Chapter 7: What's A 'Soulnado'?
Sub-Zero steps threw the doorway followed by Johnny Cage, Smoke and Kabal. "What the hell?" Cage mutters. Pulling down his sunglasses he looks over Kintaro and Goro with surprise. "This shit just keeps getting weirder and weirder."
"Weak, pathetic humans, you shall die!" Kintaro spats. Kano, who was standing behind the group of soldiers chuckles while reaching down to retrieve the knives he keeps strapped to his lower calves. Sub-zero, however, freezes Kano completely in a sheet of ice before he even touches the blades. The Black Dragon mercenary leans over frozen much like a human ice sculpture. He does the same to Kintaro and Goro. More power is required to freeze the Shokans, as they are not only big, but require a thicker sheet of ice otherwise they may break free quickly.
Standing idle for a moment to regain himself, Sub-zero watches his friends free the soldiers. As the shackles are freed from Delta 1 the ice over the Shokans begin to break. "Go, all of you. Now!" Sub-zero orders.
"Let's go! C'mom!" orders one of the soldiers, when some begin to hesitate. They hastily run through the doorway just as Goro and Kintaro escape the icy embrace. Goro smacks Cage, who is closest to them, away in the chest. Flying backwards he hits a beam next to Kabal. "Shit…." Kabal mutters. Kneeling next to the movie star, he attempts to bring him back to consciousness. "Pretty boy, wake up," he says shaking the movie star's shoulder.
Smoke and Sub-zero exchange knowing glances. Understanding whom their opponents are, Goro moves towards Sub-zero while Kintaro makes for Smoke.
Kintaro charges. His brutality, however, is no match for Smoke's trickster ways. Vanishing into a barely visible blur, Smoke flips over him. Slightly confused at this, Kintaro is unable to dodge the smoke bomb thrown onto him. Growling in annoyance, the Shokan searches for his opponent impatiently. Movement to his left causes him to turn to attack. Anticipating that his opponent would simply attack his movement, Smoke moves with extreme agility to the right. Using his upper cut he smacks Kintaro backwards. In doing so he also turns himself visible once more.
The Shokan vocalizes an irate growl as he hastily gets to his feet. Smoke moves to use his shake attack, but instead grabs air. Realizing his mistake, the ninja is too late as the painful weight of Kintaro crushes down upon him. Grabbing Smoke's pants, he slides him across the floor. Flexing his muscles as though an audience eagerly watches him, Kintaro is heedless to Smoke's immediate recovery. The Lin Kuei smacks twice in the face and, as a finishing, a sharp hit to the abdomen. Kintaro keels over at the sharp pain in such a tender spot.
Smoke may be fighting excellently, but his cockiness at the favoring of the kombat flaws him. Dashing forward to execute a move, Smoke is suddenly grabbed in the leg by his opponent. Overwhelmed by Kintaro's strength, Smoke is unable to kick his leg free. Moving to break the grasp with his free leg he is stopped when Kintaro stands up. Dangling from his caught leg, Smoke smacks the unprotected abdomen. A grunt of pain is the assurance of his hit, but Kinataro is too determined to perform his move to be stopped by this. Flipping Smoke in the air, the Shokan grabs him by the waist with two arms. He uses his other two arms for beating. Perfecting well-preformed hits to his opponent, Kintaro then tosses him aside. Smoke skids roughly onto the wooden floor.
Sub-zero parries Goro's roundabout smack. Immediately jumping to the offense, he slides into his opponent sending him tripping backwards. Goro regains himself only to be frozen by a sudden icebeam. Helpless and infuriated, the Shokan can do nothing as Sub-zero advances. Executing well-aimed punches, Sub-zero then summons an ice sword. With a fluent movement the deadly blade slices both of Goro's upper arms deeply. Dark red blood weeps furiously from the wounds.
Moving to strike the sword threw Goro's chest, Sub-zero's blade is broken by a hard punch to its flat side. He trains himself on defense as he parries Goro's brutal, bruising smacks. Flipping over the Shokan, he uppercuts. Infuriated, Goro regains himself. He instantly takes offense and successfully smacks Sub-zero multiple times. Stumbling backwards, the blue clad Lin Kuei freezes Goro's foot to the ground just as he makes to jump. Taken back by, Goro vainly attempts to pull his leg from the secure ice while keeping his balance.
Vulnerability is immediately taken advantage of in kombat. Trained to see the gain and instantaneously taking it, Sub-zero dashes forward. A surge of energy flows threw him as he moves to make his attack. Focusing the vigor, he preforms a Deep Freeze.
Goro tumbles backwards and falls to his side in an unconscious heap. "All those claws and teeth, yet still overmatched, " Sub-zero comments. He turns to see Smoke has finished Kintaro as well. The tiger-like Shokan also lies unconscious. Smoke, like Sub-zero, has sustained only minor wounds.
"What the hell happened?" Cage asks sitting up and rubbing his throbbing head.
"You were knocked unconscious," Smoke replies, "No matter now, we must find Quan Chi." Kabal assist Johnny to his feet, before following Sub-zero and Smoke. "Look," Cage says as he gets in behind the Lin Kuei, " I know you two are trying to act Kung Fu-ey and every thing, but do we even know where this guy is?"
"The cemetery," Sub-zero replies.
"Oh right. I get it. He's a creepy guy, so he'll be in the graveyard?"
-0-
Sonya's waist radio sits in the middle of the table. Placed on speaker, anyone can hear and be heard. The warriors stand silently, however. They are awaiting a report from the group sent out. The radio crackles to life suddenly. "This is Smoke. We've found Quan Chi. He appears to creating some sort of… spell." Before the Lin Kuei takes his finger off the output button there is the close voice of Johnny Cage saying, "Holy shit! Are you seeing this?" Raiden, who makes to reply, unexpectedly receives a vision. A massive Soulnado painted in shades of harlequin and mint engulfs the city the New York. Great and horrible devastation and death follow in its wake.
Nightwolf is standing closest to the Thundergod and is the first to notice the intense faraway look on his face. "Raiden, what is it? What do you see?"
"One of Shao Kahn's Soulnados on a scale I thought unimaginable. All of Earthrealm's souls imprisoned, absorbed by Shao Kahn, multiplying his power," he quietly replies.
"That is what they have found?" Raiden does not reply, and looks at his amulet to see more cracks and a burned signature upon it. "No matter my efforts, the future remains in peril… How could I have failed Earthrealm?"
"Do not lose faith in the spirits, Raiden. They will guide you. Protect you," Nightwolf assures him. Turning to the radio, he says, "Sub-zero, Smoke, we will disrupt the Soulnado. I will be there momentarily."