Sonya and Johnny gasped simultaneously. They, too, were shocked to see their former ally standing up on the stage, an air of dull rage sealed into his expression by Quan Chi's spell. But they were nothing compared to Raiden, whose eyes had grown impossibly wide in terror at the sight of his former student.

The audience booed the thunder god for his cowardice as Quan Chi grinned maniacally in sadistic glee. He pointed Raiden out for Liu Kang. The latter robotically began his descent down the stairs of the stage towards his prey.

Raiden stood trapped like a lab rat; realizing Liu Kang was coming closer, he took a step backwards for each one that his pupil took forward.

"No!" Sonya cried out, trying to jump forward to intercept the confrontation.

"Do not move!" Fujin commanded her, gripping her arm and planting her back in her place. Sonya looked back at him, surprised and agitated.

"What do you suggest we do, then?" she demanded.

Fujin looked away, a troubled expression on his face.

"We must let Raiden finish this on his own," he finally said, although he didn't look too much like he wanted to follow his own advice.

In the meantime, Raiden had been stepping as far away from Liu Kang as possible as the zombie shell of the Shaolin warrior advanced slowly, unflinching. Unfortunately, there was only so far that Raiden could go; he continued until he was back in front of the other fighters, leading to one, who was apparently ready for some more violence to help him forget about that which he had suffered, who took it upon himself to shove Raiden back out into the open space of the arena.

Raiden stumbled before looking back up to see Liu Kang staring him down emotionlessly. He stood, locked in the dead gaze of his past ally. As if trembling like a fool wasn't enough, the beat-up Raiden now seemed to be hyperventilating as well, losing him even more points from the crowd. Quan Chi continued to watch in delight.

Liu Kang stood opposite him, wordlessly. Raiden was paralyzed as well, but not for the same reason. He had no idea how he was to make to through this fight; the thought of having to face Liu Kang again, to defeat Liu Kang again, was more than he could bear.

Raiden gasped for breath that would hopefully give him strength.

"…Liu Kang," he choked out. The soul of the fallen warrior only blinked in response, reminding Raiden that his attempts to reach out to him may have been in vain, but Raiden pushed forward.

"Liu Kang," he repeated, more assertively this time, but his voice still wavered. "Please, forgive me."

The audience hushed down upon seeing the fighter down in the ring appear to attempt to initiate a conversation. They waited to hear what he had to say. Johnny and Sonya listened attentively as well.

"You were right to criticize me," Raiden continued, even though Liu Kang registered no sign of recognition. "It is because of my foolishness that so many have fallen to misfortune, you included."

Quan Chi sneered, having been hoping that the fight would have started and ended quickly. But he settled for listening to Raiden's pathetic speech.

"This is all my fault," Raiden pressed on, even though his voice began again to falter. "I am deeply sorry."

Liu Kang's face was still blank. There were murmurs in the audience, questioning whether the lightning fighter was losing his mind. Raiden surely felt like that was the case as he continued to look at Liu Kang. Frustrated with the lack of response, Raiden settled for one last-ditch gesture.

"Please, Liu Kang," Raiden croaked out again, dropping to his knees. "Please forgive me."

Raiden bowed down in submission, pressing his forehead against the dirt and placing his hands in front of him to shield his pathetic expression.

"Oh my God," Sonya whimpered from the crowd, tearing up as she witnessed Raiden prostrating himself in front of an unwavering Liu Kang. The rest of the audience had grown completely silent. Even those in the highest of the stands were able to hear Raiden on the ground as he continued to plead for forgiveness.

"Please, Liu Kang," Raiden continued to blubber, muffled by his face down position. "Forgive me."

Not a single sound arose in the entire stadium. The audience watched, entranced by the dramatic display. Quan Chi frowned, wondering both why the thunder god was wasting his time and why Liu Kang had not acted yet.

The silence disheartened Raiden even further. But it was not the audience he cared about; he waited only for a sign of acknowledgement from Liu Kang. A minute passed and he still received no response.

But he did hear a shuffle in the dirt.

A little bit of his hope restored, but still not knowing what to expect, Raiden hesitantly and shakily began to lift himself from the ground, respectfully avoiding eye contact with Liu Kang. But he ached to see Liu Kang's reaction.

And so he looked up.

And the last bit of hope Raiden had left was shattered as Liu Kang drove his foot into his face.

There was a terrifying uproar from the audience as Raiden went flying backwards into the dirt. The crowds continued to howl with approval as Raiden lay motionless on the ground.

"NO!" came the screech from the crowd of fighters as Sonya barged out from Fujin's grasp, rushing out into the open to tend to Raiden. Johnny followed in hot pursuit, with a reluctant Fujin trailing after him. Many in the crowds continued to boo the lot of them as Sonya and Johnny flipped Raiden around, causing Sonya to gasp once she saw the blood gushing out from Raiden's broken nose.

"Raiden?" she asked gingerly, ignoring the crowds. "Can you hear me?"

There was little Raiden could do to respond; he could barely look at her through the dirt and blood that clouded his vision. But he managed to emit a weak groan that let her know he was still conscious, but only partially.

"Shit," Johnny remarked once he caught a clear view of Raiden's face. "What do we do now?"

Unfortunately, Sonya was too busy paying attention to their severely battered friend to answer him; not that she would have had the opportunity to do so anyway, because once Quan Chi witnessed the three of them rush out into the open, his eyes lit up like a cat had spotted a mouse. He seized his opportunity now, knowing that Earthrealm's only defenders would not be around to protect her.

"Kombatants!" he cried out once more, earning many puzzled looks on the ground. "I thank you for putting on a spectacular performance today!"

Sticking two gloved fingers into his mouth, Quan Chi then let out a piercing whistle that rung throughout the stadium. Immediately Reptile materialized next to him, and deposited an unknown artifact into the sorcerer's open hand.

"But the true show is about to begin!"

Okay, the last line was kind of cheesy. But I do think Quan Chi would ham it up for a situation like this.