a slave. And Kronika is your master!" Raiden said as they fight.
Alex walks over to help Sub-Zero. "Are you okay?"
"I am fine. Just need to wait for my strength to return." Sub-Zero said.
"What happened to Grandmaster Hasashi?" Alex asked.
"Out cold. Scorpion claimed that the Kytinn D'Vorah poisoned him." Sub-Zero said.
"Raiden, wait!" Takeda called out before they could even start. "I can hear him. I'm a telepath. He's telling the truth. D'Vorah attacked Kharon and Grandmaster Hasashi saved him. Scorpion attacked him, but D'Vorah poisoned him but Scorpion killed her. He sliced her in half."
"Scorpion may be a slave, but he is far from thick. Sometimes your enemies can be playing tricks on you, regardless of your gift, Takahashi. Now get back and do not get in my way." Raiden aggressively dismisses him. Takeda takes a few steps back with his hands up.
"Raiden, please. You must listen." Scorpion pleas with him.
"Spout your falsehoods elsewhere, Scorpion! Kronika will not entrap us!" Raiden refuses to believe him.
"It is no trap. Kharon awaits you in the Netherrealm." Scorpion defends himself once more.
"Lord Raiden, perhaps we should listen. He may be telling the truth." Liu Kang backs him up.
"There is only one way to find out." Raiden said. He fires a beam from Shinnok's amulet, incapacitating Scorpion and causing him pain. "Now, Scorpion. The truth!
"Raiden, stop! Put down that amulet! It's darkness is taking ahold of you." Liu Kang tells him, only to get hit as well.
"Our time has run out. I do what I must to save Earthrealm." Raiden starts getting aggressive and shoots near Liu Kang. "Stay down." But of course, he disobeys this order.
"This is not the way. Scorpion is not the enemy this time." Liu Kang said. He starts to realize that Scorpion is innocent now, trying to fulfill the Grandmaster's wishes.
"Liu Kang. Do not interfere." Raiden warns him but does not listen. They begin to fight. Alex and the others are watching from a safe distance.
"We gotta stop them. They're gonna rip each other apart." Past Jax said.
"We can't. That amulet is taking control of him. They need to settle this out. If one of us tries to get in the way, our plan will start to crumble." Cassie said. Alex started to regret handing Raiden the amulet. Alex believed that it would be safer with him, but he didn't mean to repeat this past mistake that has happened to Dark Raiden.
Raiden and Liu Kang are evenly matched. Raiden jumps to kick, but Liu Kang blocks it and grabs his foot and throws him into a tree. Before Liu Kang could attack, Raiden blasts him back with lightning. Liu Kang recovers and the two exchange blows. Raiden overpowers him and throws him backwards. Liu Kang attempts to bicycle kick but Raiden steps backwards, flies forward, both fists closed, sending Liu Kang back. He rolls, backwards and gets back up.
"Do not force my hand, Liu Kang. The realms hang in the balance! To defend them, I must command order!" Raiden said.
"I thought it impossible, but the revenants were right. You cannot be trusted." Liu Kang begins to doubt his master. He believes Raiden is becoming more dangerous.
"I do not need trust. I demand obedience!" Raiden said as his lightning turns from blue to red. He is becoming like his deceased present self.
"Enough of your madness. If you must die, so be it." Liu Kang prepares to fight and kill his own master. Upon hearing those words, Raiden suddenly calms down. His eyes and lightning change from red to blue again as if he just remembered something.
"This. This has happened before." He said. He starts having visions of him accidentally killing Liu Kang with their fire and lightning combined when Raiden was trying to stop him from interfering with Shao Kahn's plans to merge Earthrealm into Outworld, knowing that the Elder Gods would intervene when he tended to do so without Mortal Kombat victory. He also sees different versions of themselves fighting each other in different places in a train station, an alien world, a cave and on top of a pyramid. They all end with Liu Kang throwing Raiden. He snaps out of the visions and falls to his knees.
Cassie, Alex and the others run towards them to see what has happened. "Raiden? Are you okay? What the hell just happened?" Alex asked out of concern.
Raiden looks at Shinnok's acursed amulet and throws it down on the ground. He realizes his mistakes and looks at Liu Kang.
"I have been a fool, Liu Kang. Kronika's puppet. We only battle because she wields it." Raiden said as he remembered Scorpion in pain. He walks over to him, heals him and helps the former enemy up. "I was wrong to doubt you. I too have been a slave to anger."
"I do not understand, Lord Raiden. Your rage was caused by Kronika?" Liu Kang asked.
"Yes. Our confrontation. It unlocked memories. Memories not just from this timeline but from other timelines that have come before." Raiden said.
"Timelines? As in plural? How in the hell is that even possible?" Jin asked.
"Kronika has restarted time on countless previous occasions, using each to perfect her plan. The details in each timeline are different. But in every one of those, events conspire Liu Kang and I into conflict, and in each one he dies. Only Kronika has the power to control time and fate." Raiden explained.
"So you're saying she's been purposely tricking you two into turning against each other and fighting with you, killing him." Alex said.
"I don't get it. Why do that? She needs him because she allied with his revenant." Cassie asked.
"I do not know. Kronika will control us no longer." Raiden said. Suddenly, the earth starts to shake, and everyone stumbles to keep their footing. Everyone freezes as if time has stopped. The only ones not affected are Raiden and Alex because of their godhood. Alex tries to snap Cassie out of it, but she didn't even flinch. Above them, Kronika appears. Alex glares at her, knowing his true enemy.
"At long last, you see the pattern." Kronika tells him.
"The pattern, but not the purpose. Why turn me against Liu Kang?" Raiden asked.
"I believe it should be obvious. Your combined powers threaten my vision for the timeline. You two are the biggest threats." Kronika said.
"Liu Kang and I will not be divided by your schemes any further. We know your plans." Raiden said with Alex silently agreeing.
"Oh, Raiden. Do you believe that this is the first time you made that vow? We have had this exact conversation countless times that I have lost track from so many timelines." Kronika said.
"This timeline will be different." Raiden tells her in defiance.
"We have played out all possible outcomes, Raiden. You cannot win. I will allow you to try. But without Liu Kang by your side." Kronika transports him to her Keep.
"Kronika! What did you do to him?!" Alex demanded.
"Alex. We meet at last. Do not worry. He is at my Keep with my hourglass. I must apologize, but I have other things to attend to. I promise we will meet again, where I will explain everything to you." Kronika smiles at Alex before turning to Raiden. "Enjoy your final hours, Raiden." Kronika said before returning to the Keep. At the moment she leaves, everyone unfreezes.
"Liu Kang! Where is he?!" Cassie looks around.
"Kronika. She came here and abducted him. He's at the Keep." Alex tells her.
"We must leave immediately. To save Earthrealm, we must save Liu Kang. All of us. It is the only way we can prevail." Raiden said.
"I'm going with y'all." Alex said.
"Are you insane? That's exactly what Kronika wants." Kung Lao said.
"Who knows what she'll do to you?! We can't let her have you!" Cassie said with a worried voice.
"We have to hide you!" Past Jax said.
"You're our friend, Alex! We're not letting anything happen!" Takeda expressed.
Alex was getting more annoyed with how everyone is advising him to run away and hide. And as much as he doesn't mind his own friends and girlfriend protecting him, this is where he puts his foot down.
"I don't care! I'm not running away this time! Not anymore! Kronika wants me to meet her at her Keep? I promise you she will regret it! No matter where I run and hide, she will find me! And as much as I appreciate you guys being protective of me, I'll let you do that! It's my turn to do the same for y'all! I'm gonna go with you! And I'm gonna fight! There's nothing any of you can do to change my mind!" Alex protests to everyone. Although they are all skeptical about it, especially Cassie, they look at each other and realize Alex is right.
"He is right. Liu Kang and Alexander are our only hope to save everyone." Raiden defends him. "We must gather our armies. Kung Lao, gather the Monks and White Lotus. I will send word to Kitana Kahn and Jade." Raiden said.
Everyone else gathers their own forces and clans as they all prep for the battle. For the fate of this timeline.
As everyone makes their final preparations for their final battle against Kronika, Alex knows that he must face Kronika alongside Raiden and Liu Kang. But he must do one more thing just in case he does not come back.
"Alright. All teams! We leave for the Netherrealm pronto! No coming back until we win! Don't stop and don't hold back on anything! Kill anything that is in your sight! This is for General Sonya, for the Special Forces, for all of Earthrealm! We do not back down! We fight or die trying! Do I make myself clear?!" Cassie tells everyone.
"Yes, Commander Cage!" All the soldiers, including Past Jax, Jacqui, Alex, Past Sonya and both Johnnies. They all salute to her. Everyone moves out except for Alex, who waits until everyone leaves.
"What is it, Alex?" Cassie asked in worry.
Alex takes a deep breath. "I'm sorry for my outburst earlier. I want to thank you, Cassie."
"For what?" Cassie asked.
"For everything. For being there for me when I got here, being the first to take pity on me, train me in Kombat and I got to know everything about you and you know everything about me. If it weren't for you, I'd probably be in prison or have a bullet in my mouth. I owe you my life. You've always been part of my life." Alex said, making her smile. "There is one more thing I must do." Alex gets down on one knee and opens the engagement rings.
"What?" Cassie covers her mouth and eyes widen.
"I wanted to ask you for a while now. I promised your mother that I would protect you and be by your side before she died. I want to fulfill that promise. I know this isn't the best timing, but I might not get another chance at this. Cassandra Carlton Cage. Will you marry me?" Alex proposes to her. His heart is beating.
Cassie remains silent for a few moments, until she finally gives him an answer. "Yes. Yes I will marry you."
Alex smiles out of relief as he puts the engagement ring on her finger. He stands up, they hug. Alex cups Cassie's face and they share a long kiss. He caresses her face as they broke off. They smile at each other until they turn to see Jacqui, Past Jax, Johnnies and Past Sonya applauding for them. Alex fistbumps Past Jax, shakes Present Johnny's hand and hugs him and hugs Past Sonya and Jacqui as well as Takeda and Kung Jin. Cassie then hugs them both. Past Johnny smiles and nods, showing how proud he is. With the celebrations over, it is time to leave for the Netherrealm. Time for the final battle against evil, and the battle against Kronika, the true mastermind behind everything.
Note: Yes. I have changed Hanzo's death by placing him in comatose, pretty much since it has been considered by many people to be one of the worst moments in Mortal Kombat history. I wanted D'Vorah to get what she finally deserved like everyone else wanted. Also, who knew that MK vs DC was legit to the timelines and canon? Because you could see Raiden and Liu Kang fight on the planet Apokolips. Weird. The other ones that were shown were MK2, Ultimate MK3, Deception and Armageddon.