A/N: The grit I mentioned would be coming into this? Here it is. This won't be pretty. My interpretation of Shao, Shang and Quan makes them harsh, utterly evil, cruel people. I would skip this, it could get a bit much for some. I apologise in advance.

Beautiful Chaos

Kara lay in the cell on a small cot, it's mattress scratched at her skin. She wasn't sure ow long she had been down here, in the drafty dungeon. There were no windows, no natural light permeated the cells or corridor. The only thing producing light were touches, and Kara had a thick, but well used candle to call her 'own'. But these did little to alleviate the depression, they did not lift it's choke-hold. It could have been hours, it could have been a day, it could have been a few or many days.

Months?

She chided herself.

Don't be stupid. How the hell could it have been months? I'd be dead, from lack of food.

Food...

There was her main problem. Sustenance. None had been provided, other than one small bowl of what looked like gruel. Grey slop, bland, it's texture like wallpaper paste down her throat. As it slid down it, it refused to stay down. She ended up spitting it out, choosing that over having her stomach feel like it was trying to escape her body, via her mouth.

That meager bowl (which she was surprised she even got, she thought she'd be starved) was at least several hours ago. She felt so hungry that her stomach hurt. It roiled around, no matter what position the young woman lay in.

When a guard finally came for her, as they headed up the stairs, Kara saw light, a small slither. It ignited fire in her gut.

A window!

If only it wasn't tiny...

She wanted to jump out of it badly, uncaring if she survived or not. Between being murdered by a tyrannical Emperor, and controlling her own death, by throwing herself from a window? She'd rather control her own downfall...

Shang took Kara by an arm, and pulled her towards the Emperor. Quan tried to grab her other arm, before she snatched it from him. He wished to silence her, but not in front of Shao. The Emperor would see to it that she was punished for her insolence.

And he did. When a broken Kara was brought in front of him, he imbued his hammer with fire, and hit her with it, burning, singeing the skin of her face. The sheer heat charred the tops of her arm, the smell of melting skin lingering in the air. She wasn't able to scream anymore, she'd screamed herself hoarse earlier. Her throat was raw and dry.

The hammer struck again and again, blow after blow rained down upon her. They were calculated, with enough force to damage her, not enough however to break her bones. Kara coughed up blood, and collapsed onto the ground before the Emperor stopped his onslaught. He had a guard haul her up, but she wasn't cooperating. He had done more damage than he would have liked. He raised a brow, indignation flared inside him. For now, a small flame. But he knew it would build, until it boiled over, erupting vitriol. The only thing that stopped him from lashing out further was Sindel. She fueled a different kind of hunger inside him, though he found himself rapidly growing bored of her, frustrated.

He needed more, more strength. Despite it being immense already, it wasn't enough.

Nothing was enough for the man anymore...

A splutter caught his attention, and pulled him from his thoughts. His daze was disrupted by the little mortal in front of him bringing up blood. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. In his last strike, her world dimmed. No longer a shining marvel, the poor girl was rendered a mere dim spark.

"Weak". His rage consumed him, a fiery torrent from within came out. "WEAK!"

He wished to pull her soul from her, not let Shang do it. The man had plenty of souls, he had the well, unlimited souls at his resource, disposal. Shao didn't.

Quan had a hell-spawn specter on a leash. Shao didn't.

However, if he took Kara's power, not only would he be physically strong. He would be mentally too. He'd also see through the sorcerer's bull. He knew they were scheming, but couldn't quite work out what they were planning. They seemed awfully keen on finding Kara, or more specifically her Mother, Tiama. Could the Emperor, who already considered himself a god take power from a goddess? Of course he could.

Kara would do though, for now...

One thing did cross Shao's mind, when the now unconscious woman was being carried back to her cell.

Did Quan and Shang wish to bolster his power, or their own?

What the Emperor did not know, and had not foreseen was where Kara was actually being taken. Quan carried her, and followed Shang down to a chamber. It resembled the Jinsei chamber in the Heavens, only, this one was theirs, it's magic was not so serene, tranquil. It was used for dark, malicious purposes. Evil intents.

Kara was placed onto a large stone platform, as her soul was siphoned slowly, carefully. Purple rays shone from her body, and went into the small orb the black haired sorcerer had in his hand.

The 'Viper' husk lay naked on a stone slab before Shang, as he took the small purple orb and combined it with his magic. Pure telepathic and telekinetic energy fused with his impure, seething green energy, and it poured gently, like a waterfall into the husk. The woman's veins lit up a vibrant lilac, her grey skin gained colour, until it was the purest white rose. This would take time. Instead of creating and using her immediately, Shang would need patience. He would give her the power slowly, let her siphon it gradually.

He hadn't taken all of Kara's power just yet. He needed her alive for a little longer. The chamber they were in contained ancient runes. These would keep her stable, just barely alive, so she could not thwart attempts to end her life. They'd given her enough energy to survive, but not thrive.

The husk began twitching, so the sorcerers decided to leave. She would not wake for some some time.

Their plan for her? She would divert the Emperor's attention off of them, and kill whomever they wanted. They needed Viper to be perfect, completely and utterly. Though both knew...

Perfection took time and patience...

Whilst Quan busied himself with creating revenents from the the souls of the kombatants Sindel had procured for him, that meant Shang would be alone in the creation process. For this he was glad, for he knew he could and would do a far superior job than his counterpart.

Outworld

Jakal, Sonya and Johnny ran out of the portal, and looked around, bewildered and upset. The reanimated Queen Sindel had slaughtered her own daughter, Nightwolf, Jade, Cyber Sub-Zero, Stryker and Jax, in one fell swoop. Right in front of them. Obliterated them easily, casually snuffing out their lives, as if they were mere candles.

Sonya was in agony, both internally and externally. She looked at Johnny, all bloodied and bruised, and, as much as she disliked him and his vain antics, the pomposity, she wanted to do was break down, and not give a toss whether he thought her weak or not.

He wouldn't have thought that. He himself felt like crumbling too. He was sure he had broken at least one rib, and his left arm? All he could feel was tingling from it. Sindel had thrown him against a wall, and he had clipped his arm against the rough stone. How could she be so strong?

Unless...

Sonya growled. "This is Shao's doing, I know it".

Johnny tilted his head. "Rough guess as to who else, since they were the only two not in the fight?" He swore. "Bastards!"

Jakal nursed a wound on his side that steadily trickled blood, seeping through his clothing.

"We need to get in touch with my wife, and Lord Raiden. How could they not know something horrendous just happened? We lost...". He paused. "I...".

The death toll had rapidly increased quickly.

He took out small jewel from his robes, and placed it in the middle of his palm.

Tiama? It's all gone wrong. We need you.

His wife heard his call, and appeared in hazy violet smoke, with Raiden in tow, behind her, his lightning much darker than usual.

Tiama had been on edge all day, her nerves frayed. Raiden sensed this, and began feeling uneasy. She wanted to check on Kara, despite her daughter doing well, something wasn't quite sitting right.

So when she suddenly got a frantic call from her husband, panic flared in her gut, and she excused herself before practically running away, to teleport to him. Raiden had followed her after his amulet cracked, twice.

Once was enough to put him on alert, on edge. Twice? This put him on high alert, and served to create blossoming nerves throughout his body.

The first sight that greeted him was Sonya pacing, and Johnny ashen, swaying gently.

"You had a vision right, Lord Raiden?"

A vision? That took him aback.

"The last one you had. What was it?"

The Elder God fought to keep his jaw from dropping. Sonya caught on that he knew what she meant.

"They're dead Lord Raiden. You were right. We couldn't stop Sindel".

He could have thrown up, he felt something rising up his throat. He swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing as he did so, and coughed. Acid tainted the cough, stinging his throat on the way back down.

"The amulet cracking. It wasn't for Tiama, was it? It was for Kara. Is she about to die?"

Tiama shot a look at Sonya and gasped.

"What? I would have seen that! Unless...".

Raiden connected the dots.

"Sindel took your attention away. Refugees took Tiama and myself's away. Shang Tsung and Quan Chi were nowhere to be seen. If they are in Shao's fortress, ancient magic guards the hallowed halls. That is why we did not see this. I did not foresee...", he paused, defeat sinking in, wanting to cripple him, this. I failed you all. I failed Kara, and now, she is in the hands of"...

Charcoal clouds began forming in the sky. Once snow white, now tainted with rage, anguish. The heavens burst, and rain tumbled down, drenching everyone.

He motioned to Tiama, before fell silent.

Take them to my home. I will remain here.

Tiama shot him a look, as she did was she was asked.

Raiden? Don't do this...I hate this too, but we cannot go after Kara yet. We must separate the Emperor from the sorcerers, sever their cords.

She swallowed a strangled sob. At least, she thought she had. When she opened her mouth, some of the sound still remained, and everyone heard it. Jakal, who had his fists balled, barely masking the feeling of intense hatred he bore for Kara's captors. So help them when he got his hands on them. He'd crush them, their bones, destroy them, rip them apart from the inside out.

Right now however? The husband took over the vengeful Father, and he openly cried. He turned, ambled over to his wife, and held her, in the way only he could. Their strong parental love washed over them, and they sobbed for their daughter. Their only child was in mortal danger, a peril so great, and they couldn't help her, yet. They had to wait, wait for an opening. For when their defenses were down, their guard lowered, then, then they would strike.

And, more importantly? They would bring Kara back safely, and make sure she was safe this time...

Johnny's upbeat voice chimed in. He tried sounding chipper, to lighten the tense atmosphere.

"Hey. Kara's your daughter, right? I may not know her, but if you want me to help rescue her, count me in. I'll do what I can to help in the rescue effort. I won't let you down".

Sonya scoffed, obviously disagreeing.

"Right. Nothing to do with the fact Kara's a woman, right?"

Johnny rolled his eyes. Yes, he did act like he messed around with the ladies. In reality he didn't. He just spoke like he did. It was part of his 'A-list actor' persona he had.

Despite the fact he only made B-list movies...

"I was trying to be serious Son. I mean it. If Kara's in trouble, I am not just going to stand by and watch someone else die, okay?"

His words hit home for the Special Forces agent, who shook her head in apology. She looked at the embracing parents, and, though she wouldn't admit it, she thought they were sweet.

"Tiama? Jakal? Count me in too".

The Amakura twosome turned around and nodded gratefully. Tiama gave them a gracious smile.

"Thank you, truly. First though", she coughed, clearing the lump from her throat, "You are nowhere near fit to fight now. I need to help you before I can help my daughter. I know where we can go".

Tiama let Johnny and Sonya step through the portal, and heard their boots on the cobbled pathway to Raiden's home in the Heavens.

"Raiden? Kara was taken from there. Are you sure it's safe?"

Raiden didn't answer. The rain soaked his clothing, his kasa had blown off, and his hood had fallen down, though he did not care. His thoughts were elsewhere. Tiama took this, feeling anxious, but she took it, and left him alone, her husband following after.

Raiden sat down, upon a wall that had several missing bricks. He crossed his legs and closed his eyes.

How could he let this happen? So many fell, whilst he was helping many. He needed to help everyone, not categorize them. All were important to him, not just the kombatants.

He'd lost all but three of them. And he'd lost...

Kara...

The one time he should have been there, he wasn't.

The one time he should have known something was amiss, he didn't.

And, the one chance he had to save her? He couldn't even do that right now. Tiama was right, they would have to wait, wait to launch a counterattack.

His chest ached with the knowledge that he'd have to let her suffer, before he could do anything. Knowing Shao's blood-lust, she could already be dead.

No.

His mind was beginning to crack. The fragile parts were the first to crumble.

If she were dead, Tiama, nor I would be able to sense her. Why is her spirit so weak?

Raiden could only think that, as Quan had a 'toy', Scorpion, and Shao had Sindel, perhaps Shang wanted someone, to be utterly subservient to him as well.

By the Heaven's, the Elder God would not let that happen. If he had to kill...he vowed not too. But the situation could warrant such a despicable act.

He took a deep breath, then gently exhaled a stream of white smoke. The only sound in his ears was the pitter-patter of rain. It was deafening in the silence of the ruins around him as he contemplated murder. He tossed the idea around in his mind. On one hand, it would effectively end much suffering, and perhaps return some peace to Outworld, which which trickle down in Earthrealm and Edenia soon after.

On the other hand, he would have even more blood staining his hands. He could wash them all he wished, the sticky remnants of someone's life would stick on his skin like glue. He was tired of having to scrub them until they bled, staining him in his own shame. Tainting the water with it as it ran down the plughole.

Could he do this? Would he do this? Should he do this? Would the people, his friends fear him if he did? He would never dream of hurting them.

Would the act change him? He thought it would' For the better? For worse, if he had to kill?

If he chose too?