DISCLAIMER: I do not own the rights to Mortal Kombat or RWBY, both series belong to their respective companies. Mortal Kombat and RWBY belong to Warner Bros, Netherrealm Studios and RoosterTeeth.
Opening Song: Immortal by Adema
Chapter 2: Mortal Kombat Returns
(Beacon - Vale)
A few days had passed since Liu Kang and his friends reunited, even getting the chance to get to know teams RWBY and JNPR as the tournament progressed. While some were getting along, Sonya was thoroughly annoyed by Nora who was literally talking her to death. Ren meanwhile was getting ready to practice with Liu Kang as he was stretching his arms out, while Liu was stretching out his legs as he stood up and wiped his nose.
Ren stood ready in his combat stance as he smirked and threw the first strike by kicking at him, Liu Kang avoided it and blocked his next kick with his foot and went for a punch as Ren blocked it and swung his right fist at him. Liu Kang redirected it and the two martial artists blocked each other's punches as Liu Kang went to elbow him, but Ren blocked it with both arms and pushed him back. Liu Kang stumbled back as he exhaled while Nora was watching with excitement, she jumped up cheering. "Yeah Ren, get him!" She cheered.
Ren smiled a bit but returned his focus to Liu Kang as he approached him and he kept his guard up, the faunus knocked his hand down and went for a punch. Ren redirected it and punched as Liu Kang blocked each punch and guarded himself from a kick as Ren went for a punch, Liu Kang caught his fist and pushed it back to his side as Ren shoved him away and kicked at his feet. Liu Kang raised one leg avoiding it as he avoided a roundhouse kick from him, he went for a punch as Ren evaded it and went to knee him. He only got blocked as he spun around and kicked at him, pushing Liu Kang back as he held his ground with the help of his tail.
Yang smirked seeing Ren might have this in the bag. "Liu Kang's good, but Ren's got him beat." She commented.
But Johnny let out a hearty chuckle as he looked at the busty blonde. "Ohh, you haven't seen anything yet. Watch." He told her as he pointed out as the two martial artists circled each other, and Liu Kang's feet danced a bit. Ren went on the attack by throwing a flurry of punches at him, but Liu Kang was avoiding each punch Ren threw at him as he blocked his knee strike, soon landing a good uppercut against Ren's face.
Yang and Ruby winced upon seeing it as Ren went for a strike as he missed twice and got hit in the stomach and face, Liu Kang hit him in the face again which infuriated him as he pulled out his weapons and struck at him in anger. Liu Kang avoided them as he knocked them out of his hands and kicked him hard in the stomach, knocking him down to the ground as he groaned in pain. While Nora gasped and ran over to him, she kneeled to check on him as Liu Kang approached. "Do you see now, why my grandfather trained me so hard?" He asked him.
Ren groaned a bit as he stopped Nora from checking him. "That was a lucky strike… let's go again, I will show you." He told him as he was about to get up.
"No Lie Ren… the training one would require would be mental, not physical." Liu Kang informed him as he lent him his hand.
Ren was surprised as he thought about his words trying to learn what he meant. "What do you mean by that Liu Kang…?" He asked him as he took his hand and stood up with his help.
"My grandfather taught me that you cannot surpass your limitations, until you acknowledge them." Liu Kang explained as he patted his shoulder. "But you have a unique skill, Ren, one that honors your family." He told him.
Ren smiled as he earned genuine respect from the dragon faunus, Yang and Ruby chuckle together as they approach them. "Wow Liu, I knew you had skill, but you really surprised me." Yang told him as she nudged him.
"My grandfather taught me what he knew, and I improved upon his training." Liu explained.
Nora shot him a menacing glare as she did not approve of him hurting Ren. "Ren could have won that fight." She told him.
But Ren placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her from doing something she might eventually regret. "It's fine Nora, it was just a friendly spar, nothing more. You don't need to get so worked up about it, just because I lost." He told her.
"I know, but, come on! You could've won that!" She yelled, feeling frustrated as she groaned furiously as her face was red.
Sonya shook her head as she looked towards Jax. "This is what I hated about being a teenager, crazy who are gossiping over cute boys." She told him.
"If you were the popular girl in school, I'm sure every boy would've been scared of you." Jax replied with a chuckle.
"Technically, I was the school tomboy, picking fights with bullies, and making sure they cried for mercy." Sonya told him as she immediately remembered something from her high school years. "Although, there was that one time a girl asked me to prom." She mentioned, while Johnny immediately spat out his drink and coughed harshly.
He looked at her shocked about what he learned. "A girl did what?!" He asked as everyone looked at him surprised.
"Relax Johnny, she was a sweet girl and all, but I didn't swing that way." She told him.
"Well you sure had him going." Blake commented as she looked towards Liu Kang. "It's actually really surprising to see you practicing with others, Liu." She said to him as she smiled a bit.
Liu was using his towel to wipe down the sweat over his neck. "I'm not one to act so harshly towards humans." He said to her as he tossed the towel down. "But when the tournament starts the next match, we may face each other again and only one of us may progress to the next round." He told them.
Nora grinned as she whipped out her Magnhild and held it on her shoulders. "I am so looking forward to it." She said as she mischiefly let out a chuckle.
"Hold on Nora, let's not jump the gun." Jaune told her as Pyrrha approached.
"Jaune's right, it's better to save our energy until the tournament resumes, which won't be long." She told them.
"Which brings up the question, we know each other's backstory, but we don't know each other's semblances." Ruby pointed out.
"Ruby actually has a point, you guys know of our semblance, mine is burn, Ruby's is speed, Pyrrha's polarity, and Weiss is-" Before Yang could continue, she immediately realized that she wasn't around as she looked around and saw Kitana was gone as well. "Hey, where are Weiss and Kitana?" She asked.
"Last I saw, they went into town to do some shopping." Jaune informed them.
Sonya groaned as she leaned back with her hands behind her head. "Knowing her as the heiress of the Schnee Family, she's likely to get a pretty dress for parties, and perfume to attract any guy she comes across." She said as she was completely oblivious of Weiss and Kitana walking up behind her.
"I'll have you know, we were out getting supplies for the tournament, and getting food for everyone." Weiss informed her as she immediately turned pale and looked up seeing Weiss and Kitana standing above her.
Kitana was giving her a disapproving look. "Weiss needed dust for her Myrtenaster, you should know that her weapon requires it in order to form her glyphs." She informed her as she brought out the food. "And these are for everyone else." She announced.
"Nothin' for Sonya since she bad-mouthed ya Princess." Jax joked as he got a smack in the back of his head by Sonya who scowled at him for it. "Come on, can't you take a joke?" He asked her.
"When it comes to my C.O.? No." She told him as she turned away from him while Kitana set the food on the ground, one box on top of the other as she backed away from them.
Nora began to drool as she stared at them. "So good~! Let's eat!" She screamed as she was about to pounce like a cat. But to her surprise, Kitana immediately unfolded her steel fans and used them to create a strong gust of wind to throw the food into the air. Much to Nora's dismay as she saw them flying into the air, she shot a glare at Kitana for it. "What the hell was that?!" She asked only to feel a food box bounce off her head and land in her hands.
Everyone else saw their food falling down towards them as they quickly caught them as one of the boxes landed on Jaune's head and splattered across his face. Pyrrha let out a giggle upon seeing it as she tried desperately to hide it. Ruby meanwhile was staring at Kitana's steel fans as stars sparkled in her eyes upon seeing them. "Wow… I've never seen weapons like those, where did you get it?" She asked her.
"They were given to me… by a man I thought was my father." Kitana said as she looked away trying to forget Shao Kahn.
Yang looked at her surprised when she heard it, and grew curious as she ate her food. "Must've been an abusive man, wasn't he?" She asked her.
"You don't know the half of it." Kitana replied.
Blake walked up and touched her shoulder to comfort her. "I'm sorry, we didn't mean to pry." She told her.
"It's alright, Blake, if anything, I hope I never see him again." Kitana said as she sat down beside Liu Kang.
"I know you guys are curious about our semblances, but it's probably best not to tell them. It would be an unfair advantage, even for us." Liu Kang told them.
"Yeah, I mean you guys will likely cheat. Like your heiress over here." Johnny pointed at Weiss as he ate his lunch.
Weiss immediately scoffed at his jab towards her as she crossed her arms. "For your information, I never cheated in my life." She argued.
"Not that you know of." Johnny muttered as he chuckled, only to feel ice surround his body, minus his head as he screamed from the cold and his teeth started chattering while Weiss was holding up her Myrtenaster in the air as she put it away.
Sonya covered her mouth as she tried to hide her laughter, Jax shook his head as he crossed his arms. "For a moment, I thought you would have decked him." He said to her, smirking.
"Hey, someone had to torture him. Just sad it isn't me." She replied.
"You two have a complicated history." Yang commented.
"Oh trust me, that is only half the story." Sonya admitted as the rest of her comrades panicked feeling that she was about to spill the beans.
Liu Kang rushed up and blocked her view. "What she means is that they did have history, but their careers were more important." He told them.
It was then their notifications went off on their scrolls and they pulled them out and opened the notifications finding a video of Glynda Goodwitch. "All tournament attendees, please report to the Amity Colosseum. A major announcement has been brought to our attention, and everyone must be present to hear it." She said as the video ended.
Ruby was surprised upon hearing it as she put her scroll away. "What do you think the announcement is?" She asked.
"Whatever it is, let's hope it's good." Yang told her as she gobbled up her food.
"I don't know, an anonymous announcement? Who could've announced it?" Weiss asked.
"Yeah, this seems extremely out of the blue." Jaune admitted.
Jax thought about it and looked to Sonya. "Think someone in the Black Dragon is behind it?" He asked her.
"No, it'd be too bold, even without Kano's say-so." She responded.
"The Black Dragon? That band of thugs that are aiding Roman Torchwick and the White Fang?" Weiss asked.
"Who's Kano?" Jaune asked.
"Kano's the Leader of the Black Dragon Clan, mercenaries, arms dealers, murder for hire, complete scum of Remnant." Sonya explained to him.
Weiss huffed at hearing it as she crossed her arms. "Degenerates like that deserve to get locked up." She commented.
"Well, come on guys, let's get to the colosseum and find out what's going on." Ruby told them as she finished her food and walked away.
Liu Kang finished his food as well and went to follow, but he stopped as he felt like something was watching him as he turned around and looked back. He looked around carefully seeing no one was around, Kitana noticed it as she walked to him and touched his shoulder. "You alright?" She asked him.
"Yeah… I… I thought someone was watching me. Must've been my imagination." He replied as he walked with her, unaware that who was watching him, poked his head out from around the corner as he was shrouded in shadow, but his eyes slightly glow blue.
(Amity Colosseum)
At the Colosseum, everyone was getting to their seats around the arena awaiting the big announcement, wondering what it could be. Teams RWBY and JNPR walked to their seats as Liu Kang and his friends sat beside them. "So, what do you guys think the announcement is?" Yang asked.
"Who knows? We might be in for a surprise." Jaune answered.
"Try not to jinx it, because surprises tend to go wrong." Weiss told him.
Kitana looked around the colosseum as she was getting a strange feeling all around her and the others, she was getting tense as she couldn't tell what it was. "The air… it feels off." She told them as the feeling around her grew more intense.
Liu Kang felt it as well, he soon saw the lights go out as everyone in the arena gasped and looked around, panicking as they were surrounded by pure darkness. "Okay, if this is Ms. Goodwitch's idea of a joke, this is not funny." Nora spoke as she looked around.
"I don't think this is a joke Nora." Ren told her as he used his semblance to see everyone's emotions, seeing much fear from them… but he saw an unexplainable one appearing in the center of the arena before them. "I think there's someone in the area… his emotions… they're aggressive, malefic." He told them as he saw something else, his eyes widened in fear of what he saw. "Souls… he's surrounded by thousands of souls." He stated.
This immediately made Liu Kang's eyes widen as he looked towards the arena as a single light shined down upon a lone figure who stood in the center of the arena. The figure grinned as he looked up to the crowd, revealing himself as the sorcerer himself, Shang Tsung. "Ladies and Gentlemen, Huntsmen and huntresses… welcome back to Amity Colosseum. The tournament ran quite well, and everyone was very entertained. Even me… but it lacked a small element. Carnage." He told them as everyone gasped surprised. "As of this moment, this tournament will be under my control." He announced.
Everyone in the arena was in disbelief of what he was saying, some were yelling at him to get off the stage while some wanted to drag him off themselves. It was at that moment that Cardin Winchester walked onto the stage as everyone watched anxiously. "Alright pal, I don't know who you are, but you're holding up our tournament. So why don't you get lost and I won't embarrass you in front of everyone." He told him as everyone laughed.
But Shang Tsung was not intimidated by his threat as he smirked and held his hands behind his back. "Well, if that's what everyone wants… come on then." He gestures to him to come at him, Cardin smirks as he pulls out his weapon known as the Executioner. He yelled as he went to strike him with it, but Shang swiftly maneuvered around his weapon by leaning back, spinning around Cardin's right and kicked him hard in the back as his spine cracked upon impact.
He let out a scream as he rolled across the arena and slammed against the ground, he groaned from feeling his spine in severe pain. But he did not let that stop him from getting back up as he turned around and glared at Shang as he yelled out in anger and swung the Executioner at him. Shang Tsung merely smirked as he easily avoided his attacks by using his superior skills and agility to avoid getting struck by the arrogant boy as he saw the Executioner thrusting towards him, he quickly reached up and simply used his thumb and index finger to catch the Executioner as Cardin watched in shock as Shang used his free hand to strike the Executioner and break it in half.
The audience was stunned by this as Liu Kang and his friends watched with pure horror on their faces, Liu Kang meanwhile was panting heavily as images of when Shang Tsung and Quan Chi ambushed him and Shang snapped his neck and stole his soul. But his fear turned to anger as he let out a growl, earning Ruby's attention as she looked at him surprised. "Liu…? What's wrong…?" He asked him.
"It's him…" He replied as Ruby looked back towards the arena as Cardin yelled out and went to punch Shang, but the young sorcerer avoided it as he caught his wrist and smacked him against his face and ducked under a left hook as he swung his left leg and landed a high kick against his neck as he knocked him down.
He grinned as Cardin got back up and yelled furiously and went to strike him, but once Shang avoided it, he thrusted his fingers straight through his armor and through his forearm as Cardin let out a painful scream. Everyone gasped in horror as they saw it on the screen and close to the stage, Jaune was horrified from what he witnessed as he stood up from his seat. "What the hell?!" He shouted as Shang grinned and kicked Cardin hard in the chest as several of his ribs cracked and he got knocked down.
He was having trouble breathing as some of his ribs had pierced his lungs, Shang Tsung walked towards him with a sadistic grin as flames surrounded his hands. He used his power to open one large portal in the arena behind him, several warriors stepped through as everyone gasped as they looked upon his followers. One being a woman in pink, wearing a veil over her face as her eyes were yellow while her hair was messy as she held two sai's. It was Kitana's twin, Mileena.
She grinned behind her veil as she looked to the others, one being a warrior, shrouded in black and eyes dead white. Noob Saibot was his name, a warrior none should mess with as he formed two clones beside him. The third was none other than Kano himself as he stepped forward, earning a glare from Sonya as she clenched her fists. "Kano…!" She growled.
"I always wondered what he looked like, but damn he's ugly!" Yang blurted out seeing his bionic eye. She soon noticed a lizard looking faunus, he hissed as he approached the others as his clawed hands opened up. This was none other than Syzoth, otherwise known more as Reptile. The next warrior was a man shrouded in purple Edenian attire, with essence of gold around him and summoned a katar type weapon into his hand. This was Rain, the son of Argus.
One more warrior appeared, but he didn't seem human, nor faunus. Everyone gasped as they saw a giant, four armed man standing beside the young sorcerer as he showed his masculine figure and roared out. It was none other than Goro, the Prince of the Shokan. Cardin was scared of what he was seeing as he tried to back up, only to get grabbed by Shang as he lifted him up. His eyes glowing green as he grinned, holding up his free hand as it glowed in a similar green. "Your soul… is MINE!" He yelled as he used his power to drain Cardin's soul from his body.
"NO!" Jaune was about to rush out, but Pyrrha and his team held him back knowing he'd get killed as well.
Cardin's body started to wither away as his soul was sucked out of his body, once finished, Shang dropped Cardin's body as his form was revealed to the crowd on screen. Everyone screamed in terror as they tried to leave, but the security doors closed before they could even try to escape as Shang Tsung let out a chuckle. "This is only a taste of things to come… this tournament is now under my control. Your lives will be on the line, so fight like your lives depended upon it. I… Shang Tsung, emissary of Shao Kahn, the Emperor of Outworld. Welcome you… to Mortal Kombat!" He announced as he used magic to change the entire colosseum as it became more the part of Outworld's Colosseum.
Teams RWBY and JNPR were surprised by what just happened as everyone in the arena panicked in fear of what just happened. "Okay, we just witnessed Cardin get his soul sucked out. Now the colosseum has turned into a giant death trap, would someone care to explain what's going on here?!" Yang demanded.
"What's happening is that two worlds have collided, Yang. And it has been Shang Tsung's nature to steal the souls of his victims, I know because I was one of them." Liu Kang explained.
Ruby looked towards him surprised, he was one of Shang's victims? How could that be possible? She and her friends and sister needed answers. "Liu, what aren't you telling us?" She asked him.
Blake even sent him a stern glare as she approached him and grabbed him by his gi shirt. "And we want the truth." She told him in a serious tone.
Kitana grabbed her and pulled her hand off of him. "We will explain, but not here." She told her as she walked away with her allies along with the two teams, leaving the arena. This however didn't go unnoticed as Shang looked to where they were, and smirked as he gestured to Rain and Noob Saibot to follow him as he walked away to find them.
In the halls of the colosseum, Liu Kang and the other kombatants lead the two teams away from the arena to where they could be alone. "Alright guys, start explaining. What the hell is going on here?" Yang demanded to know.
"And please, we want the whole truth, not half truths, no lies, just the simple and honest truth." Ruby begged them.
"Hey, you want the truth, here it is. We're not from Remnant." Johnny answered for them.
"Not from Remnant? What does that mean?" Blake asked them.
"Remnant wasn't originally our place of birth… me, Liu Kang, Jax and Johnny here were originally from Earthrealm." Sonya explained as she looked towards Kitana. "Kitana meanwhile was from Edenia, a realm that was taken by Outworld, but freed after Shinnok was defeated."
"And she was its future queen, I would have joined her if I wasn't focused on defending Earthrealm." Liu Kang admitted.
Jaune nodded as he looked towards them. "Okay, so you guys were originally from these two realms… how did you end up on Remnant?" He asked them.
"It was during a time of peace, when the forces of good had prevailed against the evil forces of Outworld." Kitana explained as she looked towards Liu Kang. "But that peace ended when Liu Kang was murdered by Shang Tsung." She pointed out.
Teams RWBY and JNPR were shocked when they heard it and looked at Liu Kang. "Shang killed you?!" Nora asked in disbelief.
"He wasn't alone, the sorcerer Quan Chi aided him in my assassination. He struck me from behind while Shang Tsung took the chance to snap my neck." Liu Kang mentioned as both teams grimaced upon hearing it.
Pyrrha was shocked as she held a hand over her chest. "How could anyone take pleasure in killing people and consuming their souls?" She asked.
"It's something he learned from Shao Kahn, soul magic is potent in Outworld." Liu Kang explained as he looked down. "After my death, Raiden, the God of Thunder of our realm. He gathered Earth's heroes together to stop the two sorcerers." He gestured to Sonya and Johnny.
"There was treachery amongst us, Frost was Sub-Zero's student. She was obsessed with power, and she was willing to do anything to take the Lin Kuei Dragon Medallion from him." Sonya explained.
"That's cold, no pun intended." Ren commented.
"Oh, it was so intended." Nora interjected with a grin.
"What happened next…?" Ruby asked.
"Raiden was the only one who could stand between the Deadly Alliance, but even he couldn't beat them while we laid broken and beaten." Jax told them as he crossed his arms. "That's when he showed up…" He mentioned someone in particular.
Weiss grew curious by who he meant. "Who showed up?" She asked.
"Onaga… the former emperor of Outworld, the Dragon King." Liu Kang told them as their eyes widened in surprise. "He sought out Quan Chi because he possessed Shinnok's Amulet, for it had the power to help reshape the realms to his grand vision." He explained.
"As to where me, Johnny and everyone here stood? We were forced to be Onaga's puppets to prevent anyone from getting in his way after Raiden and the two sorcerers failed to stop Onaga." Sonya explained what happened to her and her team.
"But thanks to Liu Kang who was currently a wandering soul, and Ermac, they managed to free us from Onaga's control." Jax told them.
"But the weird part is that Raiden had become a dark god and brought Liu Kang's corpse to life without a soul." Johnny pointed out as he gestured to the dragon faunus. "Therefore making him Zombie Kang." He mentioned the name, much to Liu's annoyance.
"I thought we agreed we wouldn't call it that?" He reminded him.
"Hey, I had to bring it up." Johnny replied.
"So, if you were a zombie, how come you're not one now?" Yang asked him.
"Thus bring us to the climax which was the Battle of Armageddon." Johnny announced almost like it was the next title of his upcoming film.
Sonya rolled her eyes as she pulled back her left arm and sucker punched him in the face as he fell to his knees from it and his mouth left gaping open while his eyes were blank white. "It was there Liu Kang's walking dead self was battling Shang Taung, but like the rest of us who fell amongst the pyramid trying to fight Blaze… he, or rather "it", fell as well. Taking Shang with it." She told them.
"Then, just as Shao Kahn was about to end Raiden… he used his power to destroy his amulet and steal Shao Kahn's victory for good. Next thing we know, we're here in Remnant. Reincarnated from our previous incarnations, and lived new lives." Kitana explained as she glanced at the others. "While reliving the old." She mentioned.
This was a lot to take in for both team RWBY and JNPR, never did they imagine that they would go through such pain and constant battles. Yang set her back against a wall upon hearing all that she heard, having a hard time processing it. "This is crazy… I mean we're used to Grimm and Dust, but to be facing beings from another realm? That's insane." She commented.
"Well we were kind of surprised when we woke up in your world, remembering what we did in our old lives." Johnny said to her as he looked at his friends. "We even tried to hide it when we were kids." He told them.
"Well that must have been torture, because as of right now all I'm feeling right now is PISSED!" Nora yelled as she whipped out Manghild from behind her. "Just let me at Shang Tsung, and I'll give him a taste of his own medicine!" She yelled.
"I'd like to see that happen." Shang said as he approached, earning everyone's attention.
The second Liu Kang saw him, his blood immediately boiled as he glared at him with flames spewing from his mouth. "You!" He yelled angrily as Kitana and Jax held him back to keep him from doing something foolish.
This made Shang Tsung chuckle in amusement as he saw how angry he was. "Nice to see you again Liu Kang, how's the neck?" He asked jokingly, but the dragon faunus was not amused as Shang chuckled. "I hope you've improved since our last encounter."
"If anything, I'm going to end you before you even begin this tournament." Liu Kang threatened him.
At that moment, Rain and Noob Saibot appeared between them and glared at the heroes. The two teams were surprised by how they appeared, Rain through water, and Noob through a pool of black ooze. "Okay, that's new." Nora commented.
Shang grinned at them as his hands were held behind his back. "Noob Saibot, and Rain… deadliest of warriors. None of you are prepared for what you're about to face." He told them as Noob and Rain stood in their fighting stance.
Ren aimed Stormflower at them threateningly as he glared at them. "Move aside!" But before he could fire, Noob sent two clone copies to grab him by his arms and restrain him. "What the- hey!" He struggled.
"Let him go!" Nora went to help Ren, but Rain shot a powerful stream of water at her as she barely avoided it and the stream took off tips of her hair. "WHOA!" She yelled as she looked at him.
"You will find it impossible to stand up to us, little girl." Rain told her.
"And no one will mourn you when we end your lives." Noob told them with a raspy voice as his clones began to rip Ren as he screamed.
"Ren!" Nora cried out as she suddenly felt a cold chill in the air.
Noob paid no attention to it as someone appeared behind him, he was clad in blue, wore a mask and surrounded his arms with ice and grabbed hold of him as Noob screamed from the cold chill as he got frozen solid. Rain saw it as he went to destroy him, only to see a pillar of flames shot up and a ninja clad in yellow armor and wore a skeletal type mask and white eyes glared at Rain as he threw a spear through his arm and yelled. "GET OVER HERE!" He pulled him hard and slammed him against the wall as he pulled the spear back to him.
Pyrrha saw them as lightning shot down between the heroes and the forces of Outworld as the lightning formed into a single being, revealing himself as a purified Raiden as he glared at the sorcerer. "ENOUGH!" He yelled as Liu Kang saw him surprised.
"Ahh, Lord Raiden… how good of you grace us with your presence." Shang said to him with a grin.
But Raiden held his glare towards him as lightning surrounded his hands. "Your sideshow freaks attacked my fighters and their friends, that is expressly forbidden before the tournament. As you might as well have forgotten after your reincarnation." He reminded him.
"My apologies, it won't happen again, I promise." Shang said, but was clearly lying through his teeth.
This made Raiden chuckle a bit as he was far from convinced. "We'll see about that." He replied.
"Of course… but when the tournament begins, there will be no dominions." Shang told him.
"My dominions are well known to me sorcerer! Thank you…" Raiden told him sternly.
Ruby immediately got between them as she held her hands up. "Okay, seriously, what tournament?!" She asked them.
Shang grinned as he backed away. "You and your friends have been chosen, Ms. Rose… much to my delight." He told him as he broke Noob out of the ice and walked away with Rain as Noob groaned from the sneak attack and followed them.
Seeing them go, Liu Kang turned towards Raiden, noticing his young appearance as he examined him. "Raiden…? You…" He tried to point it out, but Raiden turned his back to him.
"Follow me." He told him and the others as he formed into lightning and dashed out of the hallway as Liu Kang and the others looked amongst themselves.
In a neutral area where fights are not allowed, Jaune was trying to process all that had happened just now. "Okay, first we get a guy who can suck people's souls from their bodies, then we get a guy who can control water, and a guy surrounded by black ooze. Now we got a guy who has a spear and chain up his arm, then we got a guy who freezes stuff. And then there's a man, who as far as I can tell, he's made of electricity. I mean how did he disappear like that? What is going on right now? Who are these guys?!" He asked frantically.
"Jaune! Calm down, we can think this through, and handle introductions at the same time." Pyrrha told him as she looked at the yellow and blue warriors before them. "Who are you two?" She asked them.
"My name is Kuai Liang, but they know me as Sub-Zero." He introduced himself as he looked towards Scorpion. "And this is Scorpion." He introduced him.
But their names earned a snicker from Nora as Scorpion glanced towards her with a stern glare. "Find something amusing?" He asked her.
"I'm sorry, but I find it hard to take your names seriously!" She admitted as she laughed so hard, only to find Scorpion appearing in front of her through flames that immediately made her stop laughing.
"Then see if you find this funny, your soul being sent to the farthest reaches of Netherrealm, where you will be endlessly tortured to the brink of insanity." He explained to her as Nora immediately felt the intimidation to be a threat to take seriously.
Ren got her to back away from him as he shot a glare at the ninja specter. "Fine, your name has a good reason to be feared, but we don't have to be your enemies." He told him as Scorpion narrowed his eyes and turned away as he leaned against a wall.
Weiss looked towards Sub-Zero as she crossed her arms together. "And what about you, tall, dark and cold? What's the reason for your name?" She asked curiously.
Sub-Zero removed his mask and looked towards her showing the scar on his right eye. "It was once my brothers… it was a name that meant a cold death. But I wear the mantle to be a symbol of peace and protection." He explained.
Weiss saw the scar as she noticed it was fresh, and she felt that she could relate. That was until Blake walked up and pushed them aside as she grew impatient. "There's still the matter of the guy who controls lightning on a whim." She reminded them.
"He's Raiden…" Liu told her as he walked up with the others. "The God of Thunder and Lightning, and the Protector of the realm of Earth." He told them.
"Well there's your logical explanation." Yang commented and looked towards Liu. "But wasn't he supposed to be this Dark God?" She asked him.
"It's possible that when we were reincarnated, Raiden was as well. And all the darkness that inhabited his soul washed away so that he could have a fresh start." Jax theorized.
"And what makes you so sure?" Sonya asked him.
"Call it a hunch, princess." Jax mocked her as she scowled at him.
"But why did he appear before you guys now, and not before?" Ruby asked them.
"Because I did more harm than good." Raiden answered as he appeared behind her as she yelped in surprise. "I was ashamed of all I had done when I fell into darkness, so I needed to repent. Live a life among mortals, learn the value of life once again. But when I felt evil rising, I needed to come out of retirement." He told them.
"Uh-huh…" Yang replied as she was feeling cautious around him. "Well I'm pretty sure that some of your friends are pissed off with you." She gestured to his former champions.
"Yeah we're pissed, why did you send us to this realm after we died in that field of death?!" Johnny asked him.
"I wanted you all to live new lives, better lives. One without Mortal Kombat, but peace I'm afraid can last only for so long." Raiden explained.
"Yeah, little good that did for some of us." Jax commented.
"I had to go through puberty a second time, and I didn't enjoy it." Sonya told him with her arms crossed.
She went forward to try and hit him, but Liu Kang stopped her from doing so. "Sonya, it's not worth it, trust me." He told her as he looked toward Raiden with a firm glare as he turned facing him. "You think you can earn our forgiveness… or even mine after what you did to my body when you became Dark Raiden?" He asked him.
"I know what I did was wrong…" Raiden tried to reply.
"Wrong? You turned his body into a walking death walker!" Ruby yelled at him.
"How could you be so heartless to raise him from the dead?!" Blake asked him.
"You had to have known he would be pissed!" Yang scolded him.
Jaune quickly got between Team RWBY and Raiden before the yelling could continue. "Guys, guys! I know we're all a little on edge here, but right now, we have something else to deal with. This… Mortal Kombat tournament, I mean what's that about?" He asked.
Raiden stood up from where he was sitting. "Your world is one of many realms, one of them being Earth, where we came from. Which is now merged to the forsaken realm of Outworld, ruled by the immortal known as Shao Kahn." He explained as he looked at the other teams. "Now he has discovered Remnant and seeks to conquer it."
"Wait a second, if this emperor is so powerful, why doesn't he just invade us?" Ren asked him.
"To reach your realm, his demon sorcerer Shang Tsung and his warriors need to win ten straight victories in Mortal Kombat." Raiden explained as he let out a small chuckle. "They have won nine… this… will be the tenth tournament." He told them.
"So you mean to tell us that they're going to challenge a bunch of kids to a deathmatch, and we are the best chance to save our world?" Nora asked him.
Raiden immediately smirked and pointed at her. "Exactly." He answered as he walked past Ruby and Yang. "The essence of Mortal Kombat… is not about death. But life… mortal men and women defending their own realms, including your own." He told them.
"Why are you telling us this? What about the others…?" Yang asked.
"I have seen many great fighters in Remnant, the likes of Summer Rose, and Raven Branwen." Raiden mentioned as he immediately caught the attention of Ruby and Yang as they jumped up at him.
"YOU KNEW OUR MOTHERS?!" They asked in unison.
"They participated in the 9th Mortal Kombat tournament, miraculously surviving against Shang's forces." Raiden told them as he looked at them. "I was certain they would have told you." He admitted.
"No, they told us nothing about it." Yang replied.
"Not once." Ruby told him while crossing her arms.
Raiden hummed as he sat down. "That explains it… I suppose they have their reasons for not telling you." He told them. "But I can tell you that they were the best fighters I ever met." He admitted.
"Before my mom decided to live her own life, and Summer disappeared." Yang said as she looked away with Ruby.
Raiden looked away feeling sympathy for the two sisters, it wasn't easy for either of them when they were young. "I do apologize for all that happened to you, but they had reasons to keep you out of the tournament. But after all that has happened in recent events, there's no avoiding that now." He told them as he looked at them. "Each of you are skilled fighters… I have looked into your souls, and that of your opponents. One of you must decide the outcome of this tournament." He said as teams RWBY, JNPR and Raiden's champions looked amongst each other. "The fate of billions will depend upon it." He chuckled a bit but caught himself and turned away. "Sorry." He said as he walked off.
"What about Adam Taurus?" Liu Kang asked as Blake looked at him surprised.
She immediately walked up and looked at him. "Adam…? What does he have to do with this?" She asked him.
"Come on Blake, surely you had to have known. Your boyfriend murdered Chan." Liu told her.
But Blake's eyes widened in shock upon hearing this revelation, she backed away as she held her head. "No… no, no, no! That can't be… Adam told me that he fell to an Atlas Soldier." She said what Adam told her.
Kitana approached her and put her hand on her shoulder. "Liu Kang talked to Sienna Kahn, she looked into Chan's death, and the cause was by a blade. The results showed red dust residue within the wound, and who do you think possesses a red blade?" She asked her.
Blake's mind literally snapped upon the revelation of this information, her knees twitched and hands began to shake as tears filled her eyes and ran down her face. "Oh god… I can't believe this, Chan he… he was always a good person, but I never…" She paused as she struggled with the reality of the situation.
It was at that moment, Liu Kang touched her shoulders and got her to look at him. "You didn't know, and I would never blame you for what happened to Chan. He always saw you as family, therefore I do too." He told her.
Her tears continued to roll down her face, but she made no effort to stop them as she cried and threw herself into his arms and hugged him. Liu held her to comfort her as she let out all her sadness into his chest. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry Liu, I should have sent Chan home." She said as she continued the cry.
Meanwhile Johnny was trying to fight back his tears as he watched the emotional scene. "Oh man… I wish I were recording this right now. It's such a beautiful scene, I…" He sniffed and looked towards Sonya. "You have a tissue?" He asked her.
"Suck it up, buttercup." She replied.
Yang chuckled at hearing it knowing their little relationship is still complicated, Weiss smiled in satisfaction of it, but her smile faded when she looked at Blake who continued to cry as Liu Kang comforted her. She exhaled and walked over to Blake and touched her shoulder to get her attention. "I know I've been harsh towards Faunus before, but we both know that if someone is to blame, it's Adam." She told her.
Blake sniffed and pulled away from Liu as she finally wiped away her tears, exhaling to finally calm down as she looked towards her with a firm expression. But it wasn't towards her, but meant for Adam himself. "If Adam is here… I'm not going to ensure that Chan gets justice for what Adam did." She told her.
"Are you sure you don't mean vengeance?" Raiden asked as he earned hers and Liu's attention. "If you challenge Adam Taurus now, you will lose your lives, and your souls." He warned them.
"If anything, Adam will pay for my brother's death. Whether it's through justice, or vengeance." He told him.
But Raiden merely smirked from his optimism. "You're not ready." He told him as he stood up. "I suggest you all get prepared for the tournament, because this will be the one time you face a life and death situation." He told them as he walked away.
"Hold on, shouldn't we warn Ospin, or Ms. Goodwitch?" Jaune asked him.
"It wouldn't work, since Shang Tsung changed the arena, your communications network has been turned off." Scorpion informed him as Weiss pulled out her scroll and checked.
To her surprise, it wasn't connecting to any servers. "Scorpion's right, there's no way of reaching Ospin, or Ms. Goodwitch." She told them as she fiddled with her scroll a bit. "But I might be able to connect temporarily and send a message, before Shang and his loyalists catch on." She theorized.
"How long will it take you?" Sub-Zero asked her.
"I'm not sure, but if you guys can keep them from getting me into that arena long enough, I might be able to get the message sent." She told them.
"Sonya, you'll have to help Weiss in trying to get that message through." Jax told her.
Much to Sonya's dismay as she shot a glare towards her. "In case you forgot, I got into a fight with her sister. Pretty sure we're not gonna work well together after what I said about her family name." She reminded him.
"Like it or not Sonya, you need to help her, or else the arena will be filled with everyone's blood." Jax ordered her.
Sonya tried so hard to protest against the plan, but she stuttered as she tried to speak as she immediately failed and growled angrily. "Fine, FINE! I'll do it! But it doesn't mean I have to like it." She told him.
Kitana nodded as she looked at the others. "Then the plan is settled, but first we need to know what Shang Tsung is planning for us, then we can prepare for the tournament." She told them.
"We have to find him first." Blake reminded them.
"Luckily I put a tracker on him while he wasn't looking." Sonya pulled out her Atlas tech and showed it on screen.
Weiss was surprised when she saw it and gave her a look. "You do realize that's Schnee property right?" She asked her.
"What your family doesn't know, won't kill them. Though your sister did try to kill me a few days back." Sonya told her as Weiss's eyes widened in surprise, but the former member of the Special Forces ignored it as she looked at the screen. "He's headed to the lower levels of the colosseum, let's move." She said to them as they followed her to the lower levels.
As they traveled, Ruby was looking directly at Scorpion as she examined his katana and wondered where the spear was coming from. "So, Scorpion… how are you able to control that rope spear of yours?" She asked him curiously.
"It is made through sorcery, nothing your realm would be able to understand." He said coldly.
But that literally didn't phase her as she was even more excited about his weaponry. "Wow… I gotta know how to use them. I love Crescent Rose, but yours are twice as cool." She admitted.
"Cool it Ruby." Yang told her as she pulled her away.
"Yeah, we get you love seeing new weapons, but you can go a little overboard sometimes." Weiss told her as they walked together as Ruby whimpered like a puppy.
As they made their way down to the lower levels of the colosseum, they kept their guard up in case they ran into any of Shang Tsung's forces. So far the cost was clear, Sonya kept her eye on the monitor to watch over the tracker she planted on Shang. Weiss meanwhile was taking the opportunity to get to know Sub-Zero, his background, his family, even how he learned to use his ability to control ice. Unlike glyphs, Sub-Zero was able to form it through his semblance which was cryomancy.
The journey felt like it lasted for days, but it was merely for a few hours. It was at that moment they reached the end of a tunnel as they noticed a shadow looming across the wall. It was Goro's shadow as he was letting out a growl and let out a powerful roar as he left the area, teams RWBY and JNPR knew the sound and how big he was compared to them. "All in favor of going back, say aye." Jaune raised his hand.
"All in favor of shutting up before I punch you in the face, say aye." Sonya told him.
"Aye." Everyone said in unison, knowing she was serious.
They snuck towards where Goro went, as they approached a small hill, they came across a large banquet that literally made Ruby and Blake drool upon seeing the deserts and the fish filet on the table. But they heard loud sipping sounds and found Kano at the end of the table as he set the goblet down. "You know… ever since we got reincarnated into this realm, I've been seeing a lot of interesting fights. Completely one on one, man to man, hand to hand. Just like my daddy taught me… but as usual, Shang Tsung has the annoying habit of not fighting fair." He told Goro as he was eating a large chicken leg.
Sonya growled angrily upon seeing him. "There he is…" She muttered as she was about to go out and kill him.
But Johnny quickly stopped her from doing something stupid that would get them all killed. "Sonya, I get that you want you to get back at Kano for all he did. Both in our previous lives, and this life, but we're just teens right now." He reminded her as she pulled away from him and huffed in annoyance.
"Now, he beats the crap out of that Cardin kid, right?" He takes another bite out of the leg. "Then sucks out his soul, I could see his skin tightening around his skeleton… almost lost my lunch." He admitted as he swallowed.
Meanwhile Goro was sitting on a throne as he was amused by Shang Tsung's performance, but not so amused by Kano's way of explaining it. "Disgusting." He admitted.
"But what I wanna know, if this Cinder Fall girl is a skilled fighter… what is it she's after in all this chaos, hmm?" Kano asked as he leaned back. "Still, she scares the shit out of me… she looks like the devil's wife at a glance." He said as he spat out some fat.
"What she is after is not our concern." Goro told him as he stood up from his throne. "Therefore, her skills are beyond anything we have ever seen… the wise contemplate her favor. Those who challenge her power are killed immediately." He explained.
Ruby's eyes slightly widened upon the mention of Cinder. "Cinder…?" She asked quietly.
"I did see her in action in the arena before all this had happened, and she'd look amazing on a pole." Kano chuckled from his crude humor.
"Fool… you know nothing. Cinder is not one to trifle with, I learned what would happen if you do." Goro showed a scar that was made by one of Cinder's blades. "She possesses the power of the Fall Maiden… or at least a portion of it." He explained as both teams RWBY and JNPR grew curious, but Pyrrha's eyes widened for she knew about the Fall Maiden being beneath Beacon Academy. "Which is why we will be providing a distraction till she retrieves it from the current Fall Maiden." He told the Black Dragon mercenary.
"Huh, so that's the reason only her right eye's all glowy, ain't it?" Kano asked.
"The Fall Maiden…? What are they talking about?" Sonya whispered.
"Beats me, I'm still trying to figure out the difference between Dust and Semblance." Johnny commented.
"So you sure this little distraction is gonna keep the Huntsmen and Huntresses busy while Cinder sneaks into Beacon Academy?" Kano asked him.
"Of course it will." Goro told him as he approached him. "Her plans to recruit Emerald and Mercury worked well, even Roman Torchwick and his assistant Neo." He told him.
"So they're all working together…? I can't believe we fell for it." Ruby whispered, feeling upset.
"Even if we're working with them, what's the guarantee that they won't turn on us?" Kano asked.
"There is no guarantee." Said Shang as he walked in, earning Goro's attention as he and Kano looked at him. "They have their plans, while we have our own." He told them as he stepped down the staircase.
Goro let out a chuckle as he walked by Kano. "At least Roman has more respect for his employers." He commented as he spilled the wine onto Kano's lap, causing him to scream from how cold it was.
"Fucking hell mate! It wasn't funny the first time you did it, ya four armed wanker!" Kano yelled at him.
"But Goro has a point… unlike you, Roman was able to provide a good distraction to allow Cinder and her team into Beacon. Gaining access to the new Atlas security drones, in case anyone tries to get any ideas. That being one of the Schnee sisters." Shang stated.
Weiss's eyes widened as she was trying to hack through, her friends slowly turned towards her as she nervously put her scroll away, knowing the message plan was out the window. It was at that moment, the sound of high heels came into the room as everyone looked to see Cinder walking into the room, with someone that made Liu Kang and Blake wide eyed but glared at the second person. It was Adam, working alongside Shang Tsung and Shang Tsung. "Hope we're not late." Said Cinder.
"Not at all my dear." Shang said to her as he took her hand and kissed it, much to her delight while Kano was scowling at him, given how much of a charmer he was already.
"She should at least find a way to get Roman out, how's that coming along?" Kano asked.
"Slow going, but we're getting there. Just remember, we're the ones paying you." Cinder told him.
"What else have you brought to report?" Shang asked her.
"We've come to warn you that the Schnee girl is attempting to contact Ozpin." Cinder informed him.
"And the White Fang?" Shang asked Adam as he looked at him.
"Some will be keeping guard around the colosseum, while the rest will be competing in the tournament." Adam informed him of the White Fang's position.
"Good, good… I want this tournament to move as planned." Shang told them as he looked towards Cinder. "But we will also need to get you to Beacon so you can retrieve the Fall Maiden's power, before Ozpin can give it to another." He told her.
"I saw Liu Kang in the stadium, he will pose no problem." Goro boasted as he walked to his throne.
But Shang scowled at his prideful humor. "This is no time for foolish pride… we haven't come close to obtaining absolute victory, or gaining the Fall Maiden's power in the process. Which is why I've come to you with two other dangers… Ruby Rose and Pyrrha Nikos." He informed him.
"The scarlet warrior and the red hooded child?" Goro asked as he turned towards him. "Why should I worry about them…?" He wondered.
"Ruby Rose from what I discovered is a special case, her amazing speed makes her dangerous. But Pyrrha Nikos is worse… she has control over polarity, and Ozpin plans to give her the Fall Maidens power. She must not be allowed to retrieve it before Cinder, for she would use it to aid her allies, especially Ruby Rose." Shang informed him.
Much to Johnny's curiosity as he looked at Ruby. "What's so special about you?" He asked.
But she shrugged her shoulders in confusion. "I don't know." She told him.
"The emperor will not tolerate failure… and neither will I." He told them sternly.
Goro let out a growl as he raised his arms in response. "I do not, FAIL!" He yelled out.
"Come on, let's get out of here." Jaune told them as everyone nodded and cautiously sneaked away, but Nora was less discrete about it as she accidentally knocked over a few rocks.
This immediately caught Shang's and Cinders attention, Kano saw it as curiosity came out of him. "What…? What is it?" He asked as Goro growled looking out.
"We are not… alone." Shang told them.
Cinder narrowed her eyes and looked towards Adam. "Send your soldiers to search the halls, find who it is." She ordered as Adam nodded and walked off the relay her orders.
At that time, Liu and his friends were leading teams RWBY and JNPR through the halls as they were unaware that Pyrrha was quietly freaking out about what she heard in there. "This can't be happening, this cannot be happening." She muttered while holding her head in disbelief.
"Pyrrha, calm down, it's gonna be alright." Jaune told her.
"No Jaune, it's not gonna be alright. She knows about the Fall Maiden!" She exclaimed, still feeling shocked and upset.
"Not to interrupt, but what's all this about a Fall Maiden?" Jax asked them.
"The Fall Maiden, one of four maidens controlling the four seasons. Winter, Spring, Fall, and Summer. As of right now, the Fall Maiden is underneath Beacon Academy, in recovery. Ozpin has her there for protection, and he wanted to transfer the Maidens' power to me." Pyrrha explained.
This shocked the entire group as they looked at her, even Liu Kang found it hard to believe as he approached her. "How did you find out about the Fall Maiden…?" He asked her.
"Ozpin showed her to me… she was badly injured, but was safe in a container. But if Cinder is after her power, then I need to get to Beacon before she does." She told him as she walked ahead.
But Jaune got in her way and stopped her. "Pyrrha, no. We need to stick together." He told her.
"Jaune, I have to go, I can't let Cinder get to the Fall Maiden." She told him firmly.
It was then Sonya grabbed her shoulder and turned her forcefully towards him. "Listen red, I don't give a rat's ass about what you say. You try to leave the arena, they'll learn about it faster than you can pull out your weapon." She told her.
"You don't get it Blade, the Fall Maiden's power-" Pyrrha was about to explain.
"Is the most powerful thing in Remnant? Yeah, I get it. But we've faced far worse than what you're about to face. So stop thinking you're the only hero here, and wake up!" Sonya told her as she let go of her and shoved passed her.
Her words left Pyrrha stunned as no one had spoken to her that way before, even Jaune couldn't believe it as he walked to Pyrrha and touched her shoulder. "Come on, let's keep moving." He told her as he followed the others through the halls.
As they proceeded, Johnny walked ahead and saw an unfamiliar corridor. "Wait a second, I don't remember this." He told them as everyone examined the hall before them.
Yang and Blake looked around, seeing it was different from when they last traveled it. "Did we take a wrong turn back there?" Yang asked.
"We couldn't have, unless a certain someone accidentally alerted Shang Tsung, and he put us in a maze." Blake glanced towards Nora.
"Hey, I said I was sorry!" She exclaimed.
"Look, we can't blame her for one little mistake. Right now, we need to focus on finding a way out of here." Ren told them.
"Ren's right, this is about our survival. Maybe even the survival of our realm, therefore, we need to focus all our efforts in trying to win the tournament, and get to Beacon" Ruby told them.
"But how? Cinder is monitoring all communications, and we won't be able to escape the colosseum without them trying to kill us." Weiss told her.
"Let her, you and Sonya send an encrypted message to Ozpin, one only he'll be able to decipher." Ruby told her.
This plan got an approving nod from Jax as he crossed his arms. "I like this kid already." He said with a smirk. "Sonya, you and Weiss will work together in getting that message to Ozpin, if you get called into the arena, I'll take over and help her." He told her.
"Copy that." Sonya replied.
"Alright, let's get moving, and hope we don't run into anything else." Liu Kang told them as he led them into the corridor.
As they followed him through the corridor, it soon started looking more like a cavern with a beehive pattern. Ruby carefully pulled out Crescent Rose and activated the gun mode as Blake pulled out Gambol Shroud and put it in gun form to guard the rear as Yang prepared Ember Celica and Weiss readied Myrtenaster. Jaune pulled out Crocea Mors and opened his shield and looked around as Ren and Nora readied StormFlower and Magnhild.
Pyrrha meanwhile was still feeling Sonya's harsh words as she had Milo and Akouo out as she searched the area, even in her emotional state, she was ready. But something caught her attention as she heard rocks falling down and aimed Milo out towards the source only to see there was nothing. "Did you hear that…?" She asked as everyone looked back.
"What is it…?" Johnny asked her.
She approached the area and searched it to find what she heard, but there was nothing in sight. Liu Kang meanwhile examined the area as he noticed something on the ground as a set of footsteps were made as sand was pushed back and he looked towards Pyrrha. "Pyrrha, get down!" He yelled as her eyes widened as he leapt over her and kicked someone in the chest, he revealed himself as Reptile as he shot acid from his mouth but missed his target. "Nice try Reptile." He told him as the Faunus turned Zaterran hissed at him and ran off.
Jaune was shocked from what he saw as he pulled Pyrrha away from the dripping acid above them as he looked towards Liu Kang. "Who was that?" He asked him.
"Reptile, he's been following us since Shang Tsung found out we were nearby." Liu Kang told them.
"Oh, great, we got ourselves a shadow. Blake I can understand, but this is ridiculous." Weiss commented as Blake shot her a scowl.
"Slippery as he may be, he did manage to leave us a trail." Sonya pointed out as everyone saw his trail.
They followed the trail to see where it leads, encountering several walls of webs along the way. Johnny of course, trying to be the one to get on Sonya's goodside, takes the lead to clear the webs in their path. "Guys, not to point out the obvious, but should we really be searching for the thing that is essentially trying to kill us?" Jaune asked.
"Trust me Jaune, Reptile is known to hide in the shadows. He's the eyes and ears of our good nemesis Shang Tsung, and he tried to assassinate us on a few occasions. Not to mention he was once possessed by Onaga, the Dragon King." Johnny explained.
"Whoa, he was possessed by a Dragon King?" Nora asked him.
"Yeah, but Onaga eventually returned to his original body, leaving Reptile's. But he was not so happy when he woke up." Johnny commented as Ruby let out a snicker.
She continued to snicker as she looked at him. "Did he feel like he had a bad night's sleep?" She asked.
Kitana let out a small chuckle as she looked at her. "In more ways than one." She told her as Ruby tried to contain her laughter.
"Easy now girl." Jax told her as he walked beside her. "We need to keep a low profile, otherwise Shang and Cinder will find us." He told her.
"Right, right… low profile, quiet as a mouse, stone faced." Ruby stated to herself, but the image of Reptile looking like he had a bad night's sleep came rushing back to her and she snickered and started laughing uncontrollably.
Sonya let out a sigh and walked over to her as she pulled out a roll of duct tape and pulled a strip and put it over her mouth to shut her up, her laughter was muffled behind the tape as Sonya looked towards Yang. "Has she always been this insufferable?" She asked.
"Hey, it's Ruby, you can't help but get used to her." Yang replied as Sonya scoffed and walked away from her as everyone followed her. As they traveled down the corridor, they soon found themselves back in the dining room. "He must've doubled back to the dining room and told Shang." She theorized.
"Well, for the time being, we're safe. How long I cannot say." Kitana told them as she cleaned off some of the webs from her outfit.
Scorpion meanwhile looked around sensing movement around them, his eyes darted towards the staircase and saw three White Fangs showing up on the steps. He glared at them as Johnny noticed them and turned towards the others. "We have company." He told them.
"Great." Liu Kang replied as he saw another coming out of another corridor.
"Die traitors!" The White Fang member yelled at both Liu Kang and Blake as he went to strike them. Liu Kang immediately avoided his attack and landed three punches against him and used the dust crystals in his Dragon Bracers to surround his fists and rapidly punch his chest as he landed his palms against his torso forcing him to stumble back.
Blake leapt over Liu as she spun in mid air and slashed at him with Gambol Shroud and struck him against his neck, torso and right in between the legs as the faunus squealed in pain. She spun a high roundhouse kick and landed it against his jaw and knocked him down to the ground. Yang was surrounded by four White Fang members as they went to attack her, she smirked as she kicked one against his knee and roundhouse kicked him in the head and elbowed another in the face as she threw her fist against his stomach and blasted him away with Ember Celica. The third swung a spear at her from behind as he went to strike her against her back, Scorpion swung his dust powered rope spear and snared the spear before it could reach her.
He pulled the spear out of his hands and lunged towards him as he vanished through hellfire and appeared behind the faunus and punched him hard. He landed several blows against his chest and elbowed him against his throat and kicked him away. "Nice moves, what else you got?" Yang asked him as he smirked behind his mask and spun his spear as flames surrounded it as two White Fang members charge towards him, he spun his spear towards them and struck their chests as he landed a few punches against him and elbowed him hard in the face while Yang landed three punches against the others face.
Sub-Zero avoided the attacks of the otherWhite Fang members as he formed his kori blade and blocked one's attack as he swung his sword and blocked the more attacks he threw his blade and sliced through one of their blades with ease and kicked the other in the head. One was about to hit him from behind, but Weiss formed a shield glyph behind Sub-Zero as she unleashed an ice glyph from underneath the faunus and trapped him. "Watch your back Sub-Zero." She warned him as he shot a ball of ice towards her as she panicked and avoided it as the ice ball hit a White Fang member behind her.
"I would heed your own advice if I were you." Sub-Zero told her as he formed a cryo-dagger and stabbed it in a White Fang's arm hearing him yell as he struck him down, knocking him out. Meanwhile Jaune and Pyrrha used their shields to defend themselves as they blocked the attacks of the faunus that attacked them, Jaune reached back and grabbed Pyrrha's hand and yelled out as he pulled hard and swung Pyrrha around as she kicked each of the White Fang members square in the face. She soon took her blade and formed it into a spear as she swung it around and hit several of them in their nerve points as she saw one going for a stab to her side, she used her power of polarity to redirect the blade and she used her shield to bash him across his left cheek.
Jaune meanwhile blocked a White Fang's sword with his own as he hit him in the stomach with his shield and kneed him in the face as he caught his arm as the faunus was going for a punch, and bent it back with his shield and threw him towards the table as he rolled across it getting covered by the food and hits the floor. "Good form Jaune!" Pyrrha complimented his skill as he smiled with a nervous chuckle only to get tackled by a fallen Faunus as Pyrrha winced from seeing it happen as she waved at him. "I'm sorry!" She yelled as she narrowly avoided an attack from one of the White Fang members and knocked him away.
Jax and Sonya were back to back as a group of White Fang's surrounded them, Jax smirked as his bionics shifted around his forearms and charged up dust particles as he raised his arms up and yelled while Sonya jumped into the air as he pulled his arms down and slammed them across the ground, causing a powerful earth shake as the ground beneath the faunus around them shifted and made them lose their footing. Sonya activated her cannon gauntlets which she named Fireheart, and blasted each of the White Fang soldiers. She spread her arms out as her gauntlets came off and formed into kali sticks and landed on the ground as she slammed them against their faces as Jax pounded against them with his immense strength.
Johnny avoided a staff and caught it as he spun and backhanded the faunus, seeing him back away as he raised his right leg and shadow kicked him in the chest, knocking him back towards a wall as Kitana leapt over and kicked a faunus behind him. She opened her steel fans and threw them as the wind dust crystals activated blew past a few faunus as they got blown away and crashed against the walls, her fans returned to her as she folded them up into single blades and kicked several White Fang soldiers and slashed at their nerve points, making them lose feeling in their muscles as they collapsed.
Ren shot at the White Fang and avoided an arrow and flipped towards them as he kicked the archer that almost shot him, he blocked two spears and dodged them as Nora boosted herself into the air and swung her hammer around hitting one in the side and slammed him into the other as she yelled and threw them away. "Yeah, come on! I can take on all of you!" She boasted as she smacked one across the head behind her and smacked him towards the table as he slammed against the table.
Ruby struck another White Fang with Crescent Rose as she landed a couple of kicks and formed her scythe into a rifle and shot a few rubber bullets at them to stun them as they got hit and groaned in pain, she avoided another attack and struck the faunus who tried to assault her. She formed Crescent Rose back into a Scythe, sticking it into the ground as she swung around it and kicked him. She grabbed hold of him and swung him towards Sonya as she clotheslined him with her arm as he flipped over and slammed across the ground. Every member of the White Fang was taken down in the room around them, and all three teams were satisfied with the results of their victory. "Just the way I like'em… dumb and ugly." Sonya commented as she dusted herself off.
"Piece of cake." Johnny said as he held the staff.
"Piece of cake huh?" Liu asked as he walked up to them.
"Well it was easy for me, I mean… it felt like old times when we fought side by side." Johnny reminded them.
"Yeah, when we weren't busy killing each other." Sonya reminded him of the times they had to fight each other.
"Oh come on, will you let that go? We're standing… they're not… what more do you want?" Johnny asked them only to hear hands slowly clapping, they turned around to see Raiden sitting amongst the steps before them.
He clapped slowly as he looked at them with a satisfied smile on his face. "Brilliant… absolutely brilliant." He complimented all of them for their skills. "So why don't you show me what you plan to do about… them." He looked behind them as the three teams looked back and their eyes widened in shock, a whole army of White Fang stood behind them as they whipped out their weapons and yelled at the heroes. They began to march towards them, causing Raiden to lift a finger to the air to get their attention. "Uh-uh." He called out as they looked at him, lightning sparked at the tip of his finger as he looked at them. "I don't think so." He told them, chuckling as his eyes glowed and he stood up to walk to his champions. "I think you'll find that this is the way out." He told them as he walked towards the White Fang as they stepped aside to let him pass.
Teams RWBY and JNPR followed along with Raiden's fighters as they walked out of the room, while Johnny tossed the bo staff to one of the faunus seeing him catch it. "You guys are lucky you stopped us." He pointed out as he followed after Raiden and the others, while the White Fang watched them leave and wondered who would be the one to report to Adam.
The three teams made it out of the halls to find themselves in the stadium as they followed Raiden. "So now you have seen who and what you'll be facing in the tournament." He said to them as he walked with them.
"You mean that big four armed guy? Goro, was it…?" Nora asked him.
"Then there's Cinder, who we thought was our friend." Ruby pointed out.
"There's also Adam." Blake said as she was downright pissed with what she learned.
"Oh, and that Reptile, guy." Jaune pointed out.
"That leaves only Rain and Noob Saibot." Kitana told them.
"And Shang Tsung." Raiden added the last one to the list.
"Will Shang Tsung enter the tournament?" Liu asked.
"If he chooses to." Raiden replied as he held his hand behind his back. "As the current Champion of Mortal Kombat, he has the right to do so." He told him as he turned to him and the others. "And you know full well that he is far worse than Goro and the rest, never forget it." He advised them as he walked off. "Tomorrow the tournament begins… be prepared." He told them as he disappeared.
(Vale - Beacon Academy)
Meanwhile in an office at Beacon Academy, a pair of hands slammed on the desk as Qrow shot a glare at the headmaster himself, Ozpin. "What do you mean you can't get in?!" He asked angrily.
"Whatevers affecting the Amity Colosseum is an element we have never seen before, and there is no way of getting through the barrier that now surrounds it." Ozpin explained to him as he stood up and looked at Qrow and Winter. "All we can do now is wait for confirmation that everyone is safe." He told them.
"Our family members are trapped in there, and you expect us to do nothing?! My sister has been thrown into a deathmatch, I am not going to lose her!" Winter yelled.
"You don't need to worry about her Winter." James approached as she looked at him with disgust on her face. "Sonya Blade and Jackson Briggs are in the colosseum as we speak, they'll keep her safe until we find a way in." He assured her.
"With all due respect, sir… I do not trust Blade with the wellbeing of my sister." Winter argued.
"Winter's right, she's a wild card." Glynda told Ozpin as she crossed her arms.
"That, and then there's the matter of your tin soldiers, the ones responsible for hacking them are in that colosseum. They could unleash them on the town whenever they want." Qrow informed him as he looked out towards the colosseum. "So we cannot take any chances of a frontal assault, otherwise it would result in everyone getting hurt." He explained.
"Qrow's right, we need to give the children a fighting chance, and hope they come out alive." Ozpin stated as he looked out the window, knowing this had his enemies name written all over it, but there was something else, something he had not anticipated. Something that he needed to be prepared for, or else things will get much worse.
(Author Notes: He guys, Leonidas1994 here. Just finished up the latest chapter of Mortal Kombat x RWBY: A New Beginning, and so far, it looks good. But you guys will be the judge of that,of course. Anyways, I wanted this chapter to be interesting, and I am still working on naming the weapons, which is not easy by the way. I hope you guys enjoy the chapter.)