Disclaimer: I do not own Mortal Kombat or any of its characters. All rights belong to Ed Boon, Nether Realm Studios, and Warner Bros.
A few days had already past after the tournament in Outworld. After saying his goodbyes to his friends, departing from China, and returning to the Dark Wu Shi temple in Okinawa with Kitana and Jade, and finding them more appropriate clothes, Kurai walks towards the entrance of the temple with his older sister and her bodyguard/best friend beside him.
As they walk up to the gates, Kitana stops her brother. "Kurai? Could we... Could we talk for a moment?" She asks him hesitantly. Kurai and Jade look at each other for a moment before Kurai looks back at Kitana and nods. "I know that Jade and I said that we would accompany you wherever you went, but... are you certain we'll be welcome here? I mean... we had been fighting against Earth Realm for many many years." She asks fearfully as she gazes upon the gates of the Dark Wu Shi academy.
Kurai just smiles and walks up to Kitana before placing a hand on her shoulder causing her to look at him. "Don't worry, Kitana. If anyone has a problem with you or Jade being here, they can talk to me about it." He tells her with a smile. Kitana looks at him with uncertainty, but smiles after a moment and nods before she, Kurai, and Jade proceed towards the gates.
The gates open to reveal Han, with a smile on his face, being escorted by a few of the temple masters, including Akuma. Han walks towards Kurai and embraces him in a hug. "Well done, Kurai. You and the rest of the fighters that fought alongside you in Outworld." He says to Kurai happily before noticing who was with him and casually walks over to them.
"Princess Kitana, and Jade." He said to them simply before looking over to Kurai. "Kurai said in his letter that he would be bringing guests with them." He says looking over his shoulder at Kurai, who smiles with a shrug.
Looking back at the two women, Han smiles and bows respectfully to the both of them. "Welcome to both of you. You honor us with your presence." He says to them, surprising them both, before looking over at Akuma. "Akuma, please show these beautiful ladies where their rooms will be." He asks Akuma politely, who nods and bows politely to the old man.
"Yes, Grandmaster Han." The temple master says before politely gesturing for the two women to follow him. But Kitana and Jade hesitate for a moment before looking at Kurai for confirmation. "Princess Kitana. Jade. Please. If you are worried about the other students making a move against you, I will not allow that to happen. You have my word." Akuma promises them with reassurance. Kitana and Jade look at Akuma for a moment before looking at Kurai.
He nods with a smile and gestures for them to follow the temple master to their rooms. After a moment they relent and begin to follow Akuma to their rooms until they both stop again and look back at Kurai. Understanding that there was more they wanted to talk about with him, Kurai puts up a calming hand. "We'll talk later. I promise." He promises them which causes them to feel more relaxed before continuing to follow Akuma.
Kurai looks at Han with a smile. "Thank you for allowing them to come here, Han. When I told them and the others that I would be returning here they both insisted that they come with me." He says thankfully to Han, who nods with a smile of his own.
"Think nothing of it, Kurai. I'm always happy to help." The Grandmaster says to him, but soon loses his smile for a more serious expression. "You also said that there was more that you needed to tell me, and that you wanted to tell me in person." He continued before Kurai looks at him with a nod.
"I'll tell you, but not in the open. Meet me in the temple in an hour along with the other temple masters. They'll need to hear this too." He says to the Grandmaster seriously, who nods as he and the other temple masters disperse and return to their daily activities while Kurai decides to pay a visit to his friend Drake.
Moments later, Warrior Training Circle...
Striking with his fists against a wooden training dummy, Drake had an expression of determination on his face until he heard footsteps walking up behind him. He turns around to see who was walking up to him only to see that it was Kurai.
"Kurai! You're back!" He says happily before running up to him and hug him. Kurai hugs him back with a smile before pulling away then notices Drake's arms and hands. Kurai looks up at Drake with a shocked expression while Drake looks at him with slight embarrassment.
"Drake, I'm glad you're ok, but, how long have you been at this? You should be resting after that traumatic experience not training to the point where you're a bloody mess." Kurai says to his friend worriedly which only causes Drake to yank his hands out of Kurai's grasp.
"I'm fine, Kurai. You don't have to worry about me. Not anymore." He says seriously before walking back over to the wooden training dummy and proceeded to punch and kick it again.
Kurai sigh dejectedly while watching his friend sadly. "Drake, I understand how you feel. You're angry and upset at yourself for what happened. Silva caught you at a weak moment where you were unable to defend yourself properly. But this is not what you should be doing right now. You should be resting up to recover your strength, not training. There will be plenty of time for you to train, but now is not the time. You need rest." He tells his friend earnestly which causes Drake slow down before placing his forehead against the training dummy and sigh.
"No! What are you doing?! Don't listen to him! What does he know?! He's immortal! What hardship has he gone through that you haven't?! Get back to training! Make yourself stronger! DON'T LISTEN TO HIM!!!" The voice that Drake continues to hear continuously shouts at him and causes him to flinch in pain from being shouted at so loudly.
"You're wrong. Kurai may be immortal and he may have been born into royalty, but I don't think it would have mattered if that hadn't been taken from him. He a survivor, a warrior, and he's been through much more and much worse than I have." He tells the voice, silencing it for now before he looks at him with an understanding expression.
"You're... You're right, Kurai. I'm just so frustrated with myself that I was caught off guard so easily. And by Silva of all people." He admits as Kurai nods with understanding while crossing his arms.
"Believe me, Drake, I get it, ok? But you have to remember that you had just started training with someone that is more strict than others and your body wasn't used to that type of training. You can be angry at yourself all you want, but the fact is Silva caught you off guard when you were at your weakest. It was scummy and cowardly. Which is the only two ways that can describe him." He tells Drake, who nods dejectedly before Kurai sighs.
"Drake, look, if you want to keep training like this, then don't let me stop you. But my advice to you right now is to get some much need rest. You'll have plenty of time to train yourself stupid until you drop, but like I said, now is not the time. Get some rest and get those hands looked at. You won't be able to use them or train properly if they don't fully heal." The prince tells his friend, who nods before looking up at Kurai with a smile.
"Thanks, Kurai." He says to him, making Kurai nod.
"Anytime, Drake. I'll see you later." He says patting Drake's shoulder before walking away.
Before Drake decides to head to the healer of the temple, his thoughts suddenly drifted to redhead ninja that briefly helped him and spared him from Silva while he was being held captive. He then remembers her name. "Skarlet..." He whispers quietly as a smile forms on his face.
One hour later, Main Temple...
One hour after Kurai had returned to the temple with Kitana and Jade, he was now standing in the center of the main temple of the Dark Wu Shi Academy with Grandmaster Han and the other temple masters discussing what the future held for Earth Realm and its people.
"What blasphemy, Kurai. You said so yourself. The Shaolin monk, Liu Kang, killed Shao Kahn and won the tournament. How would the self proclaimed emperor of Outworld be able to come back from the dead after receiving a hole in his chest?" One of the temple masters asks Kurai, not believing for a second that Shao Kahn could come back from the dead after having been killed by Liu Kang.
"You just said it. This is Outworld we're talking about here. Who knows what kind of abilities those people in Outworld have that could possibly defy death? From what I've read on the records of Outworld, Shang Tsung was originally from Earth Realm before turning on it then defecting to Shao Kahn and Outworld. Shang Tsung, as I'm sure many of you know, was born thousands of years ago, and he is still here to this day. Now I want one of you to tell me what this tells you." Kurai explains as the room falls silent as none of the temple masters has an answer, even though they already know.
"Anyone? No? Well then, I don't know about the rest of you, but Shang Tsung still being alive tells me that he has learned all types of dark magic in Outworld to keep himself alive. Especially this long. And if Shang Tsung can keep himself alive, I can guarantee that Shao Kahn has a way to bring himself back from the dead." Kurai continues as the temple masters just listen.
Until Han decided to speak up. "And just what exactly are you saying here, Kurai? Shao Kahn, like the rest of us, are bound by the rules of Mortal Kombat. Even if he does somehow come back to life, there is nothing he can do against Earth Realm. The deal was that if Outworld loses to Earth Realm in its own tournament, he would give up his conquest to conquer this realm. And thanks to you and Liu Kang, Outworld lost." Han points out, reminding Kurai of the deal that was proposed by Shao Kahn through Shang Tsung.
But Kurai shakes his head. "I remember, Han. I was there when Shang Tsung made the proposal. But knowing Shao Kahn's history, he won't honor his word. There are countless records that have said he never does. And even if he is bound by the rules of Mortal Kombat, he or one of his servants will find a loophole that they can, and WILL, exploit just to conquer Earth Realm because of his bruised ego. Think about it." The prince continues to explain while Han and the temple masters to listen.
"The 10th Mortal Kombat tournament that was held a month ago was the deciding factor for the fate of Earth Realm. Liu Kang defeats Shang Tsung, wins the tournament, and breaks the Outworld winning streak. After that was supposed to be an era of peace until the next tournament. But what happens? Shang Tsung shows up at the Wu Shi academy a month later with a proposal from Shao Kahn to compete in a new tournament held in Outworld. The prize? Earth Realms full freedom or invasion from Outworld." Kurai explains as Han and the temple masters begin to understand what Kurai was saying.
"Raiden refused because there was no need for any of us from Earth Realm to compete in the tournament. We only accepted because we were forced to after two of our companions were taken and held hostage. Sonya Blade and Drake Lee. Sonya was taken after a Tarkatan horde invaded and attacked the Wu Shi temple, and Drake was taken by a former Dark Wu Shi warrior. Percival Silva." Kurai continued and after mentioning Silva all the temple masters were in an uproar, except Han, who looked surprised, but at the same time, wasn't.
"Hold your tongue, Kurai! Silva may be a lot of things, but a traitor is not one of them!" One of the temple masters shouts at him, but Kurai remains unfazed by the outcries of rage directed at him.
"If you're so certain of that, why don't you ask Raiden yourself? He is one of many witnesses who saw me fight Silva in Outworld during the tournament." He says simply as the room falls silent again.
"You... You can't be serious, Kurai? Calling upon Lord Raiden like he's a... like he's a servant? That's blasphemy!" Another one of the temple master says to Kurai.
Kurai says nothing and just shrugs before looking at Han, knowing that he has been in contact with Raiden a few times in the distant past before his falling out with Liu Kang's grandfather. Kurai's look causes Han to sigh deeply before he gains a more serious expression on his face. "Lord Raiden! I must speak with you!" He declares shocking the temple masters when suddenly a bright bolt of lightning strikes down in the center of the temple shocking the temple masters once more as they all stand on their feet then quickly get on their knees and bow in fear and respect at the new guest.
"Grandmaster Han, why have you summoned me?" Raiden asks Han before noticing Kurai standing in the room with him as well as the many temple masters, who had their heads low to avoid the thunder gods gaze. He walks over to Kurai and holds out his hand. Kurai accepts it and both shake hands firmly before Raiden asks his question again. "Kurai, tell me, why have I been summoned here?"
"You won't be here for long, Raiden, but I didn't summon you here. Han did. The temple masters don't believe that Percival Silva, a former warrior and teacher here, they don't believe that Silva betrayed Earth Realm and defected to Outworld. They also don't believe that I fought him during the Outworld tournament to save Drake." Kurai explains causing Raiden to nod his head in understanding before turning to the temple masters, who still had their heads as low as possible.
"To all of you that do not believe Kurai's words, perhaps you'll believe mine. Yes, Percival Silva did in fact betray Earth Realm and join Outworld, but it was short lived. Silva also betrayed Outworld and turned on Shao Kahn before trying to fight and kill Kurai in Mortal Kombat while using the young man, Drake Lee, as leverage against Kurai. Unfortunately for him, Silva's own arrogance and ego caused his downfall before Shao Kahn dragged him away to be punished. We haven't seen him since. More than likely he's been disposed of by Shao Kahn's minions." Raiden testifies which causes Han to sigh deeply again and nod as the other temple masters all nod in understanding. They may not have believed Kurai's words, but they know better than to doubt the word of a god.
Realizing that his presence here may no longer be necessary, Raiden nods before turning to Kurai with a smile. "I hope that was helpful to you, Kurai. Is there anything you might need?" He asks politely before Kurai shakes his head.
"No, Raiden. But thank you." He says with a smile as Raiden nods with a smile before teleporting out of the temple in a bolt of lightning. The temple masters raise their heads with shocked and bewildered expressions on their faces as they remain silent.
After a few moments of no one wanting to speak, Han looks at Kurai. "Is there anything else that you wish to speak of, Kurai?" He asks curiously, making Kurai begin to think for a moment before finally nodding.
"Just one thing. I suggest that all the temple masters up their training regiments and bring their students up on par with Akuma's students. If Shao Kahn decides to attack Earth Realm, and we all know he will, we'll need strong fighters to defend it. If we don't, we might as well just go ahead and give up. But I know that all of you aren't quitters, so what's stopping you?" He suggests as all the temple masters look at each other with uncertainty as Akuma looks around at them before looking at Han.
"Grandmaster Han, I can take a look at what my fellow temple master students need to work on and make suggestions that can make them stronger." The temple master suggested as Han began to think for a moment about the idea.
Nodding after a moment, Han looks at Akuma with an enthusiastic expression. "Very well, Akuma. Tomorrow you shall survey what the other temple masters are teaching their students and give them suggestions on they and their masters need to work on. But don't overstep your boundaries." Han says to Akuma, who nods and bows respectfully.
"Of course, Grandmaster." He answers.
"Does anyone else have any suggestions?" Han asks the rest of the temple masters and Kurai and waited patiently, but no more answers or suggestions came. "No? Very well then. I guess this brings this meeting to a close." He says as the people in the temple disperse and leave the temple.
Kurai walks out of the temple just as the sun begins to set and was about to walk to his room, but stops when he sees Kitana and Jade standing at the bottom of the stairs. "Kitana? Jade? Is everything alright? How do you like your rooms?" He asks them wondering if anything was wrong and if they liked their new rooms.
They both look at him when they look up and shake their heads with smiles on their faces. "Everything is fine, Kurai. Don't worry. And we like our rooms fine. It's just..." Jade answers before pausing with hesitation.
"Just what, Jade?" Kurai presses, wondering what's on their minds.
"It's just that we need... a little more time to... adjust to being here in Earth Realm. So... Kitana and I were wondering if..." Jade continues before pausing again with a faint blush.
"We were wondering if we could... um, stay with you in your room for... a few days? Just for a few days. Please?" Kitana finished the question after losing her patience.
This causes Kurai to blink while letting the question process and sink in in his head. After a moment he smiles and chuckles before walking down closer to them. "You do realize that this will raise some questions amongst those here at the academy, right?" He wonders curiously, knowing that questions will likely be asked if anybody found out.
Both women nod with understanding. "Kurai, we do understand, trust me. We just... need, no, we WANT to stay around someone familiar and... safe while we're here in Earth Realm. Like Kitana said, it's only for a few days. If Grandmaster Han finds out and he has any questions, we'll gladly answer them, just... please, Kurai. We need this. We feel so out of place here that we feel naked." Jade explains as Kurai just listens. "You can refuse of course, but we want to stick around you so we can feel... safer, I guess?" Jade continues, but wasn't sure if she used the right word.
Kitana shakes her head. "No. We want to stay with you in your room to feel more at home. We haven't felt like we were at home for many, many years. Every day and night after Edenia we have had to keep our guards up in case any would be assassins tried to kill us. We had made many enemies while we were fighting with Shao Kahn. We're not proud of that fact, but we did what we had to to survive." Kitana takes over and explains as Kurai continues to listen while Jade nods her head sadly. "But with you, Kurai? Here in Earth Realm? We don't feel that need to keep our guards up. For a while at least. For now, we feel safer just by being around you because we know you'll fight against any foe to keep us safe. We just... We just want to relax and let our guard down for a while and rest before any more threats arrive." Kitana continues with her head lowered to avoid Kurai's gaze.
Kitana had grown very prideful over the years while in Outworld and didn't like showing her vulnerable side, not even to her own brother, but she understood that even she needed to let her guard down every once in a while. But where she has never done it before and was in a constant state of vigilance every day and night for 10,000 years, it is a difficult pill for her to swallow. Even now.
Kurai looks back and forth at Kitana and Jade while thinking hard about what his answer should be. After a few moments, he sighs and nods his head. "Alright, but on one condition." He began as Kitana and Jade's head shot up with grateful expressions.
"Anything." Jade answers.
"You two take the bed while I take my couch." He continues, but they both didn't like that condition.
"Kurai, we're not just going to-" Kitana began, but stops when Kurai waves her off with a smile.
"Kitana, I've been here in Earth Realm for 9,000 years, ok? I've slept in worse places than a couch. Besides, we'll be in the same room anyway, so it won't matter. Plus, the couch is comfortable too, so it's not all bad." He says to them both with a shrug. He then waits for them respond, but they only respond with nods before they all begin to walk towards Kurai's room to rest up for the night.
The three would begin to grow closer and rebuild their relationship together during their time at the academy, and Kurai and Jade would often talk about what their previous relationship was like before the invasion, but Jade remained vague about her answers when Kurai had questions. She would always smile slyly whenever Kurai would ask why she had kissed him back in Outworld, but she would never answer. She just left him alone to ponder his questions.
Eventually, those few days turned into a few weeks, and those few weeks turned into the entire month.
One month later, Edenian Desert...
Quan Chi and his revenant servant, Noob Saibot, since leaving Outworld had travelled to the hot, sandy deserts of Edenia to search for Sindel's burial site. Eventually, they both came upon a ruined, broken statue of the late Edenian queen.
Realizing that they may have found what they were searching for, Quan Chi grins sinisterly before looking over at Noob Saibot. "Let us begin." He simply says as the black clad warrior nods quietly.
Back in Earth Realm...
Kurai was once again on his couch with Kitana and Jade on his bed, all sleeping soundly until Kurai began to feel a growing pain in his head. The pain started off slowly until it exploded into a sharp burst that causes Kurai to instantly awake from his slumber and scream loudly enough to wake Kitana and Jade. They both look over at Kurai, who had fallen off the couch and was now writhing around and screaming in pain while clutching his head tightly.
They hop out of the bed and run over to him to find out what's wrong with him and what's causing him pain. "Kurai! Kurai, what's wrong? What's happening?" Kitana asks him desperately as he keeps his eyes shut tight while he tries to answer.
"I! Don't! Know! My head! It's killing me!" He grits out as he continues to writhe in pain while trying to stop his head from hurting.
Kitana frantically looks up at Jade with a panicked expression. "Jade, go wake Grandmaster Han and bring him here! Hurry!" She orders desperately as Jade quickly nods and rushes out of the room to wake the Grandmaster and bring him to Kurai's room.
With Quan Chi in the Edenian Desert...
A large glowing green of light spins around in a circle as skeletal hand shoots up out of the sand as Quan Chi stood watching a bare skeleton climbs out of the circle and sand while screaming with an inhuman howl. Noob Saibot prepares himself for a potential fight, but Quan Chi remains calm as the skeleton begins to grow and form muscle tissue until the nude form of a beautiful woman takes the skeletons place. Long white hair with a dark stripe down the middle grew out of the woman's head before she suddenly sits up and takes a long deep breath of air.
She then snaps her gaze towards Quan Chi and Noob Saibot with an untrusting glare. Quan Chi walks over closer to the woman and kneels down with a smile. "Lady Sindel." He says to the woman.
Sindel sighs deeply. "Quan Chi? Where... Where am I?" The former Edenian queen asks the sorcerer in confusion.
"In the Edenian Desert. Shao Kahn sent me here to resurrect you. He's looking forward to your return." The Nether Realm sorcerer answers with an uncharacteristic smile on his face.
Sindel looks to the side for a moment with a confused expression until realization dawned on her. "The emperor? Yes. I remember now." She says as Quan Chi raises his hand slowly in Noob Saibot's direction to calm him.
Then realization suddenly dawns on Sindel again. "What of Kitana? And Kurai? Where are my children, Quan Chi?" She asks with worry in her tone as Quan Chi smirks inwardly while feigning a saddened expression.
"Kitana and Kurai now ally themselves with Earth Realm. They are no longer in Outworld." He lies to the queen, who looks down dejectedly before looking back up with an angry expression.
"Then those traitors are no longer my children. Take me to Shao Kahn." She orders the sorcerer, who nods with a smile.
"At once, Empress." He says standing before looking at Noob Saibot. "The pieces for Earth Realms invasion are in place." He says as the black clad warrior nods in agreement.
Sindel, however, looks down with a dejected expression again. "Kitana... Kurai..." She whispers quietly before Quan Chi and Noob Saibot help her to her feet.
Back in Earth Realm...
The moment Han enters Kurai's room with Jade in tow, Kurai had finally stopped writhing and screaming in pain. Now, he was just out of breath and covered in sweat as Han and Kitana helped him up to the couch so he could sit comfortably. "Kurai, what happened? Jade said that there was something wrong with you. Are you alright?" Han asks him worriedly as he kneeled in front of him.
Kurai takes a moment to catch his breath before looking up at the grandmaster with a confused expression. "I... I don't know, Han. I've never... experienced anything like that before in my life, but that's not what's worrying me anymore." He says to Han, Kitana and Jade as they look at him with curiosity and confusion.
"What then, Kurai? What's worrying you?" Jade asks him curiously.
Kurai looks up at her. "I remember everything now. My life in Edenia. The palace. Mother, Father, Tanya. The invasion. All of it." He answers simply as they all look at him in shock.
"Everything?" Kitana asks as Kurai nods and looks at her.
"Everything."