A/N: Well I know I still suck with the updates, but for some reason this was a really hard chapter to write. The story is reaching its end and there should be about one more chapter left of it, which for once I've already started on. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter!
Everyone froze as they watched Shang Tsung hit the wall of the castle. That was the last action they had expected out of their lifelong enemy. Of course they knew that he didn't do it to help them, but because the two sorcerers were foolish enough to get in Kahn's way of reaching his goals.
"Do you think I need help from lowly sorcerers such yourselves?!" He summoned another spear and prepared to fire, "Prepare yourself!" He fired multiple spears at the shape-shifter, each of the spears being dodged somewhat smoothly as he made his way back over to the platform.
"Look here warlord, all we want is your brother and I never thought I would have to say this, but if we have to go through you to get him," he began making the motions for another fireball, "then that's fine with me!"
The fireball flew straight to Kahn with the warlord not even attempting to move out of the way until the last second when he swung his hammer through the flames and dispersed them with ease. Shang could see the wide smirk under Kahn's mask grow even more, causing Shang to growl evilly.
"Would you like to try that again Sorcerer?"
Shang Tsung knew better than to try the emperor in head first in hand to hand combat. It seemed like even this version of the emperor could match him blow for blow, but sorcery on the other hand, that was something this Kahn didn't have a full grip over just yet.
"I think I would." Shang concentrated on all of the different forms he could take for this battle and smirked as he thought of the perfect one. He released his magic and knew his transformation was completed when he heard the low growling of the emperor, who was now face to face with his mirror image.
"Now let's see if we can't do this right this time."
The clash of the hammers from both of the Kahn's echoed throughout the courtyard. It was a sight the Earthrealm fighters never thought possible. Shang swung his hammer wildly and hit the future emperor in the chest knocking him back across the platform. Kahn roared loudly and powered up another spear, firing it with as much energy he could muster. Shang dodged it easily and fired back with an energy spear of his own. Kahn refused to dodge and held his hand up as a green shield enveloped him. The spear hit the shield, with it slowly disappearing as it was unable to reach its target, however Kahn wasn't prepared for the second spear that soon was flying straight at him. He tried to reinforce his shield, but he couldn't risk over using his energy just yet, he still had his fight with Raiden to finish.
The spear hit him in the chest, cracking his armor and sending him to his knees. He glared as he heard the sorcerer mocking him, with his own body nonetheless! He wasn't going to stand for this! He could feel his anger growing inside him; he stood and began to charge toward his clone, his body picking up speed as he moved until he charged right into Shang, sending him flying off the platform and back into his own form.
Kahn's evil laughter filled the arena as he walked toward the sorcerer, "You will never win!" Shang growled as he jumped up and began forming a fireball, this one much stronger than previous ones. All he needed to do was keep Kahn busy and let Quan Chi handle Raiden. As much as he wanted to kill the thunder God himself, having the emperor on his knees bowing before him sounded like a pretty good plan as well.
Then he felt it, the stinging cold that was always around him whenever he took the form of Sub-Zero, but it was impossible! He had made sure that the Lin-Kuei would have no chance of making back to the castle. Even if he did, he shouldn't have nearly as much power as he did then. He launched the fireball in the direction of the cold just in time, as it undid the damage the Sub-Zero had started. Shang growled at the Lin-Kuei, who shockingly, looked better than he had when they had first fought.
As he focused on Sub-Zero, Kahn took the sorcerer's moment of distraction to charge at him once more. Shang Tsung only realized too late that emperor was too close for him to dodge or even teleport out of the way. He took the hit from Kahn head on, the spikes on his shoulder pads piercing his chest from the force of the blow. As he landed he braced himself and planned out a counter for Kahn's next attack, but it never came. As he looked back over at Sub-Zero, he saw why. It seemed like this fight may work out in his favor as well.
Sub-Zero was angry. No he was beyond angry. He was going to make sure the sorcerer paid for what he did. In a way, he had to thank Shang Tsung. If the sorcerer hadn't teleported him so far into Outworld, he never would have found that village of cryomancers or been able to use their armor, which regenerated his powers much quicker than his own. He was going to exact his revenge and not even Shao Kahn would get in his way.
He saw the future emperor began to charge toward the struggling emperor again and acted quickly; activating his freezing powers and encasing his lower body in a prison of ice so strong that even Shao Kahn would take some time in breaking it. He walked calmly over to Shang Tsung, his arms glowing brightly with his newly enhanced freezing powers.
"Well sorcerer, I bet you didn't plan on seeing me again."
"You're right, but this time I'll have to make sure that I won't!" The sorcerer fired a volley of fireballs at the Lin-Kuei before charging behind him, his fist raised high. Sub-Zero managed the block the fireballs and the punch, only to be hit by another punch to the chest. "Don't think your new powers are still going to be a match for me." Shang hissed.
"I don't need to think about it!" he shouted as he fired an ice beam, "I already know they're more than a match for you!"
Shang Tsung readily responded with a steady stream of fireballs which continued to neutralize the ice. Shang could feel the beam getting weaker as his fireballs managed to get closer and closer to his target. He decided he was through playing around and increased the speed of his blasts. He knew well of the cryomancers, but knew that even with the use of their armor, Sub-Zero's ice powers would never be a match for his control over fire.
Sub-Zero knew exactly what Shang Tsung was thinking, and usually he would be right, but the armor wasn't the only thing they gave him. He increased his powers and slowly began to overwhelm the sorcerer. As he pushed the sorcerer back against the castle wall he allowed himself a grin under his mask. Revenge certainly was enjoyable.
Shang Tsung couldn't believe it. Sub-Zero's powers had actually managed to beat his own. The ice continued back toward him until it had him trapped against the castle as finally made contact, instantly freezing his hands solid. Shang growled as the bitter cold continued to spread up his arms and down his body, he continued to focus his power into his hands to attempt to unfreeze himself, but each time he did his hands became more deeply frozen. He tried to transform, but became furious when he could not. Between the ice encasing his body and the lack of souls he'd consumed lately his powers were beginning to weaken.
"This isn't over Lin-Kuei! You will not win this!" He bellowed as the ice finally encased his head, and rendered him for once, completely silent.
Sub-Zero increased the ice beam until he could no longer see the sorcerer's face before stopping it. He looked down at his chest and tapped on the dragon medallion he had been given by the cryomancers as it sat next to the one he had received in the future. He would have to find some way to thank that village for the power boost. Now that half of the threat was gone, he turned to where Quan Chi stood as he prepared to attack, only to be stopped by Jade. "Wait, let Liu handle this for a bit. If you try to freeze him now, it won't do any good. He's still to strong right now. Just watch closely for an opening and we'll take him out that way."
"I understand." He said calmly as he gazed between the frozen Shang Tsung and the battle unfolding with Quan Chi, "Let's hope they can weaken him quickly enough."
Quan Chi watched the battle from high on the surrounding wall. Shang Tsung could be such an impatient fool. He had been so focused on the fight and looking for an opening against Raiden that he only felt the intense heat at the very last second. He quickly ducked, the fireball scorching the stone wall behind him. He fired back a succession of skull blasts back at the monk that had once again dared to get in his way.
Liu managed to dodge most of the blasts and even managed to fire back a few of his own, but was caught off guard just by the sheer number of them. He thought there were no more left, but all he heard was Raiden's shout of "LIU!" before he found himself tackled and few feet away from where the blast destroyed another part of the platform.
He realized Raiden had teleported them out of the way at the last second, but the fact he had any of his powers at this time confused him, wasn't he supposed to be human right now? He glanced over at the other man kneeling beside him panting harshly. It looked like whatever was giving him his powers was taking a toll on him. "Raiden are you all right? You should regain your strength for Kahn and let me handle this."
Raiden shook his head violently and stood shakily. "I don't think so. I'm fine. It's just the dark arts take a toll on the user if they aren't used to them." He sent a glare at the sorcerer who just smiled mockingly at them, "These guys wanted me so badly, so now they have to deal with what happens when they get me!"
Liu stood beside him and nodded. "Let's do this."
Quan Chi grinned at this turn of events. He slid easily into his fighting stance, eagerly waiting for the first attack. He wasn't surprised that Shang Tsung had failed, he could never see the big picture, but he'll just have to show just how it was he had survived for so long. Part of him was slightly curious about just how much power Raiden had at this time and as he and the monk began toward him, it seemed he was about to find out.
Liu made contact first, with a flying kick that was easy enough for Quan Chi dodge and land a hard punch to the monk's stomach, knocking him to the ground. He winced as he was knocked forward by a kick from Raiden, who had teleported behind him while he was busy with Liu.
Quan Chi kicked his leg back and was pleased with the solid crack and thud he heard as his foot landed hard in Raiden's chest and sent him back into one of the stone courtyard walls. He was met with a strong punch from Liu, which he managed to block and sent a punch of his own against his opponent. They continued to trade blows, and even with Quan Chi in his injured state he was still managing to hold his own against Liu.
The sorcerer looked for an opening in Liu's defenses and smirked as he found it. Quan Chi knew how the monk's parries worked. He would disappear and reappear behind his opponent, and as he set himself up to give him a chance to use it, he quickly spun around and met the punch that was heading toward his chest, only to be completely unguarded against the kick heading toward his head from Raiden.
Liu Kang used this distraction to launch into the air, landing a bicycle kick to Quan Chi. The kick had the unfortunate effect of knocking him within arm's length of Shao Kahn, who was using his hammer to try and free himself from Sub-Zero's ice, Kahn caught him by the neck and slammed his head multiple times in ice and used his hammer to slam him in the chest, sending him flying back to Liu and Raiden.
When Liu closed in to attempt a finishing blow, Quan Chi open a portal beneath him and fell through it. As the two fighters frantically looked around for him, without warning Raiden suddenly fell to the ground. Liu immediately began launching fireballs as he stomped mercilessly on Raiden while he laughed loudly. While he dodged Liu's fireballs he kicked Raiden away, having grown bored with stomping on the other warrior.
He quickly fired a volley of skull blasts at Liu, which he had deflected with ease. Quan Chi smirked. He knew his plan would work. If he got the normally controlled monk to see red, it would be easy to overcome his rage filled and wild movements. He could see Liu's eyes ablaze with anger as he fought with him. Every punch and every kick trying to slowly wear away at his defenses and growing wilder, with sparks of flame appearing, with every failed strike to bring him down.
He waited for the monk to get closer before he cast his spell forcing Liu to give control over his body to him. Quan Chi chuckled darkly as he watched him struggle valiantly against his magic. "Release me sorcerer! Can you not beat me without having to use a spell?"
Quan Chi had the perfect idea of what do with Liu as he turned him to walk toward Shao Kahn and Shang Tsung. He'd let the emperor beat up on the monk for a bit, and then drain every last bit of energy he had to release Shang Tsung before they stole his soul. "I could easily beat you with or without my magic, but doing it this way, will make your end much more enjoyable to me."
Raiden saw what was about to happen was about to rush in before he had an idea. He had one more trick up his sleeve. He was hoping to save this move to use against Kahn, but desperate times called for desperate measures. He glanced over at Sub-Zero, who caught his gaze and nodded. Apparently he had been waiting for this, which worked in Raiden's favor, as that was one less thing he had to worry about.
He tried to keep an eye on Liu's distance from his brother as he focused his energy for the attack. He had one shot at this, if he missed, the last of his energy would have been used for nothing and he couldn't let that happen. His energy at his peak, he charged at Quan Chi and used his energy to propel himself into the sorcerer's back with a shout.
The sorcerer was shocked when he felt the full force of Raiden's body behind him and the shocks he felt from the hands gripping onto his back. The force of the attack caught him off guard and he dropped the spell against Liu, mere feet before he would have reached Kahn. With Raiden's grip on him, he couldn't create a portal without taking him a long with him, but it wouldn't be a problem. This version of Raiden had very little power and he could feel the grip beginning to loosen.
Raiden was running out of energy. The torpedo attack was the last technique he learned and couldn't perform it over great distances, so when he felt the temperature drop around him he knew Sub-Zero was in position and it was time for him to break free. He released Quan Chi's back and used his momentum to back flip onto the ground, but only then did he realize his mistake.
Quan Chi smirked as he prepared to open a portal. With the distance Raiden had released him, he had regained enough control to escape and avoid Sub-Zero's ice blast. He saw the portal began to open as he flew toward it, only to feel searing hot blasts of heat at his back which forced his concentration on the portal to weaken and the portal itself to grow smaller until it disappeared. It was the monk's damned fireballs that were going to send him into the icy prison. He could already feel it getting more difficult to move and he could see the light sheen of ice on his arms become thicker.
He tried to fire some skull blasts into the ice in an attempt to the Lin-Kuei down but none of them reach the target and they, in turn, crashed into him as he traveled through the ice, shattering and beginning to reopen his wounds from the previous battle. The block of ice began to grow larger and larger until it dropped to the ground with a solid thud; even then Sub-Zero continued the beam until it was hard to tell that something was even inside.
Liu went over to Raiden who had continued to kneel on the ground where he had landed and helped him up, "Are you alright?"
Raiden nodded and gently shrugged off Liu's arm as he walked over the platform "Yes, but it's time to finish this. No more interruptions. This has gone on for too long."
The courtyard was calm. The deadly alliance had been encased in ice and the main threat was gone. It was time to get back to the reason that they were there in the first place. Kahn had finally freed himself from Sub-Zero's ice prison and Raiden stepped back onto the destroyed platform. Kahn ripped off the rest of his armor, throwing it to the ground and causing the rock of the platform to crack even more. Raiden slipped back into his fighting stance, shrugging off the remains of his robes to give him more freedom and mobility for the fight.
"No more tricks brother. We finish this fight like mortals, hand to hand, but if you're too much of a coward to face me that way then that's fine by me."
Kahn's laughed as he fell into his stance, "I am far from a coward as you well know, but if you wish to die like the pathetic beings we conqueror, I guess I can lower myself enough to grant you that final wish."
They charged at each other instantly, putting every ounce of energy they had left into every blow. Between their battle from earlier and their fights with the deadly alliance, they knew they had to end this quickly. Raiden still managed to meet Kahn blow for blow, this time even managing to land more of his own blows, as he could easily see that his brother was beginning to lose speed.
Raiden could see the barrage of punches coming from a mile away, and managed to dodge all of them but the last, since for once Kahn had decided to use some strategy in his fighting so instead of blocking a punch, he ended up taking a hard kick to chest which landed him flat on his back and gasping for air.
Raiden quickly rolled out of the way of the huge stomp aimed right for his head and grabbed his staff, using it to sweep Kahn's feet from underneath him. He brought it down hard on his chest, keeping him on the ground for a few extra moments, and swung it around once more, but all it met was rock as Kahn rolled out the way at the last moment.
Kahn quickly got back to his feet, only to stumble back as he was jabbed in the stomach by Raiden's staff. He quickly spun it around and brought it down hard on top of Kahn's head, when that only caused him to stagger, Raiden brought it down again, finally knocking Kahn back to the ground.
Raiden watched as Kahn rolled to his back in an attempt to stand, and fail miserably. He circled around his brother as he waited to find the perfect time to land his finishing blow. When he saw Kahn finally stop attempting to move, he knew it was time to strike. He leaped high into the air; his staff raised high as he brought it down over his brother's motionless form.
Shao Kahn's eyes snapped open at the moment and he brought up his hands and caught the staff right as it made contact, smirking evilly at his brother's shocked face. He used his strength and tossed the staff and Raiden along with it off the platform and skidding along the ground of the courtyard. Kahn charged after him, reaching him just as he stood and rammed into him, sending into a courtyard wall. He grabbed Raiden's staff and then went over to his brother and grabbed him by the arm and began to drag him back to the platform before tossing him into to it and throwing his staff next to him.
Raiden stood weakly and braced his weight on his staff. He tried moving the arm that Kahn had drug him by, but could only barely manage any movement. He watched as Kahn summoned his hammer and started toward him again. He was put on the defensive again as Kahn attempted to land blows with his hammer. At the sound of the first crack he looked down in shock, his staff was beginning to splinter.
He never thought it was possible. It was made from the wood of the trees in the living forest; it was one of the strongest materials throughout the realm. He didn't think that Kahn would have the strength to break it, but his last strike snapped it in two. Now he was left with only half an offense and barely any defense with his useless arm. He dodged every strike he could; knowing that one direct shot from that hammer would end him in a heartbeat.
It was obvious to Kahn that Raiden was at the edge, and all he had to do was push him over. In the state Raiden was in, it was nearly impossible for him to attack. All he could do was defend and evade and hope that he would see and evade. That wasn't going to happen. He watched Raiden stumble after he attempted to block his last hammer strike with his arm, and Kahn would remember the joy he felt when heard the bones in Raiden's arm shatter against the steel of his hammer. Kahn saw his opening and took it, slamming his hammer full force into Raiden's chest and sliding across the ground once again, this time landing in the crater that was created from the force of the blow. The Earthrealm fighters watched with quickly fleeting hope that Raiden would get up again. They saw no motion from their friend anymore as they watched Kahn's deadly smirk as he walked towards Raiden.
"It's time to finish you brother."
Liu didn't want to watch this. Who would want to watch their mentor, their friend, their-" He shook his head and tried to bury that thought. He couldn't stand to watch any of his friends be killed right in front of his eyes. There had to be something they were missing. Raiden and Kahn's fight couldn't end this way! As Liu watched Kahn stalk towards Raiden's nearly unconscious form, his hands burned with the need to burn Kahn to charcoal the closer he got to Raiden, but he knew he could do nothing but stand where he was.
He began to feel strange. He glanced at the medallion Raiden had given to him when it was time to return and his eyes widened. It was beginning to glow and getting brighter by the second. He knew what that meant. Their time here was reaching its end.
"Well then little brother," Kahn said mockingly as he stalked over, hammer ready for the finishing blow. "Bet you didn't think it would end this way. Not after all the help you had from the monk, or having them all here supporting you." He crouched over Raiden, giving the other man one last punch to the jaw, "Aren't you going to beg for your life? I know you want to and it would make my killing you so much sweeter."
Raiden managed to weakly open his eyes and glared at his brother, "Not on your life Kahn! You might as well kill me now, or you'll spend an eternity waiting for me to beg."
Kahn smirked, "Well have it your way brother," He stood to his full height and spun his hammer before raising it over his head for the blow, "I guess the Elder Gods will be coming for your soul first after all!" He put his full strength behind the hammer as he brought down right to the spot where Raiden's head would be.
At that moment a bright crash of lightning appeared in the sky and a beam of white light enveloped the platform along with Kahn and Raiden and the light from the medallion reached its peak, forcing the others shield their eyes. It created a smaller pillar of light that rivaled the one from the sky. When light disappeared and the fighters risked opening their eyes once again, they were met with a sight that shocked them into silence.
Kung Lao was the first to regain his bearings and voiced the same thought that was on everyone's minds, "What are the Elder Gods doing here?!"