The Vanguard of Earthrealm

Knightwolf and Tesla circle around each other. Tesla looks onto Knightwolf with disgust while Knightwolf simply looks onto her with pity as she knew the truth of her origins.

"You shouldn't be here Shaman," Tesla stated. "You fight for Earthrealm, but you're from Outworld. Do you not remember what happened to Zaterra when they did this? You're a risk to Earthrealm."

"Are you really going to sit here and lecture me the entire time?" Knightwolf asked. "Rain was right, you have gone soft."

"I don't know why everyone believes that I'm just some cold killer. I've only killed full klans of people, such as your real mother and father, your Shaman group, your Shirai Ryu clan twice, the Wu Shi Academy…"

"Wait that was her?" Chan shouted. He then looked at Johnny who was confused. "So, it really wasn't you."

"Of course not, I'm American kid," Johnny responded.

"…The Lin Kuei almost fell to my power, and I've killed a Mass number of Children from Russia who've become members of NetherRealm's most underrated group known as the Sisterhood." Tesla begins to laugh, but she gets struck in the shoulder by Knightwolf's spirit arrow.

"I don't care about your resumé. You're a perfect undead sorceress. You were always Quan Chi's pet," Knightwolf stated.

"I'll show you a pet, Shaman," Tesla says as she disperses Knightwolf's energy arrow. She heals herself and adjusts the glove on her left hand. The glove had a magic circle drawn on it. Knightwolf's eyes perk up as well as Scorpion's.

"So, I'm guessing that Ashrah really did…"Knightwolf began.

"She will be avenged of course, but she can easily be replaced. Maybe when Quan Chi corrupts your soul perhaps?"

Tesla forms a powerful fireball in her right hand. Knightwolf activates her Spirit Armor and rushes towards Tesla. Without hesitation, Tesla fires the fireball at Knightwolf. The impact of the fireball slows Knightwolf down a bit, but it doesn't stop her from running. Tesla then continues to fire more fireballs at Knightwolf, but they prove not to work. Tesla then forms fire in her left hand which turns blue. Knightwolf's eyes widen as Tesla throws the blue fireball at Knightwolf. Knightwolf creates a four-layer energy shield to guard herself against Tesla's attack. The Impact causes a huge fiery explosion which also causes a strong shockwave. The Area was covered in dust.

"You idiots," Kitana stated. She opens her fans and waves them rapidly across the arena causing the dust to go away. She then uses her fans to suspend both Tesla and Knightwolf in the air. She slams them both to the ground and closes her fans.

"When did the Princess get so strong?" Chan asked Raiden.

"Her Mother Sindel has a secret vile in Outworld; a sort of poison that has a risk/reward impact for Elder Lords. Apparently, she survived it," Raiden explained.

"How powerful is she now?" Johnny asked.

"She may be a better match against even Lui Kang at this point," Raiden responded. Knightwolf and Tesla rise from the ground and look up towards Kitana. Kitana gives them both a death glare. The two walk a few steps away from each other and then return to looking at each other.

"Now then…" Kitana clears her throat. "Round One…FIGHT!"

Knightwolf and Tesla's power begins to increase rapidly as Knightwolf calls upon the power of her ancestors and Tesla calls upon the power of Onaga's magic. Knightwolf runs towards Tesla with two spirit hatchets in hand. Tesla begins a spell chant as Knightwolf gets closer. Knightwolf reactivates her Spirit Armor as she prepares to strike Tesla. Once she swings her Hatchets at Tesla, her spirit weapons disappear.

"What?" Knightwolf questioned. Tesla smiled and thrusted her hand through Knightwolf's left shoulder. Knightwolf's spirit armor vanishes. Tesla's hand was behind Knightwolf's back.

"I can't believe I missed your heart, Shaman," Tesla stated.

"Funny...of course…you wouldn't know…where it's located," Knightwolf mocked. Tesla laughs at her misery.

"I've seen hearts of all sizes, shapes, and colors. You'd be surprised at the few people in the realms who have their hearts located in the weirdest places," Tesla explained.

"Have you…never had a…heart of love?" Knightwolf asked. Tesla laughed whole-heartedly.

"Of course, I did. I've always loved my sister…at least before I was killed," Tesla stated. "When the two of us were chased by the Brotherhood, we were instructed to stay separated or else one of us would die. My sister was a huge fan of playing around with magic. She found a way to travel the realms and learned about the secret of Onaga's magic. She trusted the information and defied Quan Chi's instructions. This caused him to take it out on me. I've been his undead slave for years, only to be a blackmail tactic and bargaining chip to be used against my sister. Of course, I was eventually given the freedom to go wherever I want, in which I chose Edenia."

"Why not Earth?" Knightwolf asked. Tesla turned her head towards Raiden then placed her focus back on Knightwolf. Knightwolf begins to laugh herself.

"What's so funny?" Tesla asked.

"Isn't it ironic? Everywhere you go, destruction follows. Such as the loss of your family, the loss of Edenia, the loss of the Brotherhood, and because you're fighting for them, you're going to be the reason Outworld loses this tournament," Knightwolf confirmed. Tesla grew angry as the magic circle on her glove began to glow.

"Finish Her!" Shang Tsung Shouts.

"I got you now Shaman."

Tesla pulls her fist back and prepares to strike Knightwolf. However, she is halted. She looks down at her crimson leaking abdomen. A 7-inch knife is deep inside. It's not an energy knife created by Knightwolf; she used a real knife. Tesla moves her hands by her wound hoping to heal it. Knightwolf doesn't give her a chance as she quickly slashes a gaping wound past her left side. Tesla's intestines fall out of the wound as she falls to the ground. Slowly she is dying as Knightwolf goes into a victory pose.

"The winner…is Knightwolf!" Shang Tsung announced. "Fatality!"

Everyone began to cheer on Knightwolf's victory, including Rain. Raskal was a bit saddened, but it didn't matter much to him. Johnny began to feel bad for killing Baraka earlier. Chan, however, was greatly disappointed with Knightwolf's choice. She walked towards their direction as everyone leaves the area. The hole in her shoulder began to instantly heal using the souls in her body.

"That weird chick's coming over here?" Johnny whispered.

"She just killed that woman," Chan whispered as well. Knightwolf finally reached their group and folded her arms. The team was quiet.

"So…shall I gain no praise?" Knightwolf asked. They were still silent. "I will not bite. We are the same age Chan.—in appearance that is," She said as she looked directly at Chan.

"Your brother would be proud of your…victory," Raiden stated.

"I thought you said that wasn't her real brother," Johnny stated unconsciously. Knightwolf gave him a cold glare. She wiped Tesla's blood off her knife with a piece of cloth and proceeded to check it. Johnny remained a bit cautious.

"You didn't have to kill that woman. You're a Shaman. You and your people don't believe in murder," Chan stated. Knightwolf stored her knife in her pouch.

"Actually, I did have to kill that woman," Knightwolf confirmed. "I am the only person left in the Shaman clan, hence the reason I'm known as the Vanguard of Earthrealm. Though I am not a real Shaman, I still have their powers. However, my moral codes are that of the Shirai Ryu clan."

"The Shirai Ryu died with Scorpion," Chan stated.

"There are still three members left, excluding Scorpion of course. Skarlet is somewhere in America, relaxing after the fall of the clan. Shelia is here under her sister's disguise," Knightwolf explained.

"That's not Shelia," Chan stated.

"I thought she died during our fight against Shinnok?" Raiden responded.

"He did a poor job of killing her; the same way you're doing a poor job in protecting Earthrealm," Knightwolf answered. Raiden frowned upon her answer. Chan began to feel bad as he remembers when he said those same words to Raiden the day before.

"He's doing the best he can. It's no need for you to be a vixen about it," Chan responded. He had an angry look on his face, as did she.

"He gave you that piss poor speech about how if he saved everyone, we wouldn't have chosen to join this tournament yesterday. The truth is if the Shamans were alive during those tournaments, we could've defeated Outworld all 11 times. We'd also have the Shirai Ryu fighting for Earthrealm. We were only killed by Quan Chi's forces due to their immortality. That's something that Outworld could never accomplish," Knightwolf explained. Frost suddenly appeared beside Raiden.

"I see you've done your job well. Have you given them the good news?" Frost asked.

"What good news?" Johnny Cage asked.

"I almost forgot," Knightwolf stated as she lightly face-palmed herself. "Chan, I'm going to help you with your 'Illness.' Consider this a Diagnosis."

End of Chapter 10

(Upcoming—Diagnosis)