Chapter 11: Unexpecting the Unexpected
While Alex and Cassie are at their anniversary, Major General Blade has been constructing plans on hunting the Black Dragon before they could wait for Shang Tsung and Quan Chi. Thanks to Kabal, they know the Black Dragon's location and their plans. What they do not know is that the two sorcerers is that they have bigger plans involved. And part of those plans is Shao Kahn. His body was cloned thanks to Shang Tsung and needs a little more time to recover and retain all of his memories. Regardless, the heroes of Earthrealm, Outworld and Edenia remain prepared.
Major General Sonya prepares to lead the Special Forces on the mission to capture Kano, Tasia and the Black Dragon before they can rendezvous. "Alright, Special Forces. It's time to get this done and dusted. For this mission, we're on a tight schedule. Kano and Tasia plan to meet up with Shang Tsung and Quan Chi. With details we got from our prisoner, they plan to have a reunion at the outskirts of Oregon. We must capture them, destroy the weapons and get out of there before Shang Tsung and Quan Chi finally break those barriers."
"What's the plan, Major General?" Jacqui asked.
"First off, their defenses will be weaker than before without Kabal on his side. We're only hoping they can't do much besides trying to fight us or run away as usual." Takeda said.
"Precisely, Takeda. Which is why we cannot allow their numbers to increase. We must strike as soon as possible." Kenshi said.
"And that's why we have a plan just as Commander Jacqui asked." Sonya said. "The majority of their base is underground. This was in hopes that they can't be tracked. Pretty solid on paper, but with a slip up from Kabal and details from Jacqui and Alex, we have the element of surprise. But that doesn't mean it will be easy. We must stay alert of everything."
Major General Sonya looks behind her and sees her two soldiers once again escorting Kabal to her, so he can lay out the hideout. Jacqui, Takeda and Kung Jin look at each other with suspicions on Kabal's intentions. They've always learned not to trust anyone related to Black Dragon or Shao Kahn. Although they also knew immediately not to trust anyone who sided with Kronika, they immediately trusted Jax after he turned against her and they saw that Hanzo's past self was being honest.
"As the Blade woman said, most of their base is below the earth. They spent a long ass time setting everything up. They're smart, but not smart enough to hide secrets. Kano should've kept his damn mouth shut and kept the deets to himself." Kabal said.
"What kind of traps can we expect? Kano's usually never laid traps before, so who knows what to expect." Sonya asked.
"Guns within walls, motion-sensored spike traps, decoys that explode upon physical contact, electrical walls also motion-sensored. Just what Kano ordered. He only asked me to set them up since I'm the only expert on those. Kano only specialized in weapons, no big surprise." Kabal said.
"And are you absolutely sure you know how to disable these traps? For all we know, Kano probably would have figured things out by now." Kung Jin asked with doubt.
"Believe me when I say this, kid. I make the traps, all Kano does is play with knives and guns." Kabal said.
"And to make sure you know what you're doing, you're coming with us." Sonya said.
"What?" Kabal asked.
"You heard me, Kabal. I'm not letting you off the hook that easily. You know your way around the place. You are gonna give us a tour. And to ensure that you don't pull any funny moves on us, Takeda and Kenshi are going to keep an eye on you." Sonya said.
Kabal was somewhat surprised by this. Going on a mission with the Special Forces. Kabal's thoughts were either a life sentence to prison or execution. Why Sonya hasn't announced one of those was beyond him at the time. Jacqui and the team remained unsure if it was a good idea to bring Kabal on a mission with the Forces involving the Black Dragon. But at the same time, they can tell the hurt and betrayal in his eyes. Even Takeda knows what he is thinking. He thinks about wanting vengeance on Kano for leaving him for dead.
"I suggest we move out immediately if we want to get the jump on 'em as early as possible. If we do so, we can put an end to that bastard." Jax said.
"You're right, Jax. All troops, We move out now!" Sonya ordered. The soldiers all salute to her, including the Kombat Kids, Jax. Kenshi and Johnny. As the soldiers line up on the plane, Sonya quickly noticed Jacqui and Jin not moving.
"A word with you, Major General?" Jacqui asked.
"What's wrong, Jacqui?" Sonya said.
"Are you sure it's a good idea to bring Kabal along. He could still be one of them for all we know, wanting to side with Kano again." Jacqui expresses concern.
"You have every right to be concerned about my decision, but Kabal is our only chance to get to Kano. If we stick to the plan, then maybe Kabal might be worth something." Sonya said.
"I won't disobey your orders, Sonya. But if he does so much as one hint of double-cross, he's all mine." Jacqui asked.
"Granted. You never change, Jacqui. Even after the shit you've been through with the Red Dragon." Sonya smiled. "Come on. We better make haste."
"Yes, General." Jacqui saluted as the three hop on board. As the plane takes off with Jax piloting, Jacqui and Jin discuss their supposed temporary ally.
"I remember being there. When I kicked his ass a year ago. I overhead Kano saying something. Calling him a useless, fucking prick. Then next thing we know, we hear static. Cassie heard it too. You should've seen his face." Kung Jin said. Jin was not really surprised by Kano's decision to betray Kabal like that. Cassie figured as much, given her history with the Black Dragon.
"Seriously? Shit." Jacqui felt surprised. "Never thought Kano would stoop any lower than that. I only met the bitch like twice. During mine and Cassie's run in with him and when he and Frost ganged up."
"Next thing we know, he could end up doing the same to Tasia for all we know. Surprised that Tremor hasn't even cracked." Jin said.
"Because he's a fucking moron if he's that obessed with low men like Kano. Maybe when Alex comes back, maybe he and Liu Kang can give him more than fire kicks and energy punches." Jacqui joked, making Jin snicker.
Kabal sits alone in the plane, thinking about wanting to get back at Kano for what he did. He once saw Kano as a respectable friend and leader. Kabal never felt so wrong in his entire life. But even after he does what he plans to do to Kano, what will he do next? Kabal has not figured that part out yet, but still seeks redemption. Kabal thinks about it as the plane heads to its coordinated destination.
As the Special Forces have reached the outskirts of the Black Dragon hideout, they land without being detected. While Kano, Tasia, and Tremor are unaware of their enemies coming, they've been too busy getting prepped to meet up with Shang Tsung and Quan Chi. Major General Blade will be leading the team underground to find the Black Dragon before it's too late. Kabal joins them as a little reluctant ally.
"As you were." Sonya said. "According to what Kabal told us, the place is guarded by electrical currents. Luckily, he knows how to bypass them and the shield generators. This was how we couldn't find them before until Kabal told us. Once we head inside, he will be accompanied by Jin, Takeda and Jacqui to make sure he's telling the truth."
The soldiers salute her. They all move out with their weapons in hand. Kabal, however, does not have his hook swords. Kabal figured as much. He knew he couldn't be trusted with any weapon, given his previous position. He swore off his hook swords once before in the Old Era. Even Kabal does not remember anything from the previous timeline after some debate from Alex and Liu Kang.
"You must remember that once we get inside, we're getting into a fight there's no way of avoiding a fight. We can only hope that this is the last time we would have to deal with those assholes." Jax said.
"Given the countless times we had to deal with Black Dragon, yeah I can hope so." Johnny said. "I wish we didn't have this never-ending conflict with the bastards. I mean, when is it going to end?"
"Hopefully this time, Johnny." Sonya said, kissing his cheek. "If we capture Kano, then the two magicians will be next to defenseless. That's why it's now or never." Johnny never liked the evil group other than attacking him before the tournament but after getting to know Sonya personally and learning about the Black Dragon more and what else they've done, he started hating them.
"So who will make the first move, Major General?" Jin asked.
"Kabal will guide us with you three supervising him. He will instruct you on what to do first and show us how to disable the traps so we do not need to repeat any past mistakes. For now, uncuff him." Sonya said.
"Your move, Kabal." Jacqui said, pointing her gauntlets at him.
"Easy with the guns, kid. If I wanted to fight, you'd be on the floor with bruises by now." Kabal said with his hands up.
"Just shut up and show us how to disable these controls." Jacqui glared at him. "How do we disable the generators and electrical fields?" Kabal was the first to exit the jet alongside Jacqui, Takeda and Jin, followed by Sonya, Johnny and Jax.
Kabal walks Jacqui through on disabling the electrical current so they don't send out signals for help, but at the cost of them being alerted of their presence. He tells her what the codes are and how to disable them and tells the Majors on how to disable the shields so they can now be spotted just in case the Special Forces need backup. Once Jacqui has bypassed the fields, the underground station shuts off.
Kano quickly takes notice of this and immediately realizes the cause of the issues. "No, no, no. Not this fucking shit again." Kano said in anger and annoyance. "Switch to emergency power. Get those weapons and maps ready for leave. I was hoping Sonya wouldn't come this time, but now she's forced my hand. If my traps don't kill them, we will."
"We will come with you. I have a score to settle with a couple of those punks." Tasia said.
"Oh no you don't. You have more important things to take care of." Kano tells her, laying a finger on her stomach. "Besides, we're on a tight schedule to meet up with Shao Kahn's magician buddies. Take yourself and those other toys and get out of here."
"The Special Forces are on their way here. We are outnumbered. Everyone will be there for us before we can get to Shang Tsung." Tremor said.
"Doesn't mean we can't try to kill them. You're coming with me, Tremor. Still got plenty of them bitches to deal with." Kano said. Tremor has been hoping to fight someone like Liu Kang or Alex again, or perhaps someone closer to them.
Outside, Jacqui managed to follow Kabal's instructions on disabling the electrical field. Takeda made sure he wasn't lying about what he was doing. General Blade looks at the underground map and memorizes the locations. They all know where to go just as planned.
"Okay, teams. You all know your positions. Jacqui will lead the team and Kabal to where Kano and Tasia are. The rest of us will find Tremor. We must capture them and destroy the weapons outside. Do not do so while underground, otherwise, we'd risk ourselves being trapped and no hope of contact for backup." Major General Sonya ordered.
"On it, ma'am." Jacqui said, turning to the team. "You heard General Blade. Let's get moving. You too, Kabal." The team and Kabal follow Jacqui indoors first followed by Sonya, Jax and Johnny. They start seeing a few of Kano's goons spotting them but Jacqui and Sonya shoot them dead. The two teams split up once they reached a fork in the path. Sonya's team heads left while Jacqui and her team as well as Kabal go right.
As Jacqui's team make their way through, they immediately started to notice some of the traps Kabal mentioned earlier. One of the first traps are the walls. They look like dirt and rocks, but something seems funny about them. Like they have been cleaned
"This looks too easy." Kung Jin said. Before he could step forward, Kabal stops him in his tracks.
"Hold your horses, kid. You should never use sentences like that. It may look easy, but that's what Kano wants you to think." Kabal said. He grabs a crowbar from the ground and throws it at the wall and then all of a sudden, guns start popping out from the walls and they rapid fire straight at each other. They appeared to have been motion-sensored as well. The weapons continue to fire at each other, not hitting a thing until they ran out of ammo and there was nothing left but smoke.
"Motion-sensored guns. For once, Kano is playing smart." Jacqui mockingly compliments him.
"Pretty much. After all, he made me do them. I spread them out evenly so the guns don't hit each other by accident. Didn't want any accidents of our own." Kabal explained. Kabal may not look smart, but he has learned many things from Kano.
"That was actually a smart move. Otherwise, he would've been trapped under boulders." Takeda said.
"You get all that, General Blade?" Jacqui asked via comlink.
"Loud and clear, Commander. We'll stay in touch. Just be careful out there."
"Will do." Jacqui said. "Come on. There are still many other traps out there." She tells them as they follow behind her closely. Jin is being extra careful, keeping an eye on their prisoner, refusing to trust him. Kabal is fast, but he would not dare try to speed away from everyone. He knows he can be easily tracked.
Sonya and her team are making good progress as well. They continue to shoot and beat up more goons along the way. They seem to be doing a good job working together as usual. They've always enjoyed this, even after having Cassie and Jacqui. Things started slowing down when they see what appears to be a guard.
Sonya immediately attempts to sneak up on him and strangle him with her energy whips. But Jax stops her with a hand on her shoulder. "Wait. Something seems up with that guy." Jax said.
"Yeah. He's standing there like a cardboard cutout for a stand-in celebrity." Johnny said. "Kinda creepy if you ask me."
"Perhaps it's one of those traps Kabal mentioned. Only one way to find out." Sonya said. She gets out her pistol and shoots the supposed guy in the head. As soon as the bullet touches the back of the head, it immediately explodes.
"Just as I thought. A decoy. Kabal said these things explode upon physical contact. If you see anything that looks like that and doesn't move, shoot it from a good distance." Jax said as Johnny and Sonya nod. They resume more progress and shoot more decoys from their guns and Jax's hands.
"Did you guys get that? The decoy part?" Jax asked them.
"Yes. Got past those pretty easily. For the spiked walls, do the same with the guns." Takeda reported.
"On it. You've continue to impress me, Takeda. Hope you don't stop today." Jax said with an impressed tone. "Whatever you do, don't die for Jacqui's sake."
"You have my word on that, Jackson." Takeda said.
Both teams have almost made it to their own destination points. They, with details from Kabal, learned how to disable the electrified walls by cutting certain wires so they don't get killed. Kano probably didn't think about moving the traps in different places. Kano thinks he is so smart but his arrogance tends to get the best of him. The two teams reunite in front of a large room filled with Kano, Tasia, Tremor and more than several goons. Sonya nods to her friends, husband and soldiers and they barge in and start killing many goons. As Kano looks on, he looks really pissed off that they somehow found him. That is, until he saw Kabal fighting with them and realized that he was responsible. As the Forces kill more goons, the heroes confront the Black Dragon members. Jacqui and Kabal go off against Kano while Takeda and Jin face off against Tasia.
"The Briggs girl. I was hoping to see you again someday. You should've had Sonya accept my offer to join us while you had the chance." Kano said.
"Well guess what? I'm not a sellout, asshole. Besides, you're a fucking terrible liar." Jacqui said. Even though she hasn't interacted with Kano as much as Sonya, Cassie or Alex have, she knows him too well.
"Aww, we just haven't found the right price yet. Speaking of price." Kano said, looking at Kabal. "Looks like I'm paying the price for letting you live. Looks like you're not a useless fucking prick after all. You brought them here and surprised me, mate. Y'know, there are such things as second chances. Forget these butchers and come join me again." He offers Kabal new hook swords.
Jacqui looks at Kabal, wondering what he will do. She stands ready to fight them both if she has to. She wasn't prepared for when he stepped out. "You left me for dead, Kano. Been nothing but a douchebag to me the entire time. I will never again steal and kill for you. I'd rather take my chances with the Special Forces, even though they're not as bad as you are." Kabal tells him, glaring at his new enemy. Jacqui felt surprised by Kabal standing up to Kano and knocking back his offer.
"It was worth a shot. If you think these guys will let you be one of them, you got another thing comin. I'll make you regret your choice." Kano said as he fights them 2 on 1.
Kano brings out his daggers to swing at Kabal and Jacqui, which they dodge. Jacqui does a one-two punch and a kick to the right ribcage and Kabal does a sidekick and a back kick to the face, stumbling him backwards. Kano fires his optic laser at the ground and forces them to split up. Jacqui jumps out of the way, allowing Kano and use his cannonball move on her, sending her backwards. Kabal comes in for a punch, but Kano dodges, punches his throat and elbows his right shoulder and swings his arm at his face. Jacqui comes back in to do two back kicks to the chest and throat. She follows up with a punch to the cyber heart and uppercut to the jaw and a third punch to the forehead and jumps and swings a kick at his chest, sending him to Kabal. Kabal knees his spine and swing kicks him in the back of the head. Kano smiles and throws two frag grenades in the air and they explode and smoke comes out. Jacqui and Kabal couldn't see anything, but Kano could with his cyber eye. He goes for Kabal first and grabs him and throws him to the ground, chest first, drop kicks his head and does another kick to the head, sending the former mercenary backwards. Jacqui comes jumping in, jumps on his shoulder, kicks his back and shoots energy and sends Kano sliding.
Jacqui charges in to finish him, but Kano uses this as an opportunity to use his taser boot and tases Jacqui in the ankle, causing her to fall. Kano has an advantage and decides to use hook swords to slice and dice Jacqui to death. Before he can swing at her, Kabal comes and grabs Kano's wrists, trying to fight him for the hook swords. Kabal headbutts him, but it didn't even faze him. Kano knees him in the chest and headbutts him, stumbling him and Kano swings a hook sword at his right arm, making it bleed very badly. Kano does a kick to the right ankle, cracking it and does a swing kick to the head, sending Kabal down, defeating him.
"Ugh. D-damn you, Kano." Kabal glared at him.
"You getting what you deserve, traitor." Kano said.
"Then go ahead and finish me already, damn it." Kabal said, spitting out some blood.
Kano raises his hook swords, but Jacqui shoots at Kano's ankle, making him bleed and does two back kicks to the right ribcage, cracking it. Jacqui does rapid punches to the chest, cracking his chest and other ribcage and uppercuts him, cracking his jaw and making him bleed. Kano is sent flying and Jacqui punches him in the spine, sending him flying to a wall, knocking him out. Kano is bleeding greatly, but not as much as Kabal is.
"Perhaps you should've finished me first, fucking douche." Jacqui said. She runs over to Kabal and checks on his injuries. "You okay?"
"I-I've been worse." Kabal said, looking at his injured right arm and swollen, just about broken ankle.
"You saved me. Why?" Jacqui asked.
"Because it's what soldiers do. Isn't what you folks do a lot these days?" Kabal replied. Kabal tries to stand but it was no use. Jacqui starts to feel a little guilty about Kabal and what Kano put him through. Now he saved her life while trying to kill Kano. Jacqui takes Kabal to a corner so he could rest until the medics show up.
Over in another room, Kung Jin and Takeda deal with Tasia. They seem to be getting the upper hand easier than usual for some reason. "You kids just don't know when to mind your own business. Everything was going well without you." Tasia said, staring at her two opponents.
"Can't help but do our jobs. Besides, it isn't our fault you're so low like Kano. Maybe you should get a real life." Kung Jin said.
I'll carve out your tongue for that." Tasia snarls at them and brings out her swords. Kung Jin and Takeda nod to each other as they get ready for another fight. Takeda and Tasia clash weapons with each other. Jin fires an arrow at Tasia, which she dodges by teleporting. Takeda anticipated this and puts two fingers up to his head and Tasia appears and she swings her sword, but Takeda elbows her in the face. Jin swings his bow staff at her back and hits her. Tasia teleports again and Takeda looks at Jin with a warning look on his face, as if to tell him to look out. Jin swiftly looks left and dodges and retaliate by swinging his bowstaff at the back of her head and kicks her in the back, sending her down. Tasia starts to get angry. She continuously starts swinging her swords like crazy but is already tiring out. Jin and Takeda were surprised but see this opening and use it to their advantage. Takeda pulls her in with his whips and throws him into Jin and Jin swings his arm at her head, defeating her. Tasia tries to stand, but is too exhausted and lays her hand on her stomach before she falls to the ground.
"Telepathy never seems to amaze me sometimes." Jin said.
"Hey. For once you compliment it instead of saying it's cheating." Takeda joked.
"Very funny, Takahashi. Come on. They may need our help." Jin said running over to Jacqui and Kabal.
"Jacqui. Are you okay?" Takeda asked, kissing her.
"I'm fine. Kabal got hurt. He saved me. He needs medical attention." Jacqui said. This surprises her husband and her friend. They look at Kabal's injuries and realize that the hook swords got him good. Kabal grits his teeth in pain as he holds his injured arm.
Elsewhere, Johnny, Sonya and Jax are fighting Tremor. They appear to be having trouble with him. Tremor is a powerful earth elemental. Sonya tries to shoot her energy rings, but Tremor blocks it with an earth wall and traps Sonya's legs and punches her down. Johnny shoots green energy balls from his hands which does some damage, but it wasn't enough. Johnny tries to do a shadow kick, but Tremor grabs his ankle and throws him. All that was left were him and Jax.
"Why fight me when I have earth powers? I am an elemental. You should know that they do not make me evil." Tremor said.
"True. But your dumbass loyalty to Kano does. He's an idiot and doesn't give two shits. Why we keep trying to tell you that is beyond me." Jax said.
"Because you fill our heads with lies. Why save others when you can save yourself? Throwing your life away for others is not worth the price. A lesson that Kano and Tasia taught me. To save yourself by any means necessary." Tremor said before they fight.
Tremor and Jax go head to head. Tremor knows that he can't create big earthquakes, otherwise he'd risk bringing the whole place down on everyone, him and the Black Dragon included. Tremor throws magma balls at Jax which he responds by firing heat from his arms and they collide and make a small explosion. Even though the underground base is big, they don't want to take any drastic chances. Tremor traps Jax's legs, but Jax punches the ground but not too hard, but hard enough to make Tremor almost lose his footing. This allows Jax to break free. Jax charges forward and does a knee strike to the chest and a punch to the face. Jax grabs shoulders, kness his chest again and gives him three punches to the head and tosses him. Tremor gets back up and tries to throw boulders at him, but Jax simply punches his way through them and punches his stomach twice and kicks his left knee and was about to kick his face but Tremor grabs it and headbutts Jax and sends him sliding down. He rolls a magma ball towards Jax and he dodges it as Tremor expected. Tremor punches his face twice and uppercuts him, sending him into the air. Tremor uses his earth powers to bring Jax back down, grabs him and elbows his back, cracking his spine a little. Tremor's hands become part magma and Jax turns the heat on his hands to max and their fists collide with each other. Tremor is overpowered. Jax jumps to slam a punch on him, but Tremor dodges it. Turns out Jax faked it so he can get up close and grabs his throat, punches his face twice while he spits out blood, slams him down on the ground, lands a hard punch to the head and throws him into the wall, defeating him and making Tremor cough up more blood.
"I saved my own life because I just kicked your ass, Tremor. You should know Kano is not a good teacher. What do you think happened to Jarek last year?" Jax mocked him.
Soon after, Kano, Tasia and Tremor were rounded up with all of the weapons. It appears that Kano has once again failed. The top members were handcuffed. In Tremor's case, his cuffs were electrified to make sure he doesn't try to use his powers to break free. The heroes debate on what to do with them while Kabal is getting patched up, but still hear their conversation.
"Finally. About damn time we caught them. Wouldn't you say, Sonya?" Johnny said.
"I completely agree with you on that, Johnny." Sonya said. She started thinking about something.
"Hey, what's wrong? We beat them and they're defenseless in front of us." Johnny said.
"Exactly. It's just that I have this weird feeling about what I should do." Sonya said.
Takeda looks at her and could tell what she's thinking. He didn't even need to use his telepathy to read her. "Are you serious about this? I've never seen this side of you before."
"It's gonna sound crazy, I know. But I think it's best if we don't take them prisoner this time. After so many times we've all been through." Sonya said.
"Hold up. Are you saying we should kill them? I know you're about mercy. You even showed Kano mercy one time during the whole mess with Shinnok." Jax said.
"Yeah, but this is different. Think about it. All they trouble they have caused for the past many years. With Shao Kahn. With Shinnok. With Kronika. They're nothing but a lost cause that make so much endless trouble for us. I think he's done enough damage beyond unforgivable." Sonya explained.
After some silence, the heroes all looked at each other based on what they thought of the Major General's opinion. They were not sure whether or not she's right. Jacqui was the first to step up. "I hate to say it, but I think she's right. All the shit he put us through for so damn long I lost track of all the things he's done to us. If only Cassie and Alex were here with us, they'd probably agree. She was okay with past you killing Kano before."
"I'm with Jacqui on that. The son of a bitch needs to be punished for all of the shit. If we don't do this now, then it could only mean more trouble for us." Takeda said.
"Agreed. The sooner, the better. It will be a big weight off the Special Forces' shoulders." Kung Jin said.
"I'm normally one who likes to show mercy most of the time except with Jarek last year, but I can see your point." Johnny said.
"I want to watch you do it. He needs to get what he deserves. After what he did to me, I can finally see your point." Kabal said. Sonya looks surprised by what he said. Same with Jax. Jacqui and Takeda, for the first time, agree with Kabal.
"Then we are all in agreement?" Jax asked and they all nod.
Major General Sonya walks up to the three prisoners with everyone else standing behind her. Kano, Tasia and Tremor all glare at Sonya, Jax and Kabal. They call him a traitor, which only makes them sound like hypocrites, considering they were the ones who betrayed him. Kano speaks up in laughter. "Go ahead. Take us to prison. I can guarantee you that we will get free as always. Hunt me down, lock me up, I break free. Lather, rinse, repeat. It'll go on forever and ever."
Major General Sonya continues to glare at her worst enemy silently before speaking up. "I don't think so. Kano. Tasia. Tremor. You three have proved in the past that you've have so much trouble that it has been beyond unforgivable. So many crimes. So many lives taken because of you. Many wars caused because of you. After a debate and permission from superiors, you three have been hereby sentenced…. To death."
Kano gasped at the words she just said. He never thought Sonya would go so far into killing her enemies. He knows well that he is her worst. Kano, for the first time, has begun to panic and hyperventilate at the inevitable. Tasia closes her eyes to await death and Tremor growls and looks at them, ready to go down like a man. Sonya, Jacqui and Jax load their weapons. Sonya counts down from three with her fingers. She slowly counts down silently. Kano closes his eyes and grits his teeth so he won't see it coming. As Sonya was about to close her last finger and give the execution order, the earth starts to shake and the sands start flowing around them. Everyone remains confused by this and then suddenly, a sand portal opens and Sonya and her team turn around to shoot what is about to come out. But time starts to freeze on the heroes.
Geras and Skarlet walk through the sand portal and recognize the majority of these faces. They recognize Johnny, Jacqui, Sonya and Jax. They move slowly due to time stopping on them, but Geras sees that they don't have time to fight. "Kano. Tasia. Tremor. With me. Hurry." Geras said.
"And who the fuck are you suppose to be?" Kano demanded.
"You will see. Hurry. I cannot keep them slow for long. I will explain everything to you. We have common enemies." Geras said.
The three top leaders of the Black Dragon look at each other in confusion before deciding to oblige. Tasia and Tremor immediately run through the portal with Geras and Skarlet. Kano stops for one second to look at Sonya. "Looks like you ain't baggin me today, Blade. Maybe next time." He smiles gleefully before running through the portal. As soon as the portal closes, the heroes unfreeze completely and move normal again.
"What the hell just happened?" Kabal asked. "Wait. Where did they go? Where is the bastard Kano and the other two?"
"They were just there. Sitting there. They couldn't just disappear." Kung Jin said.
Jacqui tries to mesmerize on what just transpired. She remembers sand flowing around them two years ago at the start of the time war when her father's past self got pulled through to the present along with the past versions of Johnny and Sonya. Then is started to hit her. "Oh god. Not this shit again."
"What? What is it?" Sonya asked.
"Johnny. Remember what happened after the Netherrealm?" Jacqui asked him.
Then it started to hit Johnny. "Oh shit. You're right. Now I remember. I hope it isn't what I think it is." Johnny said.
"Okay, I'm confused. What the hell are you two on about?" Jax asked.
"This happened before. First with Alex, then before the time war. Now it's happened again." Johnny said.
"But that shouldn't be possible. Who could've done this?" Sonya said before getting a signal. "Guys, heads up. It's Liu Kang, Raiden and Kung Lao. They want to speak to us." The teams nod and they run outside the base to meet with them. They are curious on what they want and what just happened. They don't know who used powers to stop time. They know it isn't Kronika. It's someone else.
Note: Feels good doing fight scenes for certain other characters. In fact, I hardly made fights for characters such as Jax, Kenshi and Kung Jin. Thought I'd give these guys time to shine. Kabal showing his redemption colors really helps with his character.