Kenshi had arranged for a portal to teleport their forces into the Golden Desert of Outworld to challenge the Titan and his forces for one last battle. The desert was vast with an open landscape and rocky mountains in the distance. The desert grounds were devoid of sand; but rather the floor was cracked due to excessive dry weather conditions. Upon arriving, they were able to make out the massive army in the distance.
The Titan's newest reinforcements had arrived; promising to be a greater threat than the previous warriors that Earthrealms' forces had encountered. In addition to the Shokan and Tarkatans was a group of fearsome half human, half stallion warriors known as Centaurians. These frightening creatures had the face and upper body of a human, with ram's horns for ears; the lower half of the body was that of a stallion, with a long rat like metallic tail. The Centaurians were at odds with both the Shokan and the Tarkatans, however, they reluctantly worked together to ensure that the Titan would be victorious in conquering Earthrealm's forces. Rounding out the remainder of the army were distorted variants of the Earthrealm warriors; many that commanded the elements of earth, fire, ice and water.
Since starting this war, this was the first time that the Earthrealm warriors came face to face with Titan Havik. The self declared emperor stood tall; his long black hair flowed in a pony tail from behind a helmet that barely covered his monstrous face. His facial features shared the same skeletal looking appearance as Havik, except his eyes were slightly yellow with clear pupils making his expression appear more heinous. His muscled upper body was bare except for the armor that fitted his shoulders and partially covered the left side of his chest. His torso and arms revealed gruesome scars to match his mutilated face. Spikes protruded from both his helmet and his armor bearing a frightening demeanor.
The Titan's face twisted with intense anger upon the sight of Havik standing among Earthrealm's heroes. His eyes practically bulged out of their sockets as he stared at Havik with extreme hatred. "DEFECTOR!" He yelled. In a psychotic fit, he tore open his own chest so violently that he pulled apart his ribs, exposing his lungs and beating heart, screaming loudly as he did so.
Sonya, Kano and their team grimaced at the grotesque sight of the Titan's open cavity. Havik was amused by his new allies'discomfort of his counterpart's horrid display, as he was not the least bit fazed by it. The Titan angrily clenched his teeth as his body quickly regenerated from his self inflicted trauma. "For your disloyalty, Havik, you will suffer the same fate that is about to befall the Earthrealmers!" He motioned to his army. "DESTROY THEM ALL!" At his command, the Titan's army began to race toward the Earthrealmers.
Sonya stared straight ahead at the overwhelming army that was advancing toward hers. She looked down at her energy bracelets and suddenly an idea formed in her head. She turned to Kano. "Get everyone as far away from here as they can." Kano looked down at Sonya's bracelets; the energy formed into pinkish fractal spirals that glowed around her fists. As if reading her mind, he said, "Sonya, it's too risky. This kind of power might be too much for you to handle."
"You once told me that my energy bracelets are capable of devastating anything in its path. Right about now, I have a chance to balance the odds in our favor." Havik approached Sonya. "I can control your energy rings to protect you from its destructive power. Although the energy is artificial, I can manipulate the effects of its chaos." Sonya nodded in agreement. "Alright, let's give it a shot."
Kano reached for Sonya's hand and entwined her fingers with his own. "Be careful, love," he said. She gave him a small smile. "I will be okay. Just get our team to safety." "Alright," he answered as he reluctantly pulled away from her. He turned around and shouted to the others. "EVERYONE GET BACK!"
Once Sonya knew that her team was far enough from her, she increased the strength of her energy bracelets to its maximum setting. Sonya could feel a burning sensation in her hands as the power began to channel from her fingertips upward to her arms. The power began to intensify as it coursed through her; the pinkish energy rings grew larger, taking the shape of an enormous shockwave. Havik stood behind Sonya; he placed both of his hands onto her shoulders to steady her and keep her grounded. Havik channeled golden and pinkish spirals of energy from her bracelets that gently wrapped around her body, acting as sort of a protective shield.
When the Titan's army was in her direct range, Sonya released the shockwave, which had the effect of a mini nuclear bomb. The blast was so powerful that more than a quarter of the soldiers were incinerated from its effects. Several strong aftershocks from the blast caused the ground to shatter. Tremor aided Sonya by using his geokinesis power to raise broken pieces of earth into the air. Tremor then released the pieces of earth, piercing the soldiers' bodies like bullets. Tremor then raised large fiery boulders and hurled them toward their weakened foes. Kano gave the signal for their team to charge Outworld's forces, colliding into them furiously.
Scorpion and Smoke and their Shirai Ryu warriors were facing off against a group of Centaurians. Scorpion launched his flame thrower, burning the bodies of his enemies. To add to their agony, Scorpion used his kusarigama to draw them close and then slash their necks. Smoke dissolved into vapor to evade the attack of a Centaurian that charged at him. He suddenly reappeared behind the Centaurian and threw smoke bombs to temporarily blind his enemy; only to finish him with his karambit knife. Several of the Shirai Ryu warriors wielded similar elemental powers as Smoke and Scorpion and were able to fend off many Centaurians that they faced.
Kenshi, Kano and several Black Dragons were battling Tarkatans and other variant warriors. Kenshi clashed swords with several Tarkatans that surrounded him. Despite the threat that they posed, they were no match for the expert blind swordsman. Kenshi swirled his sword, and one by one, decapitated each Tarkatan that had advanced him.
Kenshi barely had a moment when he suddenly heard a loud shriek. As he turned his head toward the direction of the scream, he abruptly ducked from a flying female vampire variant that swooped over him. The vampire aimed an icy blast at Kenshi's legs causing him to freeze where he stood. The ice started to move its way upward toward Kenshi's torso, limiting his free movement.
The vampire swooped down toward Kenshi, bearing her sharp teeth with the intention of tearing out his throat. Before she could get close enough, however, Kano blasted the vampire with his eye beam. He quickly aimed his laser toward Kenshi's body, breaking the ice to set him free. As the vampire flew towards the men again, Kenshi swung his sword, cutting her head off.
"Nice job mate," Kano said. Kenshi looked at Kano with alarm as he sensed he was in danger. "Kano, look out!" he said as he shoved him out of the path of a laser beam. Both men looked in the direction of the beam, only to see a variant that resembled Sonya Blade. Sonya's variant, however, had glowing cybernetic red eyes and she was armed with the same butterfly knives as Kano. "Interesting…," Kano said, with an admiring glance. "Too bad I have to kill ya, love," he said as he threw both of his butterfly knives directly into the Sonya variant's eyes killing her instantly.
Titan Havik gritted his teeth as he watched Earthrealms' forces clash among his soldiers. Despite the diverse mix of warriors that he assembled, they were quickly succumbing to Earthrealms' powerful fighters. The Titan admitted to himself that he had foolishly underestimated Earthrealm's forces greatly. Suddenly, a devilish sneer appeared on his face; he had developed a plan that he was sure was going to change the outcome of this battle. …
Stryker and Jax's unit had just defeated a group of Shokan warriors. Jax and Stryker barely caught their breath, when they suddenly heard gunshots. They turned around to see several of their own agents open fire, attacking their comrades. "What the hell?" Jax said as he deflected a barrage of bullets with his mechanical arms. "Stand down!" Stryker ordered the shooting agents. They turned to him and aimed their guns in his direction. Stryker jumped out of the path of the bullets and rolled onto the ground. He quickly rose and aimed his pistols towards the shooting agents.
"What the fuck is going on?" he asked with his back to Jax. "That bastard is controlling our agents to use them against us!" he answered, deflecting another round of bullets. Stryker reluctantly shot the agents in their knee caps to disable them. He radioed to Sonya. "Blade, we got a situation here!"
Sonya was in the midst of battling a variant that resembled Kenshi; instead of wielding a sword, he used a staff with a glowing orb that allowed him to manipulate the element of water. The Kenshi variant raised his staff toward the air, forming a dark rain cloud over Sonya causing lightning bolts to strike down toward her. She dove out of the path of the lightning bolt, only to be faced with a series of water blasts aimed in her direction.
After evading the water blasts, Sonya quickly regained her footing and blasted her energy rings into the chest of the variant, burning a hole through him. "I'm a little busy, Stryker!" she said as a Scorpion variant threw a razor hat towards her. "Sonya, our own agents just opened fire on us!" "WHAT?" she said as she back flipped out of the path of the sharp hat that flew at her in reverse, similar to a boomerang. "It's true," Jax chimed in. "They are under the Titan's control."
"He is using our forces against us to recoup the loss of his soldiers," Sonya said as the Scorpion variant dashed toward her. When he was in close enough proximity, she flipped forward, her foot connected to his face, stunning him with her kick. She then swept her leg from under him to bring him down beneath her. As he landed hard on his back, Sonya stood over him, aimed her energy bracelet to burst his head wide open.
Suddenly, the ground began to rumble beneath her. The violent vibrations from the earth quake caused Sonya, Kano and a number of their comrades to lose their balance and topple onto each other before falling to the ground. Sonya looked forward and noticed Tremor; his eyes were solid black, and his face was wild with anger. "Oh no…," Sonya said as she soon realized that Tremor was acting under the Titan's influence.
Tremor in his own right was an extremely powerful earth elemental warrior. Under Titan Havik's influence, however, Tremor's abilities were magnified to almost a god like power. Tremor armored himself by transforming into his rock skin. He began to summon flaming magma rocks in the sky. "OH SHIT…" Kano said. "Take cover if you can!" Sonya yelled.
Sonya, Kano and their comrades tried to dodge the magma rocks that flew from the sky, however they were quickly overpowered. From the force of impact of the magma rocks hitting the earth, Sonya and Kano somehow dodged the boulders; however, members of their crew went airborne. As they landed on the ground, Tremor forced the earth below them to split causing several of their men to fall through.
In a split second, Kabal appeared behind Tremor in an attempt to thwart his attacks. Tremor however sensed Kabal presence; he stomped the ground causing the earth to quake, knocking Kabal down. Kabal used his super speed to dash in the air; however Tremor lifted his fist, creating another earth quake mid air to stop Kabal. Tremor then aimed gold and silver boulders toward Kabal knocking him out cold.
Kano tried to aim a laser beam toward Tremor's body; however, Tremor was still shielded by his rock skin. Kano continued to shoot the laser beams, making some kind of headway as bits and pieces of the rock armor broke off. Tremor then changed into a lava skin, making Kano's laser attack useless. As Kano charged him, Tremor aimed rock formations onto Kano, knocking him to the floor.
Titan Havik wickedly laughed as the sight of the struggling Earthrealm army. "Pathetic! You are no match for me. The realms will be mine for the taking!" Havik looked at his former master with a sly glance. "Not so fast, you will not gain victory so easily. "
Without any warning, several of the Titan's army ceased fighting Earthrealm's warriors and instead, turned on each other. Centaurians whipped their long steel rat like tails multiple tmes into the faces of Shokan, bashing their brains in. Tartakans violently impaled one another; Shokan picked up variant warriors and with their four arms, easily ripped their bodies from limb to limb.
The battle scene was beyond chaotic; with bloodshed from both sides. There was mass confusion among those that were unaffected by either Havik's influence as they were unsure if their allies had become their foes. The Titan was furious with Havik's act of betrayal, yet, he secretly enjoyed the pandemonium that ensued from it.
Titan Havik glared at his counterpart. "I had high hopes for you. I thought that you would aid me in spreading discord and mayhem throughout all of the realms. Instead, you have betrayed me by aligning yourself with the Firegod's Earthrealmers. Your act of treachery will not go unpunished."
"I meant to serve you and did so with all of my heart. Yet you seek to conquer by blood and force. I will not allow Chaosrealm to fall under another dictatorship regime such as Seido. I will stop you if I must," Havik said. "Then you shall die, as will your new comrades," the Titan said. Sonya and Kano, along with Scorpion and Kenshi stood by Havik. The Titan glared at them. "You think you Earthrealmers have what it takes to defeat me? I will bathe in your blood! HAHAHA…"
His gloating was interrupted however when a sombrero looking hat with razor sharp edges cut the Titan's head off. Tremor's and the other agents' attacks ceased. Kano and the others looked on in shock. "What the fuck was that?" he asked as he watched the hat return to its owner, the Shaolin monk, Kung Lao. Next to his side, stood his friend, Raiden and behind him, several Shaolin monks that stood in defensive stances.
Kenshi smiled with relief as he sensed his friends' arrival. "Glad you could finally join us." He turned toward Sonya, Kano, Havik, Scorpion and Tremor. "Everyone, meet Kung Lao and Raiden." Sonya extended her hand to both men. "I am Sonya; I heard great things about you both. We are grateful to have you on our side…and we were sorry to hear about your friends at the Shaolin Temple." Raiden smiled. "Thank you. Liu Kang speaks highly of you all as well. We are honored to defend Earthrealm by your side. We brought the remaining Shaolin monks to help us."
"Speaking of which, what of Liu Kang?" Kano asked. "Lord Liu Kang wanted to be here, but his presence was needed by Geras, guardian of the Hourglass. He sent us as he thought you could use additional aid." "And not a moment too soon," Kano said as he looked at the headless Titan. He then turned his attention toward Kung Lao. "Your hat trick was brilliant mate, but it only stunned him."
The Titan began to place his head back onto his body. His face was menacing as he eyes were intense with fury. "No more games, PREPARE TO FEEL MY WRATH!" The titan commanded more warriors that charged in their direction.
"We are wasting time; none of these attacks to his body are doing any kind of damage. We need to overcome him so that he has no chance to regenerate," Sonya said. "Aye," Kano said. "Scorpion, Tremor, we need you. With our combined attacks, we should be able to incinerate this bastard." Raiden stepped forward. "Allow me to aid you, my power allows me to command thunder and lightning. I could be useful."
Sonya and Kano raised their eyebrows. "Yeah, you're coming with us," Kano said. Kenshi and Kung Lao looked onward to the warriors that charged them. "We will join the others to hold off these forces. Good luck," Kung Lao said as he threw his hat in a saw like motion, splitting their enemies' bodies in two. As Sonya and her comrades turned around, Titan Havik raced toward them to strike them down.
Kano, Raiden and Sonya stood together; Tremor stood to Kano's right side, while Scorpion was to Sonya's left. Kano's cybernetic eye began to charge its energy beam; Sonya's energy bracelets glowed brightly while Tremor and Scorpion's fists burned in flames. Raiden raised his arm to instantly command lightning bolts that cracked in the air and wrapped its electrical currents from his arms to his fists.
Despite the intended threat the five warriors posed before him, the Titan's mood was almost euphoric as he sensed the combined strength of their power. "The chaotic energy that flows among the five of you is spell bounding; what beautiful devastation it can create! Such a shame that I should destroy you rather than recruit the use of such power."
Abruptly, a large blade cut through the center of Titan Havik's chest. The Titan's eyes widened, he moved his lips as if to speak but no sound came out. Sonya, Kano, Raiden, Scorpion and Tremor looked at Havik in shock as he emerged from behind the Titan's large frame. The Titan stood motionless; he was now submissive to Havik's will. The five of them nervously looked at one another and then diverted their eyes back to Havik who coldly smiled at them.
Havik yanked the blade out of his master's chest; he shoved him down to his knees before him. The five of them flinched but none of them took their eyes off of Havik. Each of them raised their weapons, prepared to attack him if necessary. They stood together in defensive positions and wondered if Havik had just revealed himself to be their true enemy all along. They simultaneously came to the realization that Havik now had the ability to completely control his Titan counterpart and therefore, could devastate the realms with his chaotic power should he wish.
Havik smiled mischievously as he caught the worrisome expressions of the five warriors before him. He broke the tense silence among them. "My master has been immobilized under my influence; now is your chance to destroy him." Kano released his laser beam directly into the Titan's heart. Sonya channeled her energy rings into a shockwave to join Kano's laser beam. Havik continued his hold over his master to allow for Sonya and Kano's combined energy to take effect.
Scorpion and Tremor released their fire power toward Titan Havik's body. A golden light brightly glowed from Titan's body as the force of their power penetrated him. Little cracks started to spread throughout his body; as the cracks grew larger, rays of light flashed in all directions. "It's working! Everyone, keep your hold!" Sonya said.
Raiden lifted his arm into the air; the sky darkened as the storm clouds gathered above him. Sounds of thunder boomed with the lightning flashes that illuminated the sky. Raiden summoned a frightening lightning bolt that surged through his hands. As he charged the bolt, he released it, splitting it forward into multiple bolts of lightning that crashed into the Titan's body. The others bared witness and were in awe of the benevolent warrior's incredible, yet terrifying display of power.
Raiden's lightning strikes penetrated Titan Havik, causing his body to illuminate. The five warriors covered their faces from the blinding rays of light that flashed from the Titan's deteriorating body. The Titan's mouth gaped in pain; his body began to violently shake causing the ground to rumble. The Titan let out a horrific scream as his body burst into tiny golden particles and faded in the air.
Sonya, Kano and their allies stood speechless as they took a moment to let their victory over the Titan sink in. The battling armies ceased their attacks once they realized that Titan Havik was destroyed. The Titan's forces summoned a portal and began to retreat as there was no sense in fighting as their commander had fallen in battle.
"It's over," Sonya said. Kano looked at her with a big grin on his face. "Yes, it is,"he said. The five of them looked at one another and smiled. "Job well done all of you," Sonya said with a smile. They all turned to Havik who was standing in front of them. "Even you, Havik," Sonya acknowledged. Havik lowered his head to bow. "I am honored to have fought beside you all."
"You had us going there for a minute," Kano said. Havik grinned. "Forgive me, I only meant to have a little fun." Sonya rolled her eyes. "Well, it is time for me to take my leave," he said as a portal suddenly appeared before him. "Until we meet again Earthrealmers. "Havik slyly said as he stepped through the portal. "I wonder if that will be the last that we see of Havik," Sonya said. "Doubtful," Kano said. "Hopefully he sticks to ruling Chaosrealm and leaves us be."
Moments later, the Earthrealm warriors had regrouped as they prepared to bid farewell and return to their prospective homes. "There are not enough words of gratitude, this victory would not have been possible if not for all of your collaborate efforts. We sincerely thank you," Sonya said to Kung Lao, Raiden, Smoke and Scorpion. "We are proud to have stood by your side," Raiden said. Kung Lao nodded in agreement. "What will you do now?" Sonya asked.
"We shall return to the Shaolin Temple to rebuild," Kung Lao said. "On behalf of the Shirai Ryu, allow for us to accompany you to assist," Smoke offered. Raiden smiled. "We are most appreciative and will accept your gracious offer." "Then let us be on our way," Scorpion said as he began to summon a portal. He smiled at the others. "Good bye my friends. Do not hesitate to summon us if needed," Scorpion said as he, Smoke, Raiden, Kung Lao and members of the Shirai Ryu exited through the portal.
"I suppose it is time we get on our way as well," Jax said as he hugged Sonya tightly. "Agreed," Kenshi said as he activated a portal. "Farewell everyone." As they went through the portal, Stryker turned to Kabal. "We should be on our way too." Kabal looked at Kira, Jarek, and Tremor. "Do you really have to go? It felt like old times having you around," Kira said. Kabal embraced Kira. "I will miss you kid, and the rest of ya." He looked at Kano and grinned. "You, not so much. See ya around, asshole." Kano smirked. "Take care, ya bloody wanker."
Stryker patted Kabal on the shoulder as they prepared to pass through their portal. "Coming Blade?" Sonya froze; she realized that this moment would come but she didn't expect that she would be so hesitant about leaving the Black Dragon when the time came. Kira, Jarek and Tremor were also taken back by Stryker's question. Deep down, they had accepted Sonya nas their boss and viewed her as one of them. They looked toward Kano, anticipating a reaction from him of some sort; however, he was silent as he seemed to ponder what Sonya would choose.
Sonya looked at Kano and then back at Stryker. "Can we have a minute, mate?" Kano said. Stryker watched the both of them curiously. "Yeah go ahead," he said. Kano walked over to her. "We both knew this arrangement was temporary from the start love," he started to say. "You know when you first suggested this alliance; I counted the days when I could get the hell away from you," Sonya said with a chuckle. Then she lowered her face as she couldn't bring herself to look him in the eye. "But now I can't imagine not being by your side…I knew this day would come, I just wasn't prepared for it to come so soon."
Kano lifted her face toward him. "It's ok. Go with them. Just remember love, you have a place by my side if you want it." She closed her eyes as he kissed her forehead. "Go on," he said as he pulled away from her. Sonya looked onward to Kira, Jarek and Tremor. Kira smiled and gave her a small nod as she and the others walked away. Sonya drew her breath, and met with Stryker and Kabal at the portal. She took one last look at Kano and his team and then turned around to walk through.