Kano started the van. Behind him, Baraka and Liu Kang were making sure they had everything with them. Kano looked behind him and shouted, "What's the hol'up back there, mates? I wanna get outta here 'fore they show up."

Baraka snarled. Liu Kang replied, "We are almost ready to go. Just be patient."

That's when the door leading to the garage burst open. Kung Lao looked left and right before eyeing the van. Baraka kicked the back of the van open and shot at Kung Lao with a machine gun. Kung Lao jumped back through the door while Baraka kept shooting.

Liu Kang closed the last of the bags and looked at Kano. "Let's go."

"Baraka!" shouted Kano. Baraka stopped firing and looked back at Kano. "Stop firing and close that damn door. We need to get out of here. Now!"

Baraka nodded and slammed the door shut. Baraka sat back down in one of the back chairs. He looked at Kano. Kano looked back and said, "Don't worry. I have a plan to get outta here." He took out a small sphere and pressed a button on the top. He chuckled and threw it out of the window towards Kung Lao.

Kung Lao looked back out the door soon after the shooting stop. He then heard something rolling on the ground. He looked down and saw a ball. He raised an eyebrow at this and whispered, "What the…?" The red light started blinking and making a beeping sound. Kung Lao's eyes widened and he bolted in the opposite direction. The ball exploded throwing Kung Lao into a wall. The former Shaolin shook his head and saw the van speeding away.

Kung Lao shouted, "NO!" and threw his hat. Kano looked in the side mirror and saw the blade-rimmed hat speeding towards them. Kano groaned and took out his gun. He looked back, aimed down the sights, and fired. The bullet knocked the hat out of its path.

Several minutes later, after the van was gone, Kung Lao picked up his hat and put his finger through the bullet hole. "Damn," whispered Kung Lao. He placed it back on his head and walked back to the building. Kenshi, Johnny Cage, and Smoke were standing in the doorway. Smoke was leaning against a wall, Johnny was hanging back, listening to the conversation, and Kenshi was standing there with his arms at his sides. Kung Lao walked up to them and said, "They got away."

Kenshi shook his head and said, "Jax is going to kill me."

Smoke straightened himself up and said, "At least we have Shang Tsung tied up. Speaking of which, Kenshi, why'd you let him live?"

Kenshi replied, "He'll be tried and put in jail. We have way to much evidence for him not to. And, if he's sentenced to death, then I will kill him."

Smoke nodded and started to walk back inside. He stopped, looked back, and said, "Thank you."

Kung Lao and Kenshi looked at each other, with Kung Lao looking back and asking, "For what?"

"Stopping the Lin Keui," replied Smoke, "and saving me from the same fate as Sektor and Cyrax."

Kenshi asked, "Who're they?"

"I hope you never find out."

Smoke then dropped a smoke bomb and, when the smoke cleared, vanished. Kenshi said, "Well, that just happened. Anyway, Cage and I'll get Stryker and Shang Tsung, you get Scorpion. Then we'll meet up at the entrance, okay?"

Kung Lao clapped his hands once and replied, "Sounds like a plan. See ya in five."

"C'mon, Cage," said Kenshi.

Johnny said, "Alright."

They parted and went separate ways.

Kenshi and Johnny walked in to Stryker's room and looked at the semi-conscious man. Johnny said, "What the hell happened to him."

Stryker opened his eyes and looked up at Johnny. His eyes widened, fully waking him up, and asked, "Am I dead?"

Kenshi replied, "Sadly, no. Cage is alive and, well, not so well."

"Hey."

"Sorry, Johnny. After seven days of getting your ass beat you—wait a minute. Why are you alive anyway," replied Kenshi, pointing a finger at Johnny.

Johnny looked around and replied, "Look, I don't know what gossip magazine you've been reading, but I've been alive for the past twenty-six years."

Stryker leaned up on his elbow and said, "We saw you're decapitated body in Baraka's hotel room. What the hell?"

Johnny raised an eyebrow. Finally, after a minute, Johnny's face formed an expression of recognition. "Oh, now I get it," said Johnny. "Before Baraka was able to axe me, Shang Tsung stopped him and brought in a Johnny-Cage-look-a-like and put him in place of me. Then he took me prisoner for some reason and barely feed me. It was hell. He took away my sunglasses." He put up a mock pouty face on, but quickly shook it off.

"So, wait," said Stryker. "You're telling me, that this whole time, we've been thinking you were dead, when really, Shang Tsung faked your death and took you prisoner?"

Johnny Cage nodded.

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard of."

"Tell me about it," replied Johnny.

Kung Lao walked into the room and said, "I can't find Scorpion."

Stryker and Kenshi looked at Kung Lao, while Johnny stood there confused. He looked at the three men and asked, "Who?"

Kenshi ignored Johnny and walked up to Kung Lao. "What do you mean?"

"He's not there," replied Kung Lao. "He's not on the rooftop."

Kenshi, Kung Lao, and Johnny ran up to the rooftop. They looked around, but all they found was Bi-Han's body and a giant scorch mark. Kenshi ran a hand over the ashes, sniffed it, and asked, "What the hell happened?"

Kung Lao picked up Bi-Han's head and cringed. Johnny looked back and forth, asking, "What the fuck did I miss? First a guy with blades coming out of his hands, a group full of ninja's, a crazed old man, now disappearing ninjas. What's next, giant robots waging a war for a magical McGuffin?"

Kung Lao shouted to him, "Shut up, Cage."

Johnny put up his hands in defeat and walked away. Kenshi walked towards Kung Lao and said, "Do you have any idea what happened here?"

Kung Lao shook his head and tossed the head back towards the body. He looked at Kenshi and said, "No clue. But, I guess Scorpion bolted after he killed the ice man." He wiped his hands off on his vest and looked around. "I really wonder where the hell he went, though."

Kenshi shrugged and said, "Let's just get the hell out of here so me and Stryker can report back to Jax."

Kung Lao clapped Kenshi on his back and said, "Well, it was nice knowing you. I'm going to see if I can find Raiden so he can get me out of the country. I probably have a bulls eye on the back of my head bigger than this building."

Kenshi nodded. Kung Lao nodded to Johnny, who waved back at him, and he walked away. Johnny looked around and said, "Now what?"

Kenshi said, "Let's get out of here. It was getting a little cramped."

"You have no idea, bub," replied Johnny.

They walked back down to Stryker's room to get him.

"Where am I?"

Scorpion looked around the darkly lit area. He had found himself here ten minutes ago after talking with Raiden. A door behind him opened. He spun around and saw a tall, pale man walk in. He had a tattoo on the right side of his head and wore a black tuxedo. He straightened the tie tie and said, "Hello, Hanzo."

"That is not my name anymore," replied Scorpion.

The man smiled and said, "Ah, yes. You feel Hanzo died with his family. Well, Scorpion, was it? Yes, Scorpion. I like that name. Intimidating. Anyway, I have come to receive my payment, my friend."

Scorpion raised an eyebrow and asked, "What are you talking about?"

"Remember the day your family died. Remember when Bi-Han stabbed you in the chest, leaving you to die. I was there, Hanzo," replied the man, still smiling. "I was there."

Scorpion slowly became more and more confused at this moment. "I remember every moment of that day, fool. I don't remember you."

The man snapped his fingers and Scorpion felt his head slightly hurt. The man walked around Scorpion and said, "You don't remember, Hanzo, because I didn't want you to remember that moment. That moment when you begged for your life to me so that you could exact revenge against Bi-Han. I gave you that wish, in return you sell your soul to me."

Scorpion's head now felt it was on fire. He put his hands up to his head, clutching it tightly. He thrashed around in pain, grunting to keep the pain inside of him, not making him look weak. He looked at the man and hissed, "What have you done to me?"

The man's smile turned into a smirk as he struck a match and held it to Scorpion's head. The man said, "Your soul... is mine." He touch the match against Scorpion's cheek, lighting his head on fire. He thrashed around in pain even more, screaming at the top of his lungs. His skin slowly burned away as Scorpion thrashed around. He pounded his fist against any hard surface. After his skin burned away, now it was time for his muscles. Scorpion, still screaming at the top of his lung, staggered out of the dark and into the street.

A women looked at the burning Scorpion and screamed at the top of her lungs. Several people whipped out their phones and called 911. Two men walked up to Scorpion, but they were knocked away as Scorpion threw them into a wall. The Shirai Ryu fell to his knees, clutching his head. The muscle had burned away. All that was let was a burnt skull. The screaming slowly turned into laughter. Scorpion was now laughing maniacally as the man walked up to him.

Scorpion looked up to the man as he was offered a mask. Scorpion grabbed it and said, "What is thy bidding, Master Quan-Chi?"

Quan-Chi's smirk turned into a grin.

A/N: If you can spot the Transformer references in this chapter and the last, say what it was and I'll congratulate you. So, this is almost the end.

Yay?

I'm not sure what to feel about this. This is by far my longest story (Godzilla's Return was the same amount of chapters, so far anyway, but there are more words in this story), and I'm not sure I want this to end. Now, don't expect a sequel. I know, in the last chapter I said there might be one, and there might. But first, I want to escape the Rebirth story line and actually let loose on the silly. Or, supernatural, anyway. The next chapter (or epilouge) will only be about a half thousand words and it'll be nothing more than a conversation between Kenshi and Shang Tsung.

So, I'll catch you guys (and gals) in the next, and last, author note for Mortal Kombat: Rebirth.

Spino, out.