The War of Light and Darkness Pt 1
The war had begun. Chaos spreads throughout the realms as all mortals have begun to act on their individual threats. Some seeking power. Others seeking vengeance. All for one purpose; their own survival. Khameleon's body slams against the dead tree. She slowly lifts her head, watching as the fire slowly swallowed the Living Forest. Reptile alone, hands leaking with blood and acid. She remembered that view. That nightmare haunts her every night. To see it become a reality once more…
"Traitor!" One of the locust members curled his scythe into Reptile's shoulder blade. On impact, the blade shattered. His eyes lit up as he wondered where he went wrong. He targeted the right vital spot. Reptile's eye met his before the man found a new hole through his chest. Reptile pulls his arm back, staring at the fallen Saurian as he joined his other seven allies.
"Why?" Khameleon cried. "We're at the finish line. This was the day Anomaly promised for us. So why?" Reptile marches toward the woman. She scrambles to her feet, ready to defend herself against Outworld's Champion. He swings his tail toward the girl. She leaps but flinches as she lands. Reptile quickly grabs the girl by the neck. Tears escaped the girl as she saw the blank look in his eyes. I see, she thought as his hands clenched her neck. All this time...you were still lost.
Reptile lifts his hands in the air, along with the woman's head. As the rest of her body fell onto its knees, Reptile rested the head alongside his hip. He overlooks the burning forest, feeling relaxed for the first time in years. Memories of Zaterra flooded his mind. He stared at the cold head beside him, before dropping it to the ground.
"Emperor Shao Kahn," Reptile hissed. "ALL traitors will be punished."
Chan thrusts his palms forward. A flash of light appears from his hands and knocks his enemies back. Numerous enemies from different realms he'd never known pressed against him and his allies. One large, armored enemy stomped toward the group as their bullets bounced off his body.
"Chan!" one of them called. He summons his chi into his left fist and conjures a flare in his right hand. He holds his flare in the air, slowing the man as he holds his arm up. Chan reduces the size and sends the rest to his feet. His feet spun in a circular motion as he finds himself behind the armored man. Chan swings his fist upward. The armored man split apart as Chan lept over him. He sends a dark flare toward his enemies on the other side of the group. Its immediately absorbed by the hooded sorceror. Chan smiles, snapping his finger. The sorcerer's body scatters across the field. Baraka and his allies munch on the remains. Their bodies tensed and red sparks flows around their arms. The warriors push through the many legions, ripping them apart with ease.
Two Kreeyans fend off the attacks from the Tarkatans. Though the beasts were stronger, it still wasn't comparable to the lost Amazonian tribe. Bo Rai Cho leaps between the women, tapping them on their backs.
"What are you?" he questioned. The women clenched their teeth as they curved their fist into the man's belly. His feet remained planted in the ground, but the impact caused him to spill his guts. The mess blinded the women, as they lost their balance. Bo Rai Cho's chi replenishes the oxygen that was taken from him. With the girls down, he leaps into the air and slams both feet atop of the girls' skulls. The loud crunch drew the attention of a new enemy. Bo Rai Cho was taken back by the Great Kung Lao standing before him.
"Isn't this a nice surprise," he gloats. "Master Cho fighting to protect the Kahn?"
"You've been through this once with Quan Chi, remember?" Bo Rai Cho says.
"I'm no fool," he clarifies. "I know of Earthrealm and Outworld's untimely merger. And the one responsible for it." The Great Kung Lao turns to the young Shaolin.
"If this is about your legacy—"
"Enough!" he shouts. "You know talk is useless right now."
"If this is about preserving your legacy, you must prove your worth. To Anomaly. To him. To your descendant." Bo Rai Cho pulls his feet away from the bloody mess he's created, walking toward his former student. "To me."
"I thought you'd never ask," he responded, getting into a defensive pose. Bo Rai Cho twirls around, flailing his arms against the warrior. They danced back and forth with their attacks, missing one another. Bo Rai Cho claps his hands above the shaolin's head as he ducks. Lao gripped his wrists and followed up with a rising kick to Bo Rai Cho's chin. Chan throws a dark flare to separate the two. However, Lao takes the brunt of the attack. His chi heals the burns on his back as he struggles to force his foot further up Bo Rai Cho's chin. Bo Rai Cho tumbles forward, dropping the chi hardened belly atop of the warrior. Two loud crackles sounded off simultaneously, with Lao hollering in pain.
"NO!" Chan yelled, reaching toward them. Suddenly, he feels a tight sensation around his breast before ascending into the sky. The tightness released while his body continued to rise. Below, Ciero stared with Hunger in her eyes. A portal appears beneath Chan. Ciero turns toward the location of the portal's ending path. A trail of blood follows her claw as she darts toward the portal. The woman hammers her claw into Ashrah's enchanted blade. The sorceress tensed her muscles and strengthened her light magic to shield themselves against the blood magic.
"That blade is a nuisance!" Ciero yelled. She slides around the woman and reaches for Chan. Her advance was halted as a large body landed atop of the woman. Bo Rai Cho's corpse, still on the bottom of Kung Lao's crippled leg, crushed the woman. She drew on the blood of her contracts to restructure her body anew. Using her strength, she lifted the heavy set man and threw him at Chan and Ashrah.
"How dishonorable!" Ashrah yelled as she leapt to the opposite side of Chan. "Why treat the dead like an object?"
"The dead are fighting back," Chan responded, pointing toward the Great Kung Lao. "There is nothing honorable about this war!"
"No one truly dies in our world. It is why we fight without fear," Ceiro says as she flies toward the Shaolin once more. Chan illuminates his body, blinding the woman. She stops in her tracks, blocking it with her arms. Another light shines behind her. She turns to Ashrah as the woman's blade goes through her abdomen. The glowing white wings dispersed. The portal behind Ashrah closed as Ciero's body disintegrated into ash.
"Good riddance," Ashrah whispered. A loud shriek came from the sky. Numerous vampires yelled from the skies as they circled around the two warriors.
"Looks like we brought the horde," Chan said.
"Let them come," Ashrah said as her eyes turned white, Chan watched in curiosity as he saw strings of light connecting the Kris to her wrist. Nitara descended among them, pointing directly to Ashrah.
"She must be removed from the fight sisters!" Nitara shouted. The swarm charged for Ashrah. The woman stood onguard, ready for them all. Chan places his hands on the ground, channeling his flares into it. Dark flares arose from the ground. Nitara appeared behind Chan with her hand raised. He pulled his hands from the ground to guard himself. The woman slashed across the tattoo on his arm before tasting his blood. The dark flares immediately dispersed, allowing the vampires to continue their path to the sorceress.
"What?!" Chan shouted before flinching from the pain. He held his arm, stumbling away from the woman.
"Your blood is exactly what my people needed," Nitara said. She leans back as a sphere extends across her face. Another winged warrior donning a metallic mask shaped like a hawk. More of its kind swooped in to assist the warriors of light, clashing with the vampires. Nitara uses her blood magic to channel a dark energy into her wings. Time slowed down. Only Chan and Ashrah were immune to the effects. Nitara's sisters weren't so lucky, yet she only needed to use the power to escape harm's way.
Ashrah gave chase to the woman, but as time reverted to its normal pace, she was surrounded by half a dozen vampires. The blood thirsty beings rushed her one by one. Effortlessly, she cut each of them down with her blade. One of the women avoids a fatal blow, chuckling at the close call. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her chest. Blood protruded from it, though no weapon emerged. She looked at the sorceress, who held a wooden doll doused in her blood. A long nail was pierce into it from behind. Ashrah pulled on the head of the doll, prompting the woman to lose her own. Chan looked away, disgusted by the sight. One of the winged warriors fell beside him. They struggled to speak, only reaching for the boy. Nitara lands on the man with both feet planted on his neck and rib cage.
"What a pity," Nitara muttered. She steps off the man, walking menacingly toward the shaolin. Chan fights back as best he could while holding his burning shoulder. Nitara flips over the boy and slams her heel atop of his head. As Chan falls face first toward the ground, a portal opens in time for him to fall through and land atop of the vampire. He vision was blurred. He felt his body being tossed away. He could hear Ashrah yelling. Not in pain. More like the sound of frustration coming from her.
"You demons," she says. "Have you no desire to see forgiveness? Have you no will to end your path of evil?"
"We are not demons! You are!" one of the vampires expressed.
"If you know this, you'd know your deceit will not work on me," Ashrah responded. She makes a dash for the woman with her blade raised. As she thrusts forward, she finds herself behind the woman. The vampire stares in awe as the portal before her closed. Ashrah looks to Chan as she faintly notices his hand fall to the ground. "Why?" she growls, gritting her teeth. The vampire turns to the shaolin, unable to form any kind of expression on her face. That is, until the side of her skull was cracked open by an iron mace.
"Your eyes," Chan says, watching as the woman was starting to look like her old self again.
"You speak nonsense, boy," she says. Chan rises up. He feels someone breathing harshly on the back of his neck. He looks back.
"Raja!" Chan calls with a worried look. The woman remained emotionless. She reached for his head and rubbed his hair.
"I cannot save you this time, Chan." Raja flies away from the boy, turning her attention to Ashrah. "I won't let you hurt my people any longer." Raja leans back before darting toward the Sorceress. Ashrah pulls her blade back, ready to slay the woman. She thrusts her blade forward, shoving it through the vampire's mouth. The blade would stop as the tip protruded from her stomach while the hilt was planted along her lips. Ashrah struggles to pull the blade from the woman's body.
"Did she…," Ashrah panicked. She released her grip from the blade as it and Raja dropped onto the ground. She chants as a magic circle appears beneath her feet. Before anything else would manifest, however, Nitara swooped behind the woman and bit deep into her neck. She jerks her head back, tearing away a large chunk of meat from Ashrah's neck. She uses her power to drain the blood from the woman's body. As it turned cold and gray, Nitara smiled. Chan wastes no time running from the woman.
"Where do you think you're going?" Nitara questioned. Suddenly, the earth shook. The atmosphere changed quickly, as if a slight switch was suddenly turned on. The oni of the NetherRealm aimlessly wondered the area. Chan recognized many of the new structures appearing as well.
"This is the NetherRealm," he said. "When did...no how did this happen?" Nitara laughs maniacally as the ancient symbols on her arms glowed.
"She was right!" Nitara shouted. "Just as she said, NetherRealm's army, in the palm of my hands." She reaches toward the boy's direction. Swarms of Oni chased after him, prompting the shaolin to run.
NetherRealm now merged with New Outworld, Subzero finds himself outside of the Lin Kuei temple combating numerous cyborgs. As the medallion around his neck glows, the temperature around the courtyard of the temple dropped rapidly. The cyborgs began moving much slower as their circuits stiffened. The warrior froze portions of their metallic body parts with each strike, along with a follow up to shatter the frozen parts. One cyborg appears beside him in a cloud of Smoke.
"No," Subzero muttered in frustration. He recognized the colors of the man. The scar along the eye of the cyborg matched the one Smoke had. He'd wondered what became of the Lin Kuei warrior since his departure from the NetherRealm. He attempts to grab the cyborg, but as it phased into ash, the cloud started to burn Kuai Liang. The warrior ran from the cloud, growling in pain as he held his arm. The cold only made it worse, despite him trying to cool the throbbing wound down. Smoke thrusts after Subzero, a stream of smoke trailing behind. The Cryomancer drew the cold area into his palm and pressed on his own chest. His body froze solid in the same running pose. Smoke's sensors failed him as he couldn't react fast enough to dodge the man. As he crashed into Kuai Liang, the cryomancer's frozen state was passed onto the cyborg. Subzero rolled away from his frozen ally, conjuring ice in his hand yet again. He pushes his hand toward Smoke's direction, releasing a thick ball of ice toward him. The ball, and Smoke's body, shattered, with shards spreading all across the courtyard,
"Sorry, Tomas," Kuai Liang whispered Mournfully. He could waste no more time. He needed to know the fate of the others. If Smoke could be transformed so quickly, what of them as well? Kuai Liang dashed through the entrance of his home, fending off the legions of cyborgs charging toward him. He picked them off quickly with his man ice conjurations. The man trampled on the bodies of his fallen brothers and sisters as he searched for the survivors. Shelia's grunts and the crackling of ice drew Kuai Liang to the mess hall. He lept over the doors and sealed the opening with his ice. Shelia rushed to Kuai aid as she saw one of the Tekunin thrust their pulse blade through his right leg. He looked down at the cyborg, a man split in half yet still alive. Shelia throws a kunai into its skull, permanently deactivating it.
"Are you alright?" she asked, looking at his rapidly bleeding leg. He uses his ice to stop it, though limping toward her direction. She grabs ahold of him before his body could hit the floor.
"I've been better," he commented. He looked to Hydro, who'd been combating both Cyrax and Sektor during the commotion. The half cyborg slams his wet fist against Sektor's chest, exposing the wiring inside. He fires a stream of water from his wrist, however Sektor's automated defenses kick in as a reflective crystal sends the stream back through Hydro's abdomen. The blood and water sent a current through the man's body as his circuits discharged. Shelia freezes the man solid to end his misery. She creates two ice daggers, preparing the face the cyborgs alone.
"Shelia," Sektor called. "This is the side of you I've always admired. You never let your emotions affect the mission."
"Unfortunately," Cyrax adds, "this makes you a threat to the Tekunin. Therefore, you must be eliminated."
"Of course I am," Shelia commented to herself. She looks around for other weapons and potentially living cyborgs.
"This is where the fight must end," Subzero grunts. "We fight, or we die."
"You won't be doing either," Shelia says.
"You're not—"
"I'm not a child!" she snaps.
"I am your grandmaster," Bi Han responds. She frowns. The girl growls in frustration as the cyborgs marched toward them.
"Grandmaster, don't do this to me now," she says.
"We are not ninja, we are Lin Kuei," Kuai said. "We do not run."
"Then make it count, damn it."
Shelia runs to the two of them. They unleash their pulse blades, ready to take the girl out. Their weapons cut through her ice. Her reflexes kept her from being ripped apart. The puddle along the slick floor, causes Shelia to lose her balance. She catches herself with her left hand, holding back Cyrax's arm with the other. Sektor thrusts his blade toward the woman's back. Kuai Liang, conjuring a thick ice shield, slides in front of the blade. Despite the many layers of ice, the blade still found its way into Subzero's ribcage. The grandmaster yells in pain, holding onto the cyborgs hand. He begins freezing the man from his hand, slowly making his way up it's arm. Too slow, as Kuai Liang realizes that his medallion fell from his cloth. A second pulse blade emerges from Sektor's free hand before he swings it across Kuai Liang's neck.
"Thank you, for believing in me," Shelia cries. She pushes herself from the ground, still holding onto Cyrax. She freezes his arm with solid white ice before slamming her solid white palm into his face. Chunks of ice, metal, and brain matter scattered behind the man, as Shelia pulls his arm away with ease. Sektor stands frozen, though not physically. Shelia turns to him, her face blush red. With a roaring cry from the woman and a rapid decrease in the room's temperature, the earth trembled once more.
End of Chapter 38
(Upcoming—The War of Light and Darkness Part 2)