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Edenia, a few hours after Kurai left with Raiden...
Jade, Kitana, Ophelia, and Sindel all order and direct Edenian guards to assist with the cleanup inside the palace ballroom after the demon attack the previous night. Jade also instructs the guards to help with medical aid and treatment for some of the royals that had attended the banquet.
Many of them may have managed to escape from the demons, but their were some that still managed to be harmed during the process. The royals that were relatively unharmed were sent home and dismissed by Sindel after a heated exchange, but the royals that were injured remained behind to be treated.
Jade rubs her face in frustration before she sighs deeply. "At least the demons didn't attack the city. There's no telling what would have happened if the civilians were attacked." She thinks to herself before her whole body shivers just from the thought of Edenia going through another depression era after having recovered from Shao Kahn's invasion all those years ago.
Then the thought of Kurai suddenly came across her mind and what he wanted to tell her. Whatever it was that bothered him so made her feel anxious. What was it that he wanted to tell her that made him feel so upset and anxious himself that he didn't even know how to say it?
Whatever it is, she'll be there for him and hear him out, no matter what it is. Even if it's something she may not like, she'll be patient and wait for him to tell her. Besides, it's not like she hasn't shared every secret she has with him. Not yet at least.
But she was still ashamed that she hasn't told him about her previous love life before him.
Maybe that's what he was trying to tell her and just couldn't find the proper words to describe everything? She doesn't know.
But regardless, she knows the type of person Kurai is. He trusts her and she trusts him. She'll eventually have to tell him her every secret and her previous love life as she knows he'll do the same when he's ready.
For now, she's just going to have to be patient.
"By the Elder Gods... Jade? Is that you?"
A masculine voice calls out to Jade from behind that causes her heart to sink. She thought the person that the voice belonged to had perished long ago. And now, now he decides to come back to reveal himself after so long? It's been over six years since Shao Kahn had said he died in battle.
She turns around slowly to see a tall and tanned skin man wearing Aztec inspired clothing and armor towering over her with teal colored tribal war paint. Clearly an Osh-Tekk from Outworld. The man looks at her with relief and gently places a hand on her cheek with a happy smile.
"Oh, Jade. I'm pleased to see that you're safe." The man says to her as she gazes into his magical teal colored eyes as she takes a nervous gulp and a soft smile.
"Kotal..." She whispers.
Atlantic Ocean...
The Special Forces helicopter steadily hovers above the seemingly lifeless tanker ship before Kurai, Drake and Kai all repel down the rear deck.
As heavy rain falls on top of them, the three young men examine rear deck and keep an eye out for any threats or hostiles that may still be onboard. But the air surrounding them, besides the storm, was eerily foreboding and ominous. There were no bodies or any sign of blood on the deck. Not even signs that there was any life onboard to begin with.
Each shadow they could currently see took the shape of a potential demon in their minds, but a flash from the lightning storm shows them that it's a figment of their imagination. But it doesn't put them at ease since they know that just because the demons aren't outside, doesn't mean they won't be inside the ship.
Kurai looks up and communicates with the pilot in the helicopter through his radio communicator. "Pilot, how much fuel do you have left in the chopper?" He asks loudly over the storm.
"I have about half a tank left. Do you reckon I should head back to the mainland and refuel?" The pilot asks curiously as Kurai, expecting that to be the answer, sighs deeply before responding.
"Yeah, I think that would be the best thing to do. Head to the mainland and land in the nearest base to refuel. After that standby, if there are any survivors left we'll call and let you know. But stay in contact in case we need you." He tells the pilot as the helicopter begins to fly away, leaving the three of them on the ship.
"Copy that. But contact me if you boys need my help. Hopefully I won't be too far if anything happens. Stay sharp and be safe, fellas. Over and out." The pilot says to him as they hear the blades of the helicopter slowly get drowned out by the sound of the storm until they eventually couldn't hear it anymore.
Now alone, Kurai, Drake, and Kai stand on the rear deck of the ship as the violent waves of water crash against the ship. "Now what?" Drake asks curiously.
Kurai looks up towards the bridge of the ship and thinks of what to do. "I'll head up to the ship's bridge and see if the communications equipment needs to be repaired. Maybe we use it to inform the Special Forces and the President that there's no need to destroy the ship if the demons have cleared out. While I do that, you two check the lower decks and see if there are any survivors hiding out. I'll do the same while heading to the bridge." He tells them as Drake and Kai look at him with confusion.
"Uh, Kurai, buddy? Do you even know HOW to repair radio equipment?" Drake asks him curiously before Kurai looks at him with a slightly annoyed expression. Then Drake understood. "Right. Right. You've been in Earth Realm a long time. Sooo... you must've picked up on some things about high tech equipment and stuff like that." He says with an embarrassed laugh as Kurai grins with amusement and nods.
"Alright. So, you're taking the upper levels of the ship while Drake and I take the lower decks. We're splitting up essentially. Is that the plan?" Kai asks to be sure that he was clear on the plan. Answering his question, Kurai nods his head.
"Yeah, but be careful. Just because everything is quiet right now, that doesn't mean that the demons aren't around. They could be in hiding and waiting to pounce once we let our guards down. So stay sharp." He tells them before they split apart.
Drake and Kai both head one way while Kurai heads in the other.
Kurai walks up to an entry way that leads to the inside of the ship. He slowly turns the hatch on the door and opens it to feel a gust of wind burst through the door to the outside. He walks in and closes the door behind him as he now stands in complete darkness, but a stomach churning coppery smell filled the air around him.
Kurai lightly coughs from the smell and reaches into one of his pockets. "Good thing Sonya gave us these flashlights before we left." He thinks to himself before pulling out a flashlight and turns it on to witness the most gruesome sight he has ever seen.
Smears and pools of blood on the floor and walls, and bodies piled on top of each other down the narrow hallway. Special Forces soldiers torn apart and ripped to shreds by the demons. They didn't stand a chance.
Kurai's hopes for survivors dwindled in that moment as he began to carefully maneuver his way through the pile of corpses. Making his way down the narrow corridor of the ship, Kurai soon comes across an automatic door.
He steps through to see even more piles of corpses from the demons and Silva's slaughter. Men and women, each one with permanent expressions of pure terror.
He shakes his head with hopelessness while he continues his ascent to the bridge and feels his anger build inside him. The closer he gets to the bridge, the more bodies he comes across and the more gruesome the sight.
But the entire time Kurai made his way up to the bridge of the ship, he couldn't shake the dreading feeling of being watched. And whoever or whatever it was, they were watching him very closely. "Drake, Kai, come in. Do you copy?" He quietly asks with his radio communicator, but his question is met with nothing but static.
"Drake, Kai, it's Kurai. Do you copy?" He asks again, this time a little louder but still quiet. His question is again met with static, making him groan in frustration.
"Damn it. I hope they're alright. I guess we're going to be on our own for a while." He thinks to himself as he continues to make his way up to the bridge.
As he reaches the way up to the bridge, he suddenly hears wheezing, gasping breaths from someone trying to breathe. He looks around at the area surrounding him until his eyes land on a Special Forces soldier, a woman, lying in a pool of her own blood with a large gash going up across her chest.
The gash went up from her lower right abdomen to her left shoulder. He calmly walks towards her and when she notices him begins to panic, thinking he's an enemy. He raises his hands in a calming manner and kneels down beside her before grabbing her hand. "Don't worry, it's ok. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm here to help." He softly tells her.
She squeezes his hand tightly and tries to speak, but he calmly shushes her to keep her quiet and waits patiently for her time to come. Considering how deep the gash looks, either a demon or Silva damaged some internal organs. But the woman stubbornly shook her head and tries to speak to him again.
Her voice was just barely above a whisper, so he leans his face down closer to hers so he could listen to what she has to say. "I heard... the man... mention a name... Something about... an Elder God..." She says to him, struggling to keep her eyes open as she begins to take quick breaths.
She didn't have much longer.
So Kurai tries pushes her to say the name of the Elder God. "What is it? What's the Elder Gods name?" He asks her tenderly, but it's too late. She began to say the name but what came out was a gasp before her last and final breath then her eyes glazed over and her body fell limp.
Kurai sadly shakes his head and gently closes her eyes before setting her hand on her chest. "Rest easy, soldier. You did everything you could." He whisper softly before standing up to continue to ascent towards the bridge.
He walks up a flight of stairs and walks into the bridge of the ship where it is controlled. The lights are still off since the power of the ship is down. On the outside of the ship on the deck, the rain and lightning storm is still raging as the rain flows down against the glass.
He then tries to contact Drake and Kai before trying to repair the radio equipment. "Drake? Kai? Do you copy? Respond." He says, but is still getting static. He sighs heavily and kneels down to tear off a panel to start repairing the equipment as best he can.
WHAM!
Kurai stands up quickly after hearing a loud bang nearby. And it sound as though it came from outside. He turns towards the direction he heard the sound just in time to catch a glimpse of someone walking outside the port wing deck. "Who the hell...?" He thinks to himself curiously.
The person was wearing a black cloak with dark red trimmings, but their appearance seemed to be feminine. A female? Is she a member of the Special Forces? Kurai doubts that, considering she's not wearing a military uniform.
But one question still lingers in his mind. If she's human, how is she still alive?
Kurai cautiously walks over to the door leading to the port wing deck and turns the hatch before opening the door. He heads back outside into the storm and stealthily hides behind a stack of metal crates. One of which had appeared to have fallen over due to the strong winds. It was most likely what caught his attention.
Then he begins to hear a pair of voices speak to each other.
"Is there a particular reason why you had a horde of my demons attack a useless Earth Realm ship? We should be focusing our efforts elsewhere, not here in Earth Realm just yet, Lady Delilah." A creepy and disturbing voice says to the woman, now revealed to Kurai as Delilah.
The woman, Delilah, just laughs. "Oh, Lord Shinnok. You have nothing to worry about. It's all a part of my plan that will aid you in the long run. This attack was just a diversion." She says confidently to the voice, revealed to Kurai as Shinnok.
"Shinnok? The fallen Elder God Shinnok? No..." Kurai thinks to himself in disbelief before he carefully sneaks a peek to see if who Delilah is speaking to is in fact Shinnok.
Sure enough, Kurai sees a misty image of the pale skinned former Elder God as Delilah and Shinnok continue their conversation.
"A diversion? For what purpose?" Shinnok asks curiously while crossing his arms.
Delilah just smirks. "A diversion... to lure out the Prince of Edenia and some of his friends. The attack here and in Edenia was just the start. The best is yet to come, my Lord. I promise you." She tells the former Elder God confidently as Kurai leans back against the metal crate with a bewildered expression.
"Son of a bitch... the attacks were a set up." He whispers in shock quietly. Thankfully, his whisper was drowned out by the heavy winds of the storm. Then he hears Shinnok hum thoughtfully.
"Hmm... Very well, Delilah. I'll play along for now. But if this does not go how I want it, then my demons will defile you in every way possible before I take your head and feed it to them. Am I clear?" The former Elder God threatens Delilah with a dark glare, causing her to smirk inwardly before bowing elegantly to the image of Shinnok.
"Crystal clear, my Lord." She says politely as Shinnok scoffs before his image fades away.
Standing back up, Delilah continues to smirk and turns her head slightly. "Kurai, darling, you can come out now. I know you're there." She calls him out with a laugh, which causes Kurai to freeze.
How the hell did she know he was there?
Taking a deep breath and steeling his nerves, Kurai stands up from behind the metal crates and faces the still cloaked Delilah. "You know who I am, but I don't know you, even though I caught your name." He says calmly while standing his ground.
Delilah smirks underneath her hood and crosses her arms under her modest sized bust before chucking. "Oh, Kurai, dear. I know a great deal about you. The Forgotten Son of Edenia. The Lost Prince who became a warrior to survive in a harsh realm for 9,000 years." She begins to say dramatically while looking at him with a look of genuine respect.
"And a powerful warrior you've become, Kurai, I must admit. Very commendable and I applaud you. Truly." She says respectfully while clapping her hands intently, but Kurai could not get a read on this woman.
He couldn't tell if she was mocking him or showing genuine respect for him. He wasn't able to tell and that seriously bothers him. Who is she?
He says nothing and just frowns before Delilah just smiles, sensing his uneasiness. "Not to worry, Kurai. In case you can't tell, I do actually have great respect and admiration for you." She continues before she begins to pace back and forth while Kurai keeps a close eye on her every movement.
"You were born into royalty, but had it all stripped away from you in just one night due to one emperor's foolishness. HOWEVER, even though you had nothing but the clothes on your back and your wits, you endured. You persevered. You fought to survive and struck down anyone that tried to knock you down." She says to him respectfully while he listens intently.
"You made yourself strong, Kurai. So strong in fact that you managed to stand toe to toe with Shao Kahn himself. THAT is a feat that only very few can claim to gave done in their lifetime." She tells him with a genuine smile.
Kurai just continues to frown while looking up at Delilah. She may be paying him genuine compliments, but something feels off. He can sense it.
"You're saying all these compliments and wonderful, pretty things to me, but still don't understand something." He finally begins to speak to her as she tilts her head to the side curiously before he continues.
"You knew I was here listening the whole time, yet you didn't warn Shinnok or any of the demons in hiding of my presence. Why? What's your angle?" He voices his thoughts openly which causes her to smile brightly under her hood.
"You could sense the demons that are still here?" She asks him gleefully with her hands clapped together. Kurai says nothing and just stares at her, waiting for her to answer.
Delilah bites her lip with a smile and giggles softly. "Ooh, I knew I was right about you, Kurai! Quan Chi is right to fear you, but Shinnok believes that you are inconsequential. But I know better. You're dangerous. In a good way. And I like it!" She says excitedly as Kurai's eyes narrow sharply at Quan Chi's name. Then she continues.
"To answer your question, Kurai. Yes, I knew you were listening to my conversation with Shinnok. As to why I didn't warn him or the demons of your presence... well, can you really not figure out why?" She inquires with a knowing grin as Kurai narrows his eyes before they suddenly widen in utter shock.
Delilah smiles brightly. "He's figured it out." She thinks to herself just as Kurai begins to speak again.
"You're working with Shinnok, but you're not truly on his side. You WANTED me to know that Shinnok is loose, and that he's behind all this...!" He says in bewilderment as Delilah claps her hands giddily while laughing heartily.
"Yes! That's it! I knew I was right about you! You truly are a worthy adversary, Kurai! I love it! This is going to be so much fun!" She gleefully says while still genuinely laughing. She was loving this.
But there was still something Kurai couldn't understand. "I just can't figure out one thing, Delilah." He says to her, causing her to stop laughing before she looks at him with a smile.
"And what's that, darling?" She asks him curiously.
"Why the attack on Edenia and this ship? Why attack two places at once when you could just invade the realms with Shinnok and Quan Chi's help?" He asks her curiously as she continues to just smile.
Then she begins to giggle before it turns into a laugh. She looks at him with adoration before she answers. "Oh, Kurai, you should already know because I just said it to Shinnok. The attacks were just a diversion to get your attention. To lure you out here and begin MY plans." She explains as Kurai listens and absorbs every word she speaks to figure what her plans are.
"Shinnok has gotten old and sloppy with his arrogance. With you here, I can finally put my plans into action. In the meantime, I suggest that you check on your two friends." She tells him with a smirk before Kurai launches his kunai at her, but she dodges it by leaping into the air and landing on the small radio station behind him as the kunai lodges itself into the metal frame of the port wing.
He yanks the kunai back into his grasp before turning to face Delilah, who is now staring down at him. "Who are you, Delilah? If you're not with Shinnok, why fight against us? Why not fight with us?" He asks her curiously. If Delilah is not one of Shinnok's servants, why is she working with him then? It doesn't make sense.
Delilah just smiles softly and shakes her head slowly. "Don't get me wrong, Kurai. I truly respect and admire you. Truly. You're strong, humble, and kind. Unlike many of the foolish and arrogant men I've met in my life. In another life, I have no doubt that you and I would have been good friends. Great even. But sadly, in this life, we're enemies." She tells him almost somberly while she looks down at him tenderly.
"It doesn't have to be that way, Delilah. I want Shinnok to be taken down just as much as you do. Help me fight him, Delilah. Help us. We can all take him down together." He says to her tenderly before offering his hand out to her.
Delilah looks down at Kurai with a light smile before shaking her head again. "Oh, Kurai, dear. I can't. My plans are too important to me. And you are a worthy adversary, but you, or your friends are not going to be able to stop me. I won't let you." She says to him with a smile looking down to the side.
Kurai looks in the direction that Delilah is looking and sees a young asian man walking towards him. The young man seems to be wearing Shaolin clothes similar to Liu Kang's, but instead of red trimmings, they're forest green trimmings, and he is also wearing a black gi top with forest green trimmings like his pants.
The young man continues to walk towards Kurai before stopping a few feet from him. "Hornbuckle, darling. You're right on time. Show Kurai here that Liu Kang is not the only Shaolin monk that is able to fight." She tells the young man, Hornbuckle, before looking at Kurai one more time.
"Goodbye for now, Kurai. I hope to see you again soon. Like I said to Shinnok, the best is yet to come. Let the games begin." She says with a smirk before teleporting away in a pool of blood.
Kurai sighs heavily before looking at Hornbuckle, who cracks his knuckles and prepares to fight. "I have to take this guy down quickly before I find Drake and Kai. We have to get off this ship and let Raiden know that Shinnok is loose." He thinks to himself before shifting into his fighting stance.
