Author's Note: Just to clarify for y'all based on feedback, the Tarkatan Johnny fought was NOT Baraka, the Saurian that Sonya killed was NOT Reptile, and the Kytinn Kung Lao just battled was NOT D'Vorah. I've got plans for those named characters and didn't want to kill them off right away.

Without further ado, enjoy!


-Chapter 11: The Tournament - Magnus and Mileena-

When the light faded, Mileena was greeted with a measure of darkness as she had been teleported to a grotto somewhere under the island. She blinked a few times, trying to ascertain her surroundings. Nothing was familiar, jutting stalactites and stalagmites lined the walls while a pool of still water beckoned to her left. The distant shriek of bats seemed to indicate these were active caverns, not some completely forgotten cave network, and that made Mileena think. 'Whatever foul creature do you have in mind for me, sorcerer?'

She started moving, not wanting to get caught in an ambush from the shadows. The low light made things tricky and played havoc with her sight. An opening beckoned to her with promises of pale light further ahead. Mileena pursued and the light grew brighter revealing a stone path underfoot. The path continued through a high-arched portal in the rock, carved into arabesques and ornate traceries. Flaring torches were set all about the portal, along the path leading to it, then up, over, and around the opening.

Mileena stood for a moment, undecided. 'An invitation? Or a trap? I can't say for sure… expect the worst and be pleasantly surprised if it's fine.' Then she snatched up a torch from the portal's side, turned and walked into the tunnel opening. The torch flared high overhead, illuminating the dark stone walls. Soon the tunnel bent and the patch of light that was the entrance vanished. Mileena walked a few paces farther on before the walls and the ceiling of the tunnel opened out and she found herself in a vast dark cavern. Beyond the tiny patch of illuminated sand beneath her feet she might as well have been floating in space. Total blackness extended in all directions. She walked on in what she hoped was a straight line. The floor had been sandy and laced with footprints. Now it became hard stone. The path narrowed to a roadway of lighter stone some ten feet across, with darkness on either side. Then the roadway branched.

'Which way?' Mileena asked herself. Flipping a mental coin, she headed left. Soon the road branched again. This time Mileena turned right. She proceeded as quickly as she dared amid an ever-branching web of roads on the cavern floor.

Without warning, her feet were swept out from under her. She landed flat on her back on the stone, the torch flying from her hand. It arced up and over, falling into one of the dark areas between the gray flagstone roads. And it continued to fall, down and down, its light growing more feeble. It went out. After a long time the sound of a distant impact sounded, echoing up from far below. 'Fall and I'm dead.'

Rolling to a crouch, Mileena drew one of her sai and tensed, expecting her unseen attacker to try again. The distant rush of wind suggested hearty wingbeats but she could not be certain. Deeming it best to leave a place where she was so vulnerable, the Outworld woman moved at a sprint, basing her movements on what she could recall.

She blinked a couple of times. Without the torch blinding her it was getting easier to see. Up ahead there was a lighter patch. It looked like reflected firelight on a rock wall. She chose to follow it, not once slowing down. The path branched again and again, but Mileena went along as surely as if she knew the way, guided by the light. The path ended when it entered an opening in a rock wall. A narrow way led to the right, while the main road broke into a set of wide stairs to go to the floor of the cavern. Mileena went to the right and the path edged around a huge natural cavern. It turned into a ledge high above the floor. Giant stalactites and stalagmites hung down from above and thrust up from below. Hundreds of blazing torches filled sconces throughout the hall. Mileena made her way along the ledge to a point overlooking a large ebony table. Gold and silver tableware lay scattered over its surface. 'A subterranean dining hall. What kind of lair is this, sorcerer?'

An answer came in the form of the shriek from above.

Mileena had only a second to turn before a great winged creature pounced on her, using its speed and weight to slam her into the ground and drag her across the rough-hewn rocks. Raising her sai she planted it deep in her foe's shoulder, another screech echoing through the room before the winged creature released her and rolled to another part of the room. Mileena picked herself up, drawing her second sai as the identity of her assailant became clear…

It was a Vaeternian. A woman with long red hair dressed in a dark robe with a plunging neckline and a very high slit up the side, revealing a smooth toned alabaster leg. Her visage was framed by two great batlike wings and further illuminated by all the silver jewelry and trappings she wore around her arms, chest and forehead. There was a wicked look in her eyes, one accentuated by the hiss she loosed which revealed two prominent fangs.

"I'm not all that surprised the emperor permits you bloodsuckers to participate in the tournament." Mileena snapped. "He must be incredibly desperate to ask your kind to fight on his behalf."

"You speak of desperation and yet Earthrealm sends someone like you to fight for them." The Vaeternian retorted as Mileena crouched and tensed.

"You'll find I'm more than meets the eye, you screeching harpy." Mileena sharply told her foe.

"I am Strimana of the Elder Coven! Remember that name," came the retort, "for I will be your end." Rushing forward with a shriek, Strimana swung her clawed hands out in a move that surely would have torn Mileena's flesh asunder. But the Outworld woman rolled underneath, springing up behind Strimana as she threw out her sai, impaling her in the shoulder blades right between her wings. With a sharp cry, the vampire stumbled to the ground, allowing Mileena to pursue and ram a knee into the back of her head.

Plucking her sais free, Mileena returned to a crouch as the Vaeternian whirled on her. Flexing her claw-like nails, Strimana cut through her exposed flesh as a scarlet glow came over her eyes. Mileena tensed, she knew what it was, something the Wu Shi monks did not describe in their library; a Moroi Bloodletting ritual, an ethereal exchange of health for strength. The ancient mages and hemomancers of the realm had perfected the art of blood magick and it seemed this Vaeternian was versed in such arts.

Mileena adjusted her grip on her sais as Strimana charged her, sweeping her claws in wide arcs only to be rebuffed by a flick from Mileena's weapons. The Outworld woman knew her footing, keeping her distance from the vampire as she watched her arms with laser-like focus. Changing tactics, Strimana spewed a bloody bile from her mouth that made Mileena's exposed skin burn on contact, giving the Vaeternian enough time to sink her claws into Mileena's arms and carry her into the air. Throwing her into a nearby wall, the Vaeternian dove in and rammed her heels into Mileena's gut.

Mileena fell to the ground, gathering her wits and sprinting for the table as Strimana floated to the ground. Cartwheeling onto the table, a flick of her sai sent a silver plate shooting towards the Vaeternian. The Outworld woman acted with a plan. 'That ritual doesn't last forever, I just have to stay out of range until it wears off.' Strimana came after her with a shriek, Mileena spinning backwards over the table and onto a chair, riding it to the ground before teleporting away with a flash of violet light. The Vaeternian appeared confused and looked around, failing to anticipate Mileena reappearing behind her and attacking with a dive kick, her foot striking the back of Strimana's head and slamming her into the edge of the table.

Mileena landed on the ground as Strimana turned with a screech, a quick swipe of her claws cutting through the torso of Mileena's bodysuit before a clawed uppercut pitched her into the air where Strimana followed. Her claws dug deep into her flesh before Strimana spun and clubbed Mileena across the face with a spin kick before she executed a dive kick of her own that rammed Mileena into the floor. The Vaeternian dug her claws into her own flesh again as the effects of the blood ritual took over, this time allowing her to conjure her spilt blood into a form of energy which she then flung at Mileena.

The bolt struck the rising Outworld woman and pitched her into one of the cavern walls, several stalagmites shattering in the process. Strimana took flight again, closing in for a possible kill. But Mileena acted quickly, grabbing one of the broken stalagmites and ramming the improvised weapon right into Strimana's thigh. The vampire loosed a shriek as Mileena retaliated, swiping with her sai to cut into the Vaeternian's torso before an uppercut rammed her jaw with crushing force and gave Mileena the chance to execute a scissorkick that pitched Strimana back towards the dining table.

But Mileena teleported ahead of Strimana, executing a rising lunge kick that caught the vampire on the jaw with crushing force, pitching her into a nearby chair that splintered into pieces on impact. The Vaeternian picked herself up, heaving for breath with fangs out and seeking blood. But Mileena spun and executed a hook kick, clubbing Strimana across the face and stunning her just long enough for Mileena to executed a backflip kick that pitched her into the air. Her sais at the ready, the Outworld woman plunged them into the Vaeternian's exposed gut, giving her the leverage needed to slam her head into the table, splitting it in two with a loud CRACK as cutlery and silverware went flying in every direction.

Mileena backed off, pondering the possibility that Strimana might not be able to keep going. But that train of thought was quickly proven false as the vampire moved to a crouch, shrieking as she took flight and then rammed down hard into Mileena as she dug her claws into the Outworld woman's shoulders, throwing her to the ground where Strimana kept her pinned. The Vaeternian promptly bit into her neck, eliciting a howl from Mileena as her blood was consumed. Almost as promptly, Strimana released her, rising up while leaving her on the ground as the taste of her blood settled on her tongue. She licked her lips, eyeing Mileena quizzically.

"Your blood is strong. This is not the blood of an Earthrealmer…" she realized, "it is… You are not from Earthrealm!" She realized. The stinging pain of having her blood consumed sparked a fervor in Mileena. A strong desire to end this rising within her as the words of Raiden came to mind…

"Do not fear the abilities you have been given. By embracing them, you embrace yourself."

"You're right, harpy! I'm from Outworld!" She growled, snapping her eyes open to reveal catlike amber. "Which means I'm even more savage than you!"

Tugging her veil down, she revealed her Tarkatan maw, shocking the Vaeternian. Capitalizing on her surprise, Mileena pounced, stabbing her over and over again with her sais before she drove a rising knee into Strimana's face. Blood spurted around her joint as Strimana screeched in pain from the krushing blow, only to be silence as Mileena rammed her sais into the vampire's shoulders and threw her to the ground. Her nails dug into flesh like claws, cutting deep gouges into Strimana's flesh as Mileena forcibly bared her neck.

"Like my teeth?" She asked sardonically, opened her maw wide as she bit down into Strimana's neck. The raw power of her jaws and the strength of her Tarkatan teeth allowed Mileena to bite through sinew and bone, tearing through Strimana's flesh until she pulled back and ripped out the whole of her throat. Deprived of an esophagus, Strimana gurgled helpless, clawing he air as blood spilled liberally from the open wound as Mileena consumed her neck in a few chomps and one gulp. The flailing Vaeternian soon fell still as a glassy look came over her eyes, head hanging limply and barely attached via her spinal cord.

Mileena stood and wiped her maw on the back of her glove. "Such a bitter taste." She spat, her long tongue shooting out to lick her chops clean. The job done, Mileena slipped her veil back over her face, collected her sais, and moved on, leaving the corpse of Strimana behind in the dark.


There was an open grove near the middle of the island, behind Shang Tsung's great hall. It was here in this openness that Magnus Shadrix found he had been teleported. The Yngling looked around, surprised by the sudden change. Trees planted in such symmetrical lines bordered the edges of the grove while the knee-high grass growing for many miles around faintly reminded the Norwegian of the rice fields near the Wu Shi Academy. 'Jævel said he'd already decided our opponents. Which means I need to be on my toes.'

He started walking, following the open field while his gaze continually darted back to the tree line. He was wary of an ambush and expected his Outworld opponent to be devious and underhanded. 'Always expect the worst. We'll see which of these kombatants is someone with a sense of honor.' Magnus kept his arms loose, hands always near if not on his axes, ready to move and act at a moment's notice. He refused to be caught off-guard. Apart from the warmth of the air and the distant call of exotic birds, there appeared to be nothing foul afoot. A small part of him questioned if he had been sent away from where the real tournament was unfolding.

He noticed a disturbance in the grass ahead. Matted down, broken, disrupted, as if something heavy had worn it down to reveal an indentation in the land. Magnus picked up his pace, advancing to check it out. Soon the faint form of something laying on the ground was revealed… and the closer Magnus drew, the more details were revealed. It was a body. He knelt beside it, recognition dawning on him. It was the busty woman he'd seen in the hall upon their arrival, the one armed with wreaths of darts. Her chest had been torn open, ribs jutting out like bent rebar to reveal that her heart had been torn free from her insides. 'Waste of a fine woman.' He thought. Then he studied the state of the blood and how some of it was still viscous in a fluid state. It had not dried because it did not have time to dry. 'This is a fresh kill. Her killer must be nearby.'

A scream drew his attention to the tree line. It seemed too coincidental that he discovered a dead body only to hear the sounds of another being made. If this was kombat-related, he needed to investigate. Magnus rose and started jogging, entering the trees he had once been so wary of but now plunged headlong into. Distant grunts of exertion beckoned him and he followed them until he discovered a grassy clearing, separated from the remainder of the field by a square of trees. Orange and yellow paper lanterns hung from the trees, giving the place a festive appearance.

In the centre was a scene that was anything but festive.

Another kombatant lay dead on the ground, wearing the colours and symbol of the Lin Kuei Clan. His chest had been torn open, a look of horror etched into glassy eyes above a silver mask. His heart had been removed, held in the hand of a tall olive-skinned man covered with bone trappings and tattoos. In his bloodied hand he held the heart of the Lin Kuei aloft, crushing it to spill its contents into his open mouth. Despite thr horror of the scene, Magnus steeled himself, knowing who this was.

He was an Osh-Tekk; an Outworlder from an eponymous province that had been conquered by Shao Kahn. In appearance and action, they very much resembled the ancient Aztecs of Earth… 'Or perhaps it's the other way around.' Magnus recalled. The Wu Shi library suggested the possibility that Osh-Tekk had visited Earthrealm and imparted their culture to those they encountered, but no evidence could confirm such a thing. Similarities aside, Osh-Tekk were known to be fierce warriors with power over sunlight and participated in blood rituals to enhance their strength and tenacity in battle.

The Osh-Tekk threw the crushed heart aside, taking in Magnus with fiery eyes. "Earthrealmer!" He boomed. "You will fall just as your fellows have!"

"You assume too much, Outworlder." Magnus retorted, unsheathing his axes. "I will not be denied my goals." In response, the Osh-Tekk thumped his chest with a fist.

"I am Huitlac, Blood Priest of Osh-Tekk!" He declared. "Your death will fuel my rise to victory in this tournament!" Huitlac drew a pair of coatl sickles from behind him, mirroring Magnus' own axes. The Norwegian tensed, steeling his posture.

"We'll see about that, skraeling." He said with a growl. The Osh-Tekk bellowed a war cry and rushed Magnus, metal clanging off metal as sickles met axes. The Outworlder moved at a furious gait, hacking into Magnus' guard repeatedly and swinging at every possible opening her could find. Magnus did his best to block or parry, but suffered a cut across his legs that the Osh-Tekk turned into an uppercut with his sickle, cutting a bloody line across his torso.

From there, Huitlac reared back and landed a double-sickle overhead swing, cutting through Magnus' leather robes and into his skin. The Osh-Tekk then laid into him with back and forth swings of his sickles, slicing through Magnus' chest until he hooked one sickle into his shoulder and used the other to cut across his abs. Blood began to spill and Huitlac lifted the Yngling over his head, consuming the crimson streams that spilled out before he threw Magnus to the ground. "Kotah-YAH!" Huitlac chanted, channeling the strength he received from his blood ritual. Loosing a guttural exhale, like that of an animal rearing up, Magnus pounded the ground with a fist. "Krigere vil falle når bjørnekloen slår. Jeg skal kjempe til Valhöll!" He growled, fighting past the pain and bringing himself to full height. The Osh-Tekk looked on as MAgnus continued his chant, "Fryktløs skal jeg drikke blod fra mine fienders sår. Sammen skal jeg rase på slagmarkene til lik! Krigens far befaler meg!" A wild look came over him and with eyes suddenly full of fury, Magnus powered ahead with a lunge as both of his fists began to crackle with electricity. Executing a high palm strike and following up with two sweeping kicks that clubbed him across the face, Magnus pounded Huitlac's chest with fists enveloped by electricity before ramming his torso with a twin-jab that bowled the Osh-Tekk over.

Huitlac fell head over heels, loosing his sickles in the process. The Osh-Tekk quickly picked himself up and raised himself to full height, loosing a growl. "Chatel…" Magnus came barrelling after him, fist cocked, only to be taken down as Huitlac bashed bashed across the face with two heavy punches before knocking him back with a push kick. Raising his arm, he channeled the power of the sun into his hand. "Hoteh mah-YAH shaleh!" He called, a burst of searing sunlight erupting from his hand and knocking Magnus away.

With enough space between them, Huitlac drew his tecpatl sacrificial knife and slit his own chest as blood power surged into his hands. "I grow tired of this, Earthrealmer." He announced, stalking towards Magnus. The Yngling rose, assuming a Nan Chuan stance as the Osh-Tekk struck with two heavy hooks and then a sweeping kick. But Magnus was able to counter Huitlac's heavier kombat with faster blows, mashing him with an electrified right hook that he turned into an elbow strike before landing a crushing palm strike to the Osh-Tekk's ribs that resulted in the CRACK of fractured bone.

Magnus pursued his foe, only to found his neck snared by one of Huitlac's beefy hands. The blood priest summoned a scorching beam of light from above and thrust Magnus into it. His body seared by temperatures over 100 degrees, a headbutt knocked the Yngling to the ground as Huitlac stood tall. "You should know better than to cross an Osh-Tekk." He taunted.

"You're all talk." Magnus rasped. "Your kombat is all about powers… you have nothing special otherwise." The goad worked and Huitlac came charging after him. The Osh-Tekk shot out a low kick and then a side kick, Magnus grabbing his extended leg and throwing Huitlac to the ground, where he pounced on him in Glima fashion. "Mark well the might of a Njordborn!" He seethed, clamping his electrified hands on either side of Huitlac's head and discharging electricity into him.

The Osh-Tekk cried out in pain, flailing for a moment before he grabbed Magnus' wrists and threw him off, buying himself enough time to recover. By a stroke of fortune, the two found their respective weapons and picked themselves up, armed and ready to continue. Rising to his feet, Huitlac drew his tecpatl and slit his palm, summoning a totem via his offering of blood as the tattoos across his body began to glow red. The power of the Osh-Tekk blood god now flowed through him. "You vex me, Earthrealmer." Huitlac growled as his eyes glowed red. Magnus couldn't resist a smirk.

"Is that so?" He replied. "You're rather disappointing yourself, skraeling." With a shout, the Osh-Tekk charged him, Magnus quickly batting away his sickles with his axes. Seeing an opening, Magnus threw Huitlac's arms out wide and promptly buried his axes on either side of his neck, giving him leverage to pull Huitlac down and drive his knee into the Osh-Tekk's face. The crunch of crushed bone resounded throughout the area and Huitlac was pitched back with a cry as blood spurted from his shoulders. Magnus pressed on, his weapons cutting clean through flesh with passing swipes, every slash further wounding Huitlac and leaving a bloody gash behind.

But each drop of spilt blood fueled his strength even further.

Before Magnus could lunge forward and hack into the Osh-Tekk again, the blood priest summoned a totem beneath the Norwegian that launched him into the air. Huitlac lept up and grabbed Magnus by his legs, throwing him back to the ground and smashing him hard into the grass. With a firm grasp on his leg, the Osh-Tekk turned and threw him to the opposite end of the field before giving chase. Fighting through pain with a hoarse rasp, Magnus picked himself up and turned as Huitlac closed the gap.

Sliding his hands just behind the axeheads, Magnus landed bladed blows to Huitlac's chest and torso before he rushed forward and tackled the Osh-Tekk to the ground. Pinning him beneath his body, the Yngling wound up and planted one of his axes right between Huitlac's eyes, blood spurting freely as Huitlac cried out in pain. Wrenching his weapon free, the Yngling drew back to strike again only to be blown off as Huitlac channeled a burst of sunlight from his hand. The Osh-Tekk made to rise, taking his time… something Magnus noted. 'His ritual has worn off. The blood loss weakens him.'

Pressing his advantage, Magnus' arcana power was channeled into his axes, electrifying the blades as he hacked into Huitlac and spun around to rake blonde axes across the Osh-Tekk's chest. Grabbing Huitlac and slamming him into a tree, Magnus drove one axe into his chest and then another into his torso, using his leverage to lift the Osh-Tekk and throw him to the ground. Where he promptly drew his seax knife and drove it deep into Huitlac's thigh, wrenching it free to water the ground with more blood.

Huitlac cried out and tried to reach for his tecpatl again, only to be denied as Magnus drove his seax knife into his hand and pinned it to the ground. Pulling his axes free, Magnus loomed over the downed Osh-Tekk, engaging in Laustak as he reared back one weapon and swung hard, burying it in Huitlac's jaw and nearly splitting his mouth wide open. With a shout, he threw down his second axe, and buried it deep in the top of Huitlac's head. The Osh-Tekk went rigid, muscle spasms causing his limbs to twitch as Magnus used his newfound hold to wrench both weapons and tear off the upper portion of Huitlac's head, leaving his lower jaw behind as his tongue lolled out of the gaping wound.

Blood watered the ground in liberal splashes as Magnus threw down Huitlac's skull and removed his weapons. "Your winning streak ends here." He muttered, wiping the blood from his face with the back of his fur bracer. Retrieving his seax knife and ensuring his weapons were properly sheathed on his person, the Norwegian left the carnage behind.