The former Lin Keui assassin, Smoke, stood alone in his room.

He was in his battle gear, which consisted mostly of grey. He looked very much like Bi-Han did ten years ago, the only difference being his mask. Unlike Bi-Han's, Smoke's mask has three vents on it. Two were on the side, the other being over his mouth. They were so he could breathe when he threw his smoke bombs at people.

Earlier that day, it was decided to keep Stryker in Kung Lao's room. Smoke didn't argue, although it would be a pain to bring all of his healing equipment with him to Kung Lao's room. He paced back and forth, wondering what was in store for him in the tournament.

His team believes he is here because he disagreed with Bi-Han's leadership, with the last straw being the Shirai Ryu slaughter. This is only partly true. While he was disgraced by the murder of their rival clan, he left only three months ago because of what the clan wanted to do to him. They wanted to turn him into a soulless machine. They wanted to turn him into a cyborg.

The Cyber-Initiative.

They first turned two of their greatest warriors, Cyrax and Sektor, into cyborgs, much to Cyrax's displeasure. Then they turned Smoke and Kaui Liang's, Bi-Han's brother, sifu, Hydro, into a cyborg. Smoke was forced to kill Hydro. He then escaped the temple, and has been jumping around Decon City since then.

Then he heard of the tournament. He was kept in the dark about a lot of things at the Lin Keui temple, but he had known about some tournament for quite some time now. He just didn't know what it meant. He had attempted to compete for years, and after Kaui Liang's disappearance. Smoke just hoped if he was alive, that Kaui Liang didn't suffer like the others. Smoke dug into a pocket concealed by his vest and pulled out a picture taken long ago.

It was a black and white photo, showing a young Smoke and Kuai Liang laughing.

Smoke chuckled at the memory, but I was quickly stifled when he heard a knock at his door. Smoke rolled his grey eyes, walking towards his door. He opened it up, expecting to see one of his teammates. Instead he was meet with a punch to the face. He fell to the ground, breaking many objects in his room. He looked up, but immediately regretted it.

A very powerful, and very pissed, Bi-Han stood in the doorway. Bi-Han kicked Smoke in the side, causing the grey assassin to cough. Bi-Han pulled on Smoke's stealth hood, ripping it off. Smoke's long, white hair spilled out, much to his anger. Bi-Han grabbed it, lifting him up.

He looked Smoke into his eyes, and said, "You will pay for abandoning the Lin Keui!"

Smoke shouted behind his mask, "And you will pay for destroying our souls!"

Bi-Han went into a fit of laughter. He wiped away a fake tear, and said, "You and your free will. I will make sure every last remnant of free will is eradicated in the clan. And I will start with you."

"BI-HAN!" yelled a voice behind him.

Bi-Han turned to face the person, seeing his longtime rival; Scorpion. Scorpion tackled Bi-Han to the ground, causing the Lin Keui grandmaster to let go of Smoke. Bi-Han protected his face, unsuccessfully, against Scorpion's punches. The Shirai Ryu was relentless, raining punches down on Bi-Han. Smoke just stood behind, watching his former leader get the shit beaten out of him.

Before Scorpion could break Bi-Han's face, the Lin Keui punched Scorpion in the face, giving him the chance to run out of Smoke's room. Smoke attempted to follow him, but was stopped when Bi-Han froze the door shut.

Smoke crashed through the door, and tackled Bi-Han. Bi-Han kicked Smoke in the chest, throwing the former Lin Keui off of him. He got up faster than Smoke could and ran out of the hall. Scorpion jumped out of Smoke's room, throwing his spear at Bi-Han.

Bi-Han dodged the spear, which was lodged in the wall behind him. Scorpion let out an inhuman yell, running after Bi-Han, followed by Smoke. Kung Lao walked out of his room, running into Bi-Han. Kung Lao looked up, but was met with a punch to the face. Bi-Han froze a wall next to him and then crashed through it.

Kenshi tackled Bi-Han to the ground. Bi-Han elbowed Kenshi in the face, knocking him to the ground. Bi-Han quickly got up to his feet, making a wall of ice, stopping the other from getting to him.

He put his hands on his knees, taking a few deep breaths. That's when he heard a cracking sound.

He looked up, seeing Scorpion punching the ice. He sighed, thinking, This was a bad idea. He straightened himself out, hearing the pop of his vertebrae reattaching. He then froze the ground below him. When he froze it for about ten seconds, he stopped, looked up to Scorpion, who finally punched through the ice.

He waved to his nemesis before stomping on the ice, and jumping through the hole.

Scorpion broke enough ice to get through, but Bi-Han was long gone. Scorpion fell to his knees. He shouted to the gods for denying him his revenge once again. Kenshi walked into the small room, kneeling down by Scorpion.

Kenshi looked over, but decided against saying anything. Smoke followed, stopping once he saw Kenshi patting Scorpion's back in a vain attempt to comfort him. Kung Lao walked in, too, but he was stopped by Smoke.

The former Lin Keui said, "Let's let them be. I'll go check on Stryker if you want to come with."

Kung Lao nodded, walking with Smoke to Stryker's room.

"YOU IDIOT!"

Shang Tsung was pacing in front of Bi-Han, whom was leaning on a wall, arms crossed, not feeling the least bit guilty. The middle-aged man looked at Bi-Han and said, "I hope you're happy! Now Hasashi won't stop hunting you and, worst of all, now Kenshi will want to kill me more!"

Bi-Han let air into his nose loudly. He said, "If I could defeat Hanzo once, I can do it again."

Shang Tsung said, "I know of the assassin that stabbed Hanzo in the back while you two were fighting. And bring in the fact that you couldn't even kill him with a sword through the heart makes it even worse!"

Bi-Han popped himself off the wall, uncrossing his arms, and said, "Maybe I forgot to kill one of the Shirai Ryu on the intial attack and they somehow survived. They might've got Hanzo out of there before he could bleed out, and now Hanzo wants to kill me. Nothing new."

Shang Tsung threw up his arms and said, "Whatever! You just pray to Shinnok that Reptile beats Smoke."

Bi-Han snapped his fingers, saying, "I remember why I came in here in the first place. Did you remember to tell Reptile to not kill that traitor?"

Shang Tsung shrugged and said, "I don't remember. I still have no idea why you want him off all people to turn into a robot."

Bi-Han shook his head and said, "Smoke is a great fighter. He's just held back by his compassion. The fact that Kuai Liang and he were friends proved that."

Shang Tsung walked up to a screen showing Kano playing with his butterfly knifes. He put his face in his hand and said, "So far we've only had one victory, and we've lost Ermac, who I was certain could kill that swordsman. I guess looks can be deceiving."

"You should now that yourself, Shang Tsung," replied Bi-Han.

Shang Stung nodded at that remark. He looked at Bi-Han and said, "Tell your Lin Keui to keep an eye on the Red Team. I don't want them leaving that floor until tomorrow."

Bi-Han nodded and walked out of the room.

Three Lin Keui ninjas crawled through the air ducts. They were watching Kenshi, who was walking through the halls of their floor. One of the Lin Keui spoke to another and said, in Japanese, "Alert grandmaster Bi-Han of this."

The second Lin Keui nodded and crawled back through the duct. The third Lin Keui, who has been silent this whole time, spoke up and said, "How the hell is this thing holding both of our weight?"

They then heard a creaking and both said, "Uh-oh."

The air duct broke, dropping them to the floor. The quickly jumped up, facing the blind swordsman. Kenshi said, "Didn't your mother ever tell you not to play in the air ducts?"

The first Lin Keui said, "You are trespassing! Leave now and you might survive."

Kenshi mocked them by saying, "Oh, no, I'm so frightened. How will I ever beat you into the ground?"

The first one rushed Kenshi, who dodged the attack and elbowed the Lin Keui in the back. The other one charged Kenshi as well. The swordsman, however, pulled out a pistol with a silencer and shot the Lin Keui between the eyes. Kenshi twirled the gun before placing it back in its hidden holster. He turned to the other Lin Keui.

He said, "Clearly your mother never taught you any manners. Oh, well." Kenshi cracked his knuckles and said, "Looks like I'll have to beat them into you."

The Lin Keui pulled out a sword and tried to cut Kenshi's head off. But Kenshi ducked under the blade and slammed his open palm against the Lin Keui's gut. The assassin staggered back, holding his gut. He looked up at Kenshi and got into a fighting stance. Kenshi grinned. He pulled out his gun and fired three shots at the Lin Keui, who dodged them all. Kenshi shrugged and dropped the gun. He pulled out the Sword of Sento and held it in front of him.

The Lin Keui picked the sword he dropped earlier up and charged Kenshi again. Kenshi dodged the blade yet again and elbowed the back of the assassin's neck. The Lin Keui fell to his knees, panting heavily. Kenshi straightened himself up and turned to face his attacker. The Lin Keui cracked his neck, ketting ready for Kenshi's attack.

But it never came.

A figure in the shadows pulled out a gun and slammed the handle on the back of Kenshi's skull. The blind swordsman fell to the ground immediately. The Lin Keui looked up to see Kano standing there, cleaning some blood off of his gun. He looked at the Lin Keui and said, "There's your prisoner. Now, if you don't mind, I'm gonna get back to sleep, mate."

The one eyed criminal walked back down the hallway he came through, leaving the Lin Keui assassin to handle the unconscious Kenshi.

Kenshi soon awoke in a dark room. He realized there were three people in the room, and thought to himself, Shit.

Shang Tsung and Bi-Han stood before him, looking down on Kenshi with contempt in their eyes. Bi-Han punched Kenshi across the face and then pulled on his hair so that Kenshi was looking at Shang Tsung. Bi-Han said, "I hope I am redeemed for my incompetence earlier today, master."

Shang Tsung nodded and motioned him to leave. When Bi-Han was gone, he took off Kenshi's blindfold, revealing his eyes. The were nearly bone white, with the exception of a faint blue color that was once where his iris was. His pupils, however, had long since disappeared. They weren't as bad as Scorpion's eyes, but he still hated them. Shang Tsung tucked the blindfold back into a pocket in his suit. He said, "Enjoy your stay in my prison, Kenshi. You will be feed at least once a day. Granted, all it is, is a single piece off bread, but it's better than nothing."

He pulled don Kenshi's hair, making the blind swordsman look up at him again. "I still need you alive for the final round," Shang Tsung said as he left the room. The door was closed again, shrouding the room in darkness once again.

Kenshi closed his eyes, hating it when he was without his blindfold.

Then he realized he still wasn't alone.

Someone said, "Hey, buddy. What's been happening in the world lately. I've been in here for about a week."

Kenshi looked to his left, sensing someone in a white, long-sleeved shirt and blue jeans. He replied, "We were here to stop Shang Tsung. We got the informantion on the tournament from Johnny Cage, just days before he was murdered."

He heard the man laugh. The man said, "Johnny Cage isn't dead."

Kenshi raised an eyebrow and asked, "How would you know?"

"Because," replied the man, "I-"

"Hey!" shouted a guard outside. "You shut up out there or else I'm gonna come in and beat the living shit out of you!"

The man stood up as much as he could with his hands chained to the floor and taunted back, "Bring it, bitch! I'll drop you before you can lay a hand on me!"

A guard came in the room with a bat and started beating on the man.

Kenshi could hear the man's grunts, yet he still did not scream. He could also hear the "whacks" the bat made. For once, Kenshi was glad he couldn't see.

"Where the hell is he," asked Kung Lao.

Scorpion and Smoke were in Stryker's room, looking after him, when Kenshi went missing. They had expected Kenshi to meet them in Stryker's room after Bi-Han had broken into Smoke's room. After he escaped (and they calmed Scorpion down), they told each other to meet in Stryker's room.

That was several hours ago.

Now that they were waiting for Kenshi, they had nothing better to do but stand there and twiddle their thumbs.

That's when they heard the knock on the door. Smoke got up and said, "I'll get it." He took out Stryker's pistol and walked up to the door.

When he opened the door, Raiden stood behind it.

Kung Lao said, "About fucking time you showed up."

Raiden said, "I apologize for now seeing any of you for a week, but I've been busy trying to evade… the Lin Keui."

Smoke noticed the pause and said, "Why did you hesitate?"

Raiden rubbed the back of his neck and said, "That's not important right now. What is important is that Shang Tsung has captured Kenshi and is planning to kill him along with the other prisoner."

Scorpion asked, "Who is the other prisoner?"

Raiden rubbed his chin and finally replied, "I have no idea. But, he's been there since before the tournament even started."

Kung Lao asked, "It doesn't matter who he is, all that matters is that we find both of them, and get them the hell out of there."

Scorpion nodded and Smoke stood up. He looked at Raiden and said, "Who are you again?"

Raiden looked over and replied, "You can call me Raiden."

Smoke rolled his eyes and said, "Fine. Don't tell me, 'Raiden'."

Smoke walked out of the room, making sure to check on Stryker. Scorpion stood up as well and announced, "I'm leaving."

Kung Lao waved Scorpion off, although the Shirai Ryu assassin was already gone. Raiden looked around Stryker's room, and said, "This place is... quaint."

Kung Lao nodded. He looked at Raiden and asked, "Do you know where Kenshi and this other guy is?"

Raiden replied, "I have an idea of where they are at, but nothing exact as of this moment."

Kung Lao sighed. He looked over to Stryker, who was breathing at a steady rate, and said, "You're really him, aren't you?"

Raiden raised an eyebrow and asked, "Excuse me?"

Kung Lao stood up and said, "You're really a god, aren't you? That's how you keep finding us."

Raiden looked to the floor and said, "Yes. I really am Raiden. Although, Decon City doesn't believe me."

Kung Lao raised an eyebrow. Just as he was about to speak, Raiden said, "When I first landed on Earth, I found myself in an insane asylum. Apparently, they just take new patients without even questioning how the hell they got in their fences. They subjected me to torture, going as far as to wrap a sheet of paper dipped in freezing waters around me. Throughout my stay, before I broke out of there with the help of a friend, I constantly bleed when they injected me with... something."

Kung Lao asked, "What's so bad about that?"

Raiden snapped his fingers and said, "Give me your hat."

Kung Lao looked at his hat behind him and asked, "Why?"

Raiden took the hat before Kung Lao could stop him. Raiden slowly pierced his arm with the blade. Kung Lao expected the blood to flow out regularly, but, instead, blue liquid came out. After about five seconds, Raiden stopped and gave Kung Lao his hat back. Kung Lao asked, "Is that your blood?"

Raiden nodded and said, "They didn't even bother to ask about it."

Scorpion came into the door and said, "Shang Tsung wants everybody to come to the arena."

Kung Lao nodded and said, "I'll be there." He got up, looked to Raiden, and said, "I hope you will stay and help us, Raiden."

The hat-bearing man said, "Sadly, I must go. Shang Tsung does not know I am here."

The two fighters were about to leave, but Kung Lao asked, "What does a god want with Shang Tsung?"

Raiden stood up and said, "There is more about this tournament than you know of, Kung Lao."

He held up his hand and a bolt of lightning shot down on his hand. Scorpion and Kung Lao shielded their eyes from the blinding light. When they moved their arms, they saw that he was gone. Kung Lao took over. He pulled out a flask and said, "Let's drink to the fact that we just met a god."

Scorpion said, "What the hell happened while Smoke and I were gone?"

Shang Tsung looked over the remaining fighters. Stryker and Kenshi were gone. Ermac and Horbuckle were dead, and Baraka was in his room, feeling no need to attend the tournament. But Shang Tsung wasn't going to have a fight today. He held out his arms and shouted, "Warriors!"

Kano retorted, "Bit theatric, mate?"

The old man looked down on the Black Dragon criminal and said, "Anyway, I have decided that I'll give you all a special treat." He snapped his fingers and two Lin Keui warriors appeared from behind him. Bi-Han followed. Shang Tsung whispered into his ears, "Get the prisoners." Bi-Han nodded and motioned for the two Lin Keui to follow him. Shang Tsung turned his attention back towards the competitors and said, "I have two men who will fight to the death in a few minutes. They were taken prisoner. Now they will die."

The Lin Keui returned with two men with bags on their heads. The right man was dressed in black armor, altering the Red Team as to who it was.

Kenshi.

The Lin Keui took the bag off his head, letting Kenshi breath. He look shook his head, trying to get rid of the dizzy spell. The man next to him was squirming around. He said, "Will you get me untied already and let me fight my pal to the death so that I can get out of here?"

Shang Tsung said, "In do time. Right now-"

"Yeah, yeah yeah," said the man. "I know what you're gonna say. 'Warriors,'" he said in an terrible Shang Tsung impersonation, "'let us watch these two fight to the death while we sit there and eat our fucking popcorn!' How about you kill me first, eh?"

Bi-Han punched the man in the back of the head, saying, "Be quiet, fool! No one interrupts the master!"

"Fuck you!"

Bi-Han had enough and ripped the mask off his face. Scorpion's eyes went wide, showing his surprise at who the man was. But, he's dead, thought the Shirai Ryu assassin.

The man smiled and kneed Bi-Han in the groin. He threw the rope down and looked at everyone. He smirked and said to Bi-Han...

"You just got Caged."

A/N: Suprise! Don't worry, I'll explain it more next chapter. Until then, enjoy!