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 wakes up early the next morning to stand near the front gates of the academy, to wait for Drake. He holds the wooden suitcase with him that was gifted to him by Grandmaster Han, in case he needs to wear more "formal" wear to the ceremony, which will take place tomorrow.
He is currently wearing more casual clothes than his normal fighting gi. A gray t-shirt, blue jeans, dark brown work boots, a black leather jacket, with sunglasses in their pocket while his long spiky black hair is down. As he continues to wait for Drake to show up so they can both leave, he feels a presence nearby, causing him to smile. "This is beginning to become a regular occurrence, Tanya." He calls out to his friend, who appears behind him as she wraps her arms around his waist and kisses him on the cheek with a giggle.
"Oh, what? I can't visit my most favorite person in all the realms from time to time?" She asks him with a seductive, sultry tone, causing him to chuckle as he turns around, with her arms still around his waist, and hugs her tightly.
She sighs contentedly as she bites her lip before Kurai kisses her forehead. "Gods, why can't he just be like a ravenous animal and take me already? I'm in NEED of a good fuck! He has such a bad boy look with what he's wearing right now that it's frustrating!" She shouts in her head.
"Tanya, of course you can visit me from time to time. It's just you take a big risk coming here to a place that knows what you did in Edenia, but doesn't know the truth yet." He tells her with concern, causing her to smirk with a shrug.
"Eh, it doesn't bother me so much. Besides, if it's just you I'm visiting, no one will even know I'm here." She says to him with a confident grin. "Also, even if I were at risk, why don't you just tell the others in the temple of my innocence? I'm sure people here would listen to one such as you." He asks him curiously, as he shakes his head.
"Even if I were to speak up about your innocence, my word alone wouldn't be enough. Sadly. I would have to provide evidence, or bring Shang Tsung here, and have him confess in order to clear your name." He explains to her, causing her to place her head against his head with a nod.
She sighs deeply before looking up at him then pecks his lips softly. "I'm sure we'll be able to figure something out, darling. In the meantime, I'm actually enjoying the thrill of sneaking into the temple grounds just to see you. Hoping you will finally gain some sense that I want you to make hot, sweet, steaming love to me all night long until my legs hurt." She tells him with a laugh, causing Kurai to laugh with her at her shameless boldness.
"You are insatiable, you know that?" He says to her, making her grin with a wink.
"Oh, hush, I know you enjoy my boldness, love." She says to him and kisses him passionately for a brief moment before pulling away with a more serious expression. "Sadly, I can't be here for long anyway. I wanted to come see you really quickly before I head back to Outworld." She continues as Kurai drops his smile and gains a more concerned expression.
"Outworld? What for?" He asks her curiously, but also with genuine concern for her.
Tanya smiles sweetly at him before she answers. "I have to report back to my... my superiors of the Edenian rebel forces. Something big has been happening in Outworld for the past month and I fear it have something to do with Earth Realm. Spies from Shao Kahn's palace have been reporting that Outworlds forces have been setting things up in the palaces arena. The Coliseum. For what? I'm afraid I don't know." She tells him as he just listens in shock that she is aligned with survivors of Edenia that have now become a rebel force group.
"Sadly, I don't currently have all the details, but the commander has recalled us all back to Outworld to prepare for a fight in case something happens." She continues as Kurai just listens to her with concern. "So, it may be a while before you see me again, darling. I just wanted to let you know." She admits to him as she begins to pulls away from the hug, but he stops her for just a moment.
Kurai pulls her back into the hug and holds her tightly, causing her to sigh happily as she wraps her arms around his neck. Letting go, but not fully, they both just look at each other. "You be careful, Tanya. Once everything settles down, you let me know that you're ok and what's going on. Understand?" He tells her earnestly, causing her to nod then quickly peck his lips one more time before leaning in close to his ear.
"May the light of the Phoenix Goddess guide, my love." She whispers then leaves his grasp as Kurai suddenly feels a sharp pain in his head as Tanya's whisper echoes repeatedly. He collapses to his knees, holding his hand painfully while dropping the wooden suitcase to the ground.
Then he hears another voice. A tender, motherly voice. And then, in a sudden flash of light, Kurai could see a brief vision of his mother, Sindel.
"May the light of the Phoenix Goddess guide you, my beloved son."
The vision ends as quickly as it began as his sight returns to normal. Looking around him, he can see that Tanya is no longer in sight and no longer anywhere near him. He sighs deeply from the pain as it quickly recedes. He looks up at the sky to see that the sun was peeking out from the horizon, causing him to look at his watch to see that his flight back to China would be leaving soon, but Drake was no where in sight.
Shaking his head, Kurai pulls out his sunglasses and puts them on his face. "Sorry, Drake, but can't wait for you. I'll give you the details when I get back." He says to himself as he takes off away from the temple and down the street in a full sprint to reach the airport.
Hours later, China, Wu Shi Academy front gates...
"Hold there! Who are you? State your business." A Shaolin monk says to Kurai as he walks up to the front gates of the Wu Shi Temple. He says nothing but presents to them the medallion that Raiden gifted to him in order to gain passage through the gates.
Both monks examine the medallion closely, but they see no forgeries of any kind on the medallion. They then both look at him with suspicion before quietly whispering to each other, but he could understand what they were saying.
"He has a medallion from Lord Raiden. It is not forged or fake, he must be granted passage." One monk says to the other, while the other tries to disagree and object.
"But he carries something with the symbol of the Dark Wu Shi Temple! He cannot be trusted!" The monk quietly says aggressively as they both look at him.
"You know, if you like, you can bring Liu Kang out here and we can settle this matter with no trouble." Kurai offers, causing the two monks to tense when they realize he could hear them.
The monk that objects to Kurai's entry into the temple walks up to him with a smug expression. "If we were to bring Liu Kang out here, he would force you to leave without any trouble, Dark Wu Shi scum, so, it would just be a waste of his time. Now, begone with you!" He declares, trying to scare Kurai away, but the Edenian prince can sense an arrogant prick when he sees one.
He chuckles with a grin as he sets his wooden suitcase on the ground then cracks his knuckles. "I'm sorry, but I was invited here by the thunder god. If you don't like it, then I'll just force my way in. Now, either you bring Liu Kang out here so we can settle this matter peacefully, or I'll happily show you how far the gap is between the two of us." He says to the monk with a glare, causing said monk to tremble with fear from Kurai dangerous gaze.
The monk gulps, takes a few steps back them looks back at the other monk. "Summon Liu Kang and Lord Raiden. Let them show this piece of scum what happens when you threaten a Wu Shi monk." He tells him as the other monk opens the gates and heads inside to fetch Liu Kang and the god of thunder.
Kurai just chuckles and shakes his head as the monk walks back to his post, while Kurai waits for Liu Kang and Raiden's arrival.
15 minutes later, the gates reopen to reveal the guard monk walking out with Liu Kang and Raiden. Seeing Kurai standing outside, Liu Kang smiles and runs down towards him to hug him briefly, shocking the two monks.
"Kurai, my friend, it is so good to see you again. How've you been?" Liu Kang asks Kurai, who shrugs with a smile as Raiden walks up to them.
"I've been doing just fine, Liu Kang. Just getting more training in for the past month. Drake too, although, I think he's still a little sore about the punishment I recommended for him." He tells the Earth Realm monk, causing the both of them to share a laugh together.
Raiden looks around to try and spot Drake, but doesn't see him anywhere, which causes him to gain a curious expression on his face. "Indeed, it's good to see you again, Kurai, but, speaking of Drake, where is he? Wasn't he planning to come with you to the victory ceremony tomorrow night?" The thunder god asks the prince, who shrugs.
"He was, Raiden. But I think all the training he's done for the past month, plus his punishment, has done a number on him. He's made tremendous progress, but I think his crash course training with Temple Master Akuma caused him to feel sore all over. I waited for him at the temple gates, but he never showed. And my scheduled flight here to China wasn't going to wait." He admits to Raiden, who nods understandably.
"Very well. I hope his punishment wasn't too harsh or severe, my friend." He says to him with concern, causing Kurai to shake his head.
"Nah, don't worry. His punishment was to train with one of the newly appointed Temple Masters, Akuma. No one at the temple takes training as seriously as he does. But he's fine. Akuma is a stern teacher, but he's fair to his students. So, I'm sure he's fine. He probably just wasn't feeling up to traveling at the moment." He tells them both positively, causing them to nod before Raiden gestures for them to follow him into the temple grounds.
Kurai picks up his wooden suitcase and walks with his two friends towards the gates, but stops and gives the arrogant monk a side glance with a grin. "Told you." He tells him smugly before walking through the gates, causing the monk to clench his teeth as the other monk waits until the gates close then leans over.
"I told you we should've just let him in." He tells him before leaning back to resume his post, as the arrogant monk sighs frustratingly.
Wu Shi Academy, Temple Grounds...
Walking through the temple grounds with Liu Kang and Raiden, Kurai can see how beautiful the academy is, just like its counterpart. There were also multiple temple monks currently training in their daily routine. Many of them suddenly stopped mid-training when they spotted the Dark Wu Shi symbol on Kurai's wooden suitcase, which caused many of them to talk amongst themselves about Kurai.
No doubt wondering and asking why a member of the Dark Wu Shi Academy was here. While it didn't make Kurai uncomfortable from all the stares and looks he was getting, it did, however, make him think that maybe this wasn't such a good idea.
One such monk, with a metallic, razor hat, a sleeveless black top with a silver dragon on the front and back, light blue karate pants, gold metal bracers, white straps around his calves, and karate shoes. Walks up to them with a more welcoming smile on his face, compared to the judgmental and ugly looks from the other monks.
Looking unsure of what to say or do, Kurai remains silent as the monk suddenly grabs his hand and shakes his politely, but firmly. "Welcome to the Wu Shi Academy, my friend. Liu Kang and Lord Raiden has told me a great deal about you." The monk says to Kurai, who doesn't even know how to respond.
"Um... I'm... I'm sorry, but I didn't get your name." He says to the monk with a small laugh, causing the monk to laugh before nodding his head.
"Yes, of course, my apologies. My name is Kung Lao. Descendant of the the Great Kung Lao. Like my cousin, Liu Kang, here." He says gesturing to Liu Kang, who smiles at his cousin, as well as Lord Raiden.
Kurai smiles and nods his head before offering his hand to Kung Lao to shake his hand again. Kung Lao happily accepts as they both shake hands. "Well, then, it's an honor to meet you, Kung Lao. I wasn't aware that Liu Kang had any family." He tells the young warrior monk.
Kung Lao smiles with a nod. "Believe me, Kurai, the honor is all mine. I've never met someone humble enough to throw a fight and throw away their chance to out the truth about their past." He began as Kurai looks over at Liu Kang with an incredulous expression.
"You told him about that?" He asks him curiously, as Liu Kang shrugs with a smile.
"How could I not, my friend? It's not every day you meet a warrior with caliber like yours. Especially one so humble." He explains as Kurai looks back over at Kung Lao, who nods.
"Now, in the matter of Liu Kang's family. We... normally don't talk about it. It's not exactly a happy topic of conversation." He explains, causing Kurai to nod understandably.
"I understand." He says looking at both Liu Kang and Kung Lao, who both had somber expressions on their faces. "We don't have to talk about it then." He says to them, making both monks nod gratefully as Raiden smiles at the three warriors.
"Well, then, shall we head into the temple? The others are waiting for us." Raiden tells him, as Liu Kang and Kung Lao nod, but Kurai gains a look of surprise.
"Others? You mean Sonya, Jax, and Cage are all already here?" He asks the thunder god, who nods with the two Wu Shi monks, all with smiles on their faces. "Let's go then." He says excitedly as he resumes his walk with Raiden, Liu Kang, and Kung Lao to the temple.
Moments later, Wu Shi Academy temple...
Jax is sitting with Sonya and Johnny Cage inside the Wu Shi Academy temple while smoking a cigar, looking around the room, Jax nods his head approvingly. "Yeah, this place is nice. I could see myself living in a place like this. I'll have to think about how I want my new house to look, if I ever get one." He says to himself, causing Cage to laugh.
"On a military budget? Not likely, pal. You'll be lucky to afford comfortable couches like this." He says to Jax while pointing at the sunk in couches in the floor of the temple, which causes Jax to gain an annoyed expression on his face. "I, on the other hand, am able to afford things like this. I have a higher income than the military. I am a-"
"A Hollywood Star. Yeah, we know, Cage. You only ever tell us every 5 or 10 minutes. It's honestly getting old at this point." Sonya interrupts, causing Cage to lower his sunglasses and wink at Sonya, which makes her groan with disgust.
"I guess it was too much to hope that Cage stopped being a motormouth asshole when I saw you guys again." A voice says down the narrow hallway leading into the room the group is currently in.
The group looks in the direction of the voice in time to see Kurai walking in with Raiden, Liu Kang, and Kung Lao. Sonya, Jax, and Cage all smile before hopping to their feet to rush towards Kurai, each embracing him in a hug.
Jax laughs and pats Kurai on the shoulder while Cage embraced him in a hug, then Sonya hugs him as well before placing a kiss on his cheek. "Good to see you again, kid! How've you been?" Jax asks him excitedly before noticing that Drake wasn't with him. "Wait, where's Drake? Wasn't he going to come with you?" He asks curiously.
Kurai sighs with a shrug. "Yeah, he was, but I guess where he's been through a crash course training for the past month for his punishment with a new temple master, he wasn't feeling up to traveling." He explains as Jax nods understandably, but Sonya and Cage looks a little concerned.
"Punishment? For sneaking into the tournament?" Sonya asks, to which Kurai nods. "I hope the temple master wasn't too harsh on him." She says worriedly, causing Kurai to shake his head.
"No, don't worry about it, Sonya. Akuma is strict and stern, but he's also fair. He doesn't push his students too hard. He pushes them as much as he needs to and lets them do the rest when they gain their footing." He assures her, making her nod with relief.
"Kurai, let me show you to the room you'll be staying in for the night, after that, the rest of us should catch up on what we've been doing for the past month." Liu Kang says to him, making him nod before the young monk leads Kurai to his temporary room in the temple. All while the others wait for them to return.
Meanwhile, in Outworld, Prison Tower...
Drake is smacked awake roughly by a Tarkatan, causing him to groan in pain as he lifts his head up to see a bald headed, long toothed creature glaring at him with amber yellow eyes. "Fuck, what an ugly sight to wake up to." He groans out, which cause the Tarkatan to snarl at the insult as it unsheathes one of its arm blades and presses the tip of the blade underneath Drake's chin, lifting his head up.
"You would do well to watch what you say, human. Because there will be no one here that will save your worthless carcass in time." The Tarkatan says to him threateningly as he draws a trickle of blood from his chin.
"That will be enough, Tarkatan. I'll take over from here. Remember what Shang Tsung and the Dark Wu Shi warrior said, we need this one alive. If we want to bring the prince here to Outworld for the tournament, he needs to be kept alive." A female ninja with blood red hair, fair skin, blazing red eyes, and wearing red and black ninja clothes, walks in to stop the Tarkatan from injuring Drake too severely.
Snarling, the Tarkatan retracts its arms blade back into its arm, before turning away sharply and walks out of the room, leaving the female ninja alone with Drake. She walks over to him as his head hangs low.
Seeing that he looks parched, she removes a leather pouch with water inside from her waist, holds his head up and holds the opening to his lips. "Here, drink. We need you alive to lure the prince here." She tells him as Drake drinks as much water as possible to refresh himself.
Pulling the pouch away and placing the cap back on top, she looks at him with curiosity. "Hmm, even with some of those cuts and bruises, he's quite handsome. For a mortal." She thinks to herself as Drake struggles lift his head up to look at the person that spared him the wrath of an ugly creature.
"The prince? You mean Kurai? Why do you need me alive for? You people are just going to kill me anyway." He says to the female ninja, who just looks at him stoically with her red eyes.
"You're right, we will. But if you don't want to be killed early, I suggest you keep your mouth shut and try not to anger the others here, especially the Emperor. Might just save your life if you do." She tells him as she begins to walk away.
"Wait, wait! Who are you?" He calls out to her, stopping her before she turns her head back in his direction. She pulls her red mask down to reveal a beautiful looking young woman.
"My name is Skarlet. You are Drake Lee. Now that introductions have been made, do yourself a favor Drake Lee, and keep your mouth shut. We need you alive. Kurai will come here to Outworlds tournament to help you, and Shao Kahn will be having a word with him." She tells him before pulling her mask back up then walks out of the room, leaving Drake alone in the prison tower.
Gaining a confused and concerned expression on his face, Drake shakes his head in disbelief. "Tournament? What tournament? And what does the Emperor of Outworld want with Kurai?" He asks with growing concern for his friend.