Disclaimer: I do not own Mortal Kombat or any of its characters. All rights belong to Ed Boon, Nether Realm Studios, and Warner Bros.
Kurai looks around the arena anxiously for any sign of Raiden or the others, but no sign of them yet, and this seriously began to worry him. "Damn it, Raiden, where are you?" He asks worriedly as Shang Tsung then steps forward with a smirk.
"Combatants! Now that you're well rested, let's continue with the tournament." The sorcerer begins as Kurai and the remaining fighters listen. "Introducing first... Ermac!" He declares as a warrior dressed in red and black clothes that seems to be wrapped all around him uncomfortably. Kurai couldn't hardly tell what ethnicity Ermac was, but his skin looks to be pale, deathly pale, in color, while his eyes were an unnerving glowing green.
He pushed his thoughts aside as Shang Tsung spoke again. "Against... Prince Kurai!" He continued with a smirk, which caused Kitana to look at him worriedly while Kurai just glared fiercely at the sorcerer and Shao Kahn sitting beside him.
Taking a deep breath and sighing, Kurai thinks to himself with an aggravated tone. "Great. If I fight this creep and win, Shao Kahn will more than likely kill Kitana if I don't join him." He says to himself before subtly glancing up at the Outworld skies with one thought. "Raiden, you better move it fast. I'm between a rock and a hard place here, and I can't think of a way out." He walks towards Ermac as the tightly wrapped, leather bound warrior points at him.
"We are many. You are but one. Surrender now, and join Shao Kahn, Prince Kurai. It is where you belong." He says monotonously, but Kurai says nothing and just shifts into his fighting stance.
"If I don't join Shao Kahn, Kitana dies. If I continue to fight against him for Earth Realms sake, Kitana dies. If I fight Ermac, and win, Kitana dies. Damn it... I'm in a no win situation right now until Raiden and the others show up. I guess I'm just gonna have to stall for time during the fight. I just hope Raiden gets here soon, I'm not at the same strength I was at the beginning of the tournament. I'm rested, but I put way more energy into the Phoenix Cleanse against Silva than I thought." Kurai anxiously thinks to himself as he just stares at Ermac.
Shang Tsung and Shao Kahn both watch them with demented gleeful grins on their faces, Kitana watches helplessly with worry for her little brother, and Mileena, who had left Kitana's side and walked over to the group of fighters, watches Kurai curiously, wondering just what her "little brother" can do.
Meanwhile, back in Earth Realm, with Drake...
"Pathetic, and weak. You let that disgraced fool get the drop on you while your guard was down." Drake hears that booming and intimidating voice inside his head again while he rests inside the Dark Wu Shi Temple after being brought back to Earth Realm by Raiden. After going for so long without hearing the voice after the tournament on Shang Tsung's island, he had brushed it off as a figment of his imagination and his frustration with his fight against Rain, but now it's back in full force.
"I was barely able to move due to my training with Temple Master Akuma-" He tries to explain.
"That is no excuse! If you were training to get stronger, then you should have been well trained enough to prevent the attack and put a stop to that weak wretch in his tracks! But no! You were hurting! Your muscles were sore! You're not used to Akuma's style of training! GROW UP OR GROW A SPINE!!!" The voice mockingly booms in Drake's head, causing him to wince in his sleep before it continued.
"I am only going to say this one time, boy. Because this will be your only warning. Get stronger. Stronger to the point where you will no longer need help from anyone. Including your friend, Kurai. Get stronger... or I will show you the true meaning of fear." It says to him before silence follows. After a few moments, Drake can see a pair of small, red glowing orbs off in the distance of the darkness surrounding him, and each time he blinks, they get closer.
And closer. And closer.
Closer.
After he blinks once more, a large horned, scaly, demonic creature suddenly pops up directly in front of him, roaring ferociously in his face, causing him to scream loudly and wake up from his slumber.
Falling out of his bed, shaken and drenched in a cold sweat, he takes deep, shaky breaths to calm himself down while he takes in his surroundings. "Right... right. I'm... I'm back in Earth Realm. And... I'm in my room. I can only assume that Kurai managed to save me and asked Raiden to bring me back." Thinking to himself as he looks around his room until his eyes land on his dresser from where he was knocked unconscious by the former Temple Master, Percival Silva, and then taken to Outworld.
Shuddering from the memory, he gently shakes his head then gets up to shakily walk out of his room and head towards a place where he knows he'll feel safer while also getting the rest he needs.
Kurai's room.
Opening the door slowly after walking up to his friends room, Drake walks in, closes the door behind him, and grabs a spare blanket from Kurai's closet before lying down on the couch against the far left wall. Looking around the room briefly, his eyelids begin to feel heavy until they eventually close as he drifts off to sleep again with a deep sigh. This time, without the presence of the voice or the demonic figure from his dream. Just uninterrupted, peaceful, silent sleep.
Back in Outworld, with Raiden and the Earth Realm Warriors...
Raiden teleports back into the Coliseum just in time to see Kurai fighting Ermac, but Kurai seemed to be looking very tired from having stalled for so long against the telepathic warrior. "Damn, I let him carry our weight for too long. If he loses, Earth Realm may be lost." Raiden wonders as Kurai finally catches a glance at the returned warriors, Jade included, which causes him to smile with relief.
"About time, guys. I've been holding my own against Ermac, but I can only hold back for so long." He then looks back over at Ermac, who was now flying towards him in a bright green glow to punch a hole in his gut with a glowing green fist, but Kurai dodges it before countering by grabbing Ermac's arm, and breaks his elbow.
CRACK!
This causes Ermac to scream in pain loudly before Kurai kicks in his knee, which makes Ermac scream even louder before Kurai sends him flying into the air with a powerful, fiery uppercut. Ermac is sent back a few meters away from Kurai before landing roughly on the Coliseum ground, unconscious as the Outworld crowd boos from Kurai's victory. The Edenian prince looks over at Shao Kahn, who glares at him furiously.
"Kurai... wins!" Shang Tsung begrudgingly declares.
Out of the corner of his eye, Kurai sees Liu Kang blending in with the other fighters to sneak his way over to Kitana to try and set her free. Taking in a deep breath, Kurai sighs deeply from the tension of everything that is now happening. "I guess this is it. Shao Kahn hasn't called him out yet, so, Liu Kang may just have a chance to get to Kitana and set her free, but I need to keep everyone's attention on me as best as I can. The tournament is drawing to a close, and I'm at the center of it this time." Wondering to himself as he watches Shao Kahn stand up from his throne.
"Kurai, you do realize that if you continue to win against my fighters, I'll kill your sister just because I can. You understand that, don't you?" The emperor asks him with a serious expression, which causes Kurai to nod with a smile.
"Yeah, I do understand that, Shao Kahn. However, I just thought of something. Let's make things even more interesting. I propose a wager." He tells the Outworld tyrant, which quickly catches his interest as he sits back down on his throne, but remains leaned forward.
"Well then, this should be fun. You have my attention, boy. What's the wager?" Shao Kahn asks Kurai curiously as the Edenian prince gains a confident grin.
"Here's what I propose. If I beat a group of your best warriors during the remainder of the tournament, without rest, you keep your word and forget about claiming Earth Realm forever, AND Kitana leaves with me safely." He proposes to Shao Kahn, who leans back in his throne with an inquisitive expression on his face as he thinks about the wager. Kitana, however, looks very concerned now. Fighting against multiple opponents, one after the other without rest? Her little brother is playing a very dangerous game.
"Hmm... And if one of these warriors should win?" The emperor asks Kurai curiously, although he already knew what the answer was going to be.
Kurai just shrugs nonchalantly before answering. "If one of your warriors wins against me, then you get what you want. I'll join you on the side of Outworld. Hell, to sweeten the deal, I'll even lead the charge myself next to Mileena against Earth Realm before you merge it with Outworld. BUT, I'll only remain loyal to you as long as Kitana is safe." He explains as Kitana's expression changes from worry to despair at what Kurai just proposed.
"No... Don't do this, Kurai... please. Not for me..." She whispers desperately as Shao Kahn sports a twisted grin on his face before he nods.
"You're on, boy." He says simply before leaning over at Shang Tsung then whispers to him. The sorcerer looks at Shao Kahn with a questionable expression as the emperor only nods in response.
Nodding with understanding, Shang Tsung stands up straight and looks at Kurai with seriousness before addressing the other fighters and the crowd. "The finals of the tournament... will now begin!" He declares, causing the Coliseum crowd to burst into loud cheers and applause before Shang Tsung gestures to Kurai. "The Prince of Edenia shall now face a group of our emperor's best warriors to decide the winner of the tournament. Earth Realm..." He explains only for the crowd to boo loudly at the mention of Earth Realm.
"...or Outworld." He continues, which is met with loud cheers from the crowd for Outworld. "First up is a special warrior from the Shokan clan. The Shokan Tiger, Kintaro!" The sorcerer declares as he raises his hand towards one of the gates that slowly begins to open with loud thudding footsteps coming from inside.
The crowd cheers as a unique Shokan with fur resembling tiger stripes, steps out from the shadows of the Coliseum interior and roars before it continues to walk towards Kurai. Letting out a deep breath, Kurai nods his head before shifting into his fighting stance. "Ok, Kurai, looks like you have to stall for more time. Liu Kang is going to try and free Kitana, Raiden and the others are on standby, while you are going to fight a group of Shao Kahn's best to win the tournament. I better not use the Phoenix Cleanse for these fights, not even as a last resort. It'll be the end Earth Realm if I drain whatever energy I have left. Just take these guys down as quick as you can and be done with it." He wonders to himself as Kintaro walks closer to him.
"So, you're what all the fuss is about with Goro, Sheeva, and all the other Shokan. Hmph, you don't look all that impressive to me. This will be easy." The tiger stripe Shokan says to the prince intimidatingly, but Kurai is unfazed.
"Don't be so sure of that, Kintaro. You're own arrogance might just be your downfall. As it is the same story for all great warriors who think they're unstoppable." He counters, which makes Kintaro growl furiously as he begins to stomp towards the prince.
Kurai vs. Kintaro...
Kintaro just stomps towards Kurai to try and intimidate him, but Kurai remains unfazed as the the tiger stripe Shokan glares ferociously at the prince before roaring in his face, but Kurai shuts him up quickly with a strong punch to the face. Kintaro stumbles back feeling stunned from the force of Kurai's punch. He's never met a fighter that has hit that hard before.
Shaking his head, Kintaro briefly looks bewildered at Kurai, but soon replaces his surprised expression with an angry one as he roars loudly and charges forward at the prince. Kurai stands his ground then quickly dodges to the side when Kintaro tries to grab hold of him, but instead runs right past him and almost crashes into the wall from his speed.
Looking behind him at Kintaro, Kurai thinks up a strategy to keep himself alive again the Shokan. "I can still hit hard, but not as much as I normally can because I'm still worn out from my fight with Silva earlier. I need to be quick, use my head, and use my strength only when I spot an opening. Earth Realms survival is riding on this, I can't screw this up." He thinks to himself as he turns to face Kintaro, who growls at him while baring his sharp teeth.
Kintaro rushes towards him while roaring at the prince before Kurai leaps up into the air and lands on the Shokan's back. He then elbows the top of Kintaro's head, which makes the Shokan shout in pain as he tries to grab Kurai and throw him off his back. But Kurai dodges his hands and repeatedly elbows and punches Kintaro's head, which only makes the tiger stripe Shokan frustrated and angry.
Letting out an infuriated roar, Kintaro uses all four of his arms to just barely grab Kurai and yank him off his back before throwing him roughly to the ground. Kurai quickly rolls out of the way just as Kintaro stomps his large foot down into the ground, but misses. Getting back to his feet, Kurai jumps and flies through the air with a hard kick to Kintaro's stomach, which causes the Shokan to double over in pain and groan before looking up at Kurai with a seething glare.
He snarls before standing back up straight then charges Kurai again. As he closes in on the Edenian prince, he begins to wildly swipe his claws at him, but Kurai swiftly dodges each and every swipe which begins to tire Kintaro from exerting so much energy and into each failed strike.
After noticing that Kintaro began to slow down and breathe heavily, Kurai jumps up into the air and kicks the tiger stripe Shokan in the face, staggering him, before sweeping his legs out from under him. Kintaro lands on the ground hard on his back, causing him to groan painfully as Kurai leaps back into the air and comes down before driving his knee into Kintaro's gut, which causes him to shout in pain and cough out blood.
Kurai quickly silences Kintaro with a palm to his throat, which makes Kintaro gasp desperately for air as Kurai flips over to the side before performing a front flip heel kick to his face. Kintaro feels his nose break as the fighters in the arena hear a sickening crunch while the tiger stripe Shokan begins to slowly stand back up with an infuriated glare at Kurai.
But the Edenian prince wastes no more time before dashing forward and gives Kintaro quick and devastating strikes to the Shokan's face before uppercutting him into the air before landing roughly on the steps of Shao Kahn's arena throne.
KURAI WINS!
Kintaro struggles to breathe and makes sickening gurgling sounds as Shao Kahn glances up at Kurai, who stares back at him with a glare, before glancing over at one of his servants and silently orders them to drag Kintaro away from the coliseum.
"Very good, Kurai. Very good. Lets see how much longer you can keep up your streak. You're looking awfully tired." The Outworld Emperor says tauntingly to Kurai, who glares at him while Kitana, Raiden, and his group all do the same at the Emperor. Kahn then looks over at two certain individuals with a growing grin on his face. "Shang Tsung. Quan Chi. The both of you will now fight Prince Kurai... together." He says to the two sorcerers wickedly as they both smirk and step forward to face the prince.
Kitana, Raiden and the others, including Liu Kang among the crowd of fighters, began to panic. Kurai against two of the deadliest sorcerers in existence? It seemed highly unfair, even to the Outworld crowd.
"Damn you, Shao Kahn. How far are you willing to go just to get your way?" Raiden wonders to himself as Kung Lao looks over at the thunder god.
"Lord Raiden, can Kurai continue to hild his own against those two? He seems to be getting tired. Maybe I should step in and aid him in the fight?" The Shaolin monk offered and began to step forward without waiting for an answer from Raiden, but the god of thunder raises his hand to stop him.
He looks at Kung Lao and shakes his head despairingly. "I'm sorry, Kung Lao, but the deal was that Kurai fights Shao Kahn's best, alone, without rest for the remainder of the tournament. I'm afraid... that Kurai will have to fight them... on his own." He says to his warriors sadly as they all look at him in shock.
"Raiden, you can't be serious?!" Cage asks him incredulously as he points at Kurai. "Kurai is doing great out there, but, damn it, look at him!" He says as he looks over at Kurai, who was letting out heavy breaths, before looking back at Raiden. "He needs help, Raiden. I don't doubt Kurai's ability, but he can't keep this up for much longer. We have to do something." He continues, desperately trying to convince Raiden to allow one of them to help Kurai.
Smoke nods in agreement. "They're both right, Lord Raiden. Despite Kurai's prowess and ability as a fighter, he's not a god. He's still mortal like the rest of us. He can barely stand on his own teo legs even now. You must allow one of us to aid him in this fight." The gray Lin Kuei ninja pleads as Cage, Jade and Kung Lao, all nod in agreement, but Raiden merely lowers his head and shakes it slowly, causing the warriors to look at him in shock once again.
"I hear your opinions, my friends, and I understand all of what you're saying. But if we try to interfere in this fight in any way, if Shao Kahn believes for even a moment that Kurai will back out of the deal, he will declare Outworld the victor of this tournament and begin the invasion of Earth Realm." He begins to explains as the warriors just listen. "He will search for any reason to claim victory early, and we cannot allow that to happen. Kurai made the deal with Shao Kahn, and he will now go back on his word for any reason." He continues before looking up at Kurai, who was still breathing heavily, but takes in a deep breath and sighs before shifting into his fighting stance as the two sorcerers approached with wide, sadistic grins on their faces.
"But I believe that while there is still fight left within Kurai, he will not give up. He won't allow himself to. It's not in his nature to give up. He has not come this far in 9,000 years just to give up now." He says confidently as his warriors all look back over at Kurai with confidence, but also uncertainty.
Jade holds up her hand to her chest and clenches tightly. "Please be careful, my prince. We're all so close. YOU are so close. Put an end to this and we can all go home. This time... together." She wonders pleadingly before glancing over at Kitana, who struggled with her chains with a look of despair on her face. "Kitana, please have faith in your brother. Seeing the scars I saw on him back on Shang Tsung's island, I'm sure he's been through worse than these two old men." Jade continues to wonder before looking back over at Kurai and the two sorcerers.
Stepping up first, Shang Tsung cracked his knuckles with a grin on his face. "Just so you know, Prince Kurai, Quan Chi and I are going to take great pleasure in this. You're going to regret not taking my deal." He says to Kurai with a chuckle as the Edenian prince scoffs.
"If I were a lesser man, Shang Tsung, I would have. But I'm not selling my soul to scum like you just to look for some answers to my past." He says to the Outworld sorcerer before cracking his neck then tenses his muscles and waits for the fight to begin.
Kurai vs. Shang Tsung & Quan Chi...
FIGHT!