Chapter 21: Outworld Part 2

As the other heroes led by Kitana Kahn are heading outside the temple, they can only hope they are not too late. They are heading to what appears to be a town built over water. A place that holds many more innocent refugees. It is not the only one. Outworld has also held its own Emperor Courtyard, Kuantan Jungle named after a long extinct race, the Kove which had boats and many water supplies. Outworld also has its own Marketplace. It has held many races for years. Tarkatans, Edenians, Shokan, Osh-Tekk, and the extinct Kytinn and Naknadans. This town is called the Kahn Kove.

"What is this place? It feels familiar to me. I don't remember hearing about this. It feels relaxing to me." Cyan said. He closes his eyes and smells the fresh water and fresh air. Even Jade seems to love this place.

"This is the Kahn Kove. Named after the first Kahn, before Onaga and Shao Kahn existed. Since then, this place has been new ever since Shao Kahn was banished to Edenia after the tournament. It took a long time to clean up after he poisoned its environment. Statues were built after the Kahns we deemed worthy. Shao Kahn was an exception. You can see your father's." Jade smiles as she looks at Kotal's statue. She couldn't help but feel proud of her husband after he became Kahn after overthrowing Mileena and taking her place. Despite some of his actions being wrong, she still loves him deep down.

"This place has always been one of my favorites in Outworld. My father also liked this place. This was the last place I would've wanted anyone to ruin again. Now the question is why are we here?" Kotal asked.

"For what we are looking for." Kitana said. She steps forward, says some foregin magical words and she waves her hands forward and the ocean starts spreading open like a book. Open big enough for a whole army to fit through. Osh-Tekk and Edenian guards stand in front of the entrance to keep civilians from entering or interfering. A secret passageway to a tomb. A tomb inside of a huge statue that belongs to none other than Onaga the Dragon King.

"I did not know that was even there at all." Kotal couldn't believe his eyes.

"Shang Tsung and Quan Chi themselves showed me how just in case we needed to come here for emergencies. I was never into much magic like they were. But then again, they were foolish enough to trust me with it." Kitana said. "Come. It awaits us."

Kitana starts leading everyone towards the tomb. Cyan and Chang Bao are astounded by how the waters are being held up. They have seen magic many times, mostly from Liu Kang and the portal that was created by Alex before, but nothing like this. As they continued walking, Jade felt a bit silent and stops walking. Kotal was the only one who noticed this.

"You seem tense, Jade. Is there something wrong?" Kotal asked.

"I must say I am, how should I say, afraid of what may come yet? Given that according to Liu Kang's visions given to him by Raiden, this has happened before. It was before Raiden changed history originally before the time-merger. Afraid that some of us may die during this and hopefully not all." Jade worries. Everyone shares this sort of feeling with her. Even those who were not born in the Old Era, share this feeling, such as Cassie and Jacqui.

"I feel your concern. Given that according to Liu Kang, I was not among the final battle. But if we can make it through this, we won't have to worry about everyone dying at evil hands once again." Kotal tries to reassure her.

"But the tragedy that transpired. It's how we all died. Not even Raiden stood a chance against Shao Kahn. It's because of him, Liu Kang and Alex that we all stand here now, but I'm afraid of history repeating itself. And we may go through the same events once more." Jade said, feeling scared of what may come next.

"Jade. I cannot pretend that I understand your great fear because I was not there. But we are all here for a reason. Your friend, our allies, they gave us a chance to redeem ourselves. We did so. We have made it thus far in the New Era. Not even this timeline is perfect. We lost good people, but that doesn't mean we give up. We push forward, no matter what. You, Jade, as well as Cyan and Shu-Shang come before me. One day I will never forget is us starting our marriage. And the years being with you have made it all better." Kotal looks into her eyes and caresses her face.

Jade does her best not to tear up. If there was one thing she is afraid of the most, it's not her own death. It's the death of those she loves and cares about. Those being Kitana, Cyan, Shu-Shang, Alex, Cassie and above all, Kotal. Jade places her hand on his face before hugging him for an embrace.

"I love you, Kotal. Forever and always." Jade tells him.

"I will always love you too, Jade. Do not doubt yourself." Kotal smiles at his wife. They kiss each other before they continue onward to catch up to the others.

Inside the statue of the Dragon King are little statues of undead-like creatures that were controlled by Onaga when he ruled. These things intimidate Daisuki a lot. He couldn't even imagine how he would react if he were to see them in reality. Chang Bao on the other hand does not seem very afraid of them. Shu-Shang is rather impressed with how they look. Kitana leads them to a dead end with a miniature stone statue of Onaga with fire activated in its jaws. In front of the statue is Outworld's Kamidogu. It looks like a three-bladed throwing star with a purple background all while the symbol itself is shaped like a whole circle.

"By the gods. The Kamidogu of Outworld. It has been here the whole time?" Kotal asked, sounding surprised.

"Only Quan Chi knew about this. He was foolish enough to trust me with its secret. I'm surprised he didn't even try to warn Shao Kahn about it." Jade said.

"That may be because he knew the Kamidogu were what led to Onaga's downfall at his hands. Shao Kahn has always been more clever than the Dragon King himself." Kitana replied.

"So how will this work? How do we get the artifact out of that tile?" Daisuki asked.

"Meditation. I have read about how they work. These are not always used for injustice purposes. I am one of the very few people who know how to work these correctly. It's how I knew how to help your grandmother and a friend of ours." Kitana tells him. She was pleased with Sindel's idea to help Alex with his troubles by having him use the Kamidogu from Edenia to keep Kronika's subconsciousness at bay.

"Sindel has said something about removing the dagger from its place by meditation. Are you sure this will work?" Jade asked. Kitana nods in response.

"Now, in order for this to work, I must not be interrupted while doing so. But I will need protection while I do this. As soon as I am done, we must escape before anyone notices." Kitana instructs everyone.

Kitana looks at the tile and four lit candles that are put at each corner. She sighs in confidence that Sindel's idea will work. She walks towards the Outworld tile and stands right on top of it. She turns around and looks at her son and daughter, as well as her sister-figure Jade and her husband Kotal. She smiles at them before she sits down and crosses her legs, holds her hands out and closes her eyes. After a few moments of silence, the tile below Kitana starts glowing. Daisuki and Chang Bao look at each other and are rather amazed at the sight of it. From their point of view it looks beautiful. Kitana remains silent as she is transwarped inside the astral plane inside her own mind.

Kitana's astral plane is glowing blue, just like her original color. She remembered the time she did this with her mother Sindel. Kitana never thought that she would not have to use its power. She closes her eyes to concentrate on the happiest memories she could think of. Despite being lied to her entire life by Shao Kahn, that would not stop her. Kitana remembered the time she first met Jade when Sheeva introduced them to each other and Jade became her guardian and only friend. They were both loyal to Shao Kahn before it was revealed that he lied to her about her true parents and Edenia, and to Jade, creating Mileena was the last straw.

Her next memory was during the first tournament, she met Liu Kang in an attempt to kill him, only to fail and begged for death. Liu Kang, a man with honor and morality, chose to spare her and believed she had goodness in her. Thanks to the time disruption, they were saved from death. Kitana then remembers seeing Liu Kang again, but when he becomes a fire god thanks to Raiden and helps him and Alex craft the New Era. She also remembers meeting Alex for the first time and the interactions they had together alongside Cassie, Fujin and Raiden. She remembers reuniting with her mother once she was cured of her revenant status and once more in the New Era.

In the New Era, she remembered starting her relationship with Liu Kang and accepting his proposal and the day they got married in Outworld. And to her, the happiest memory she had was giving birth to her children, Daisuki and Chang Bao. The times they spent playing together, training together, and bonding with each other. She sees an image of her two children and smiles, couldn't help but feel proud of them and is happy that she has a family with the person she loves most.

A small light appears in front of her. Kitana walks forward and reaches out with her right hand. As she touches the light, the entire aura in her astral plane starts glowing white and a bright light comes out of nowhere. In the real world, Kitana opens her eyes and sees everyone staring at her. She looks down in her hand and is holding the Kamidogu of Outworld. It looks sharper than the other two daggers seen so far and the hilt has two square edges sticking out but separate far enough for a normal hand to hold it by. The symbol lies in the middle of the blade on both sides.

"The Kamidogu of Outworld. It does exist." Chang Bao's eyes widened at the sight of its appearance.

"It just came out of nowhere. Like it summoned itself into your hand. Mother. How did you do that? What kind of magic is this?" Daisuki asked, sounding rather intrigued.

"I thought of the happiest memories I could think of. Thinking of the positive memories and having positive emotions give you strength. Thinking about your grandmother, your grandfather, and your father makes life all the living." Kitana answered.

"Now I see. That's what grandmother Sindel did. That's what she did to conquer her inner demon. Move on from her past and move forward to a future. Of taking back your home. Killing Shao Kahn. For you and grandfather. It makes sense." Chang Bao said. For a demigod, she appears to be wiser than anyone else thought.

"Yes. Very clever and very good indeed, Chang Bao." Kitana smiles at her daughter. "Now let us leave before anyone else arrives to claim this." Everyone nods and starts heading out.

They walk out of the tomb… only to find an Osh-Tekk's head flying towards them and hits the ground and rolls and stops at Kotal's feet. He was the first to look up ang glares in anger. He sees the Red Dragon heading towards them as Reptile spits acid at the other guard's face and stabs his throat with his claws and rips his own throat out. He then sticks his claws into another's face and literally rips it off and the guard bleeds to death.

Kitana and the group get ready as more enemies start approaching them. Along with Reptile, there are Rain, Khameleon, General Reiko, Drahmin, Ermac and Ferra/Torr. The parents recognize some of these villains. Much to their confusion, they recognize Ermac. Last time they heard, he was absorbed by Shang Tsung.

"General Reiko. Reptile and Rain. Still living around in the Netherrealm after all these years and have been unable to move on? How pitiful of you all." Jade mocks them.

"We do not want pity. Pity was always for the weak and merciful. You not killing us is the reason why we stand before you today. You never learn, but we do. You all say that we deserve to live with our shame. You have no idea, that is why Shao Kahn kills all he deems threats." Reptile stated.

"You were stupid enough to believe that this would be an easy task for you. But easy efforts are always for naught. That leads to overconfidence. Which in turn leads to death." Reiko tells them. "Leave no one alive. Get that dagger." He ordered everyone.

"But what about the fire god?" Reptile asked.

"It is already covered." Reiko replied. Reptile snarls and leaps off the bridge and starts heading towards Jade. The other villains start running their way down and charge towards the heroes. They began to fight fiercely. The children start to put up a good fight, much to their surprise, considering their training. Thankfully, the field is big enough to open such a big field. Kitana engages Khameleon.

"A Saurian from the Zatarra region in Outworld. Thought to have been extinct, and yet you remained in hiding from anyone except Shao Kahn. Now you show yourself and meet your fate at the hands of the true Kahn." Kitana said, glaring at her.

"I have spent a lifetime hiding from view. From those I do not believe to be worthy to be worth remembering. Shao Kahn thought us to be worth serving for him and his heir Mileena. I was told everything about you. I stuck with him and my people and refuse to betray them. I'd rather die serving them than side with traitors like the Tarkatans, Edenians and Shokan." Khameleon said as she stands in defiance.

"Mileena is worse than Shao Kahn. She cannot even lead even the simplest of creatures to a food court. And your death I can arrange for you." Kitana said. She brings out her fans and the two fight.

Khameleon's near invisible skin turns purple, matching Mileena's color. She starts with a teleporting kick, and kicks Kitana in the chest, surprising her. Kitana rolls back and recovers. Khameleon double kicks her in the chest followed by a knee strike and was gonna bring out two sais to stab her in the shoulders, but Kitana uses her fans to parry them away. Kitana ducks and spins in place, cutting both of her ankles, making them bleed and jumps and triple kicks her in the air by the chest and chin, sending her back. Khameleon's skin turns blue like Kitana's and does a mid air dash and tries to ram into her, but Kitana does two backflips to get enough distance. The two then clash with their respective weapons. Khameleon may be skilled with them, but Kitana has used them her entire life. Kitana chops her on top of her head, punches her stomach, swings a fan at her left shoulder, cutting it, and grabs Khameleon and cuts across her chest.

Khameleon growled as her hand was covered in blood but was not going to let up. Her skin turns green like Jade. From her right thigh, she brings out a razor rang and swings it upward at her head. Kitana dodges, but is left open when she comes swinging in with a bo staff and spins it at Kitana's head three times and slams the endpoint of it at her throat, making Kitana cough up some blood. Khameleon then palm strikes her face and knees her chest, sending her back. Kitana stares with hate and was ready. Kitana jumps over her, taking her by surprise and stabs her right thigh with her fan folded up, swings the other upward, cutting her left shoulder, does a kick to the jaw and chest. She spins her fans at the ground, sending Khameleon into the air, mid air dashes into her, sending her backwards and she teleports again and lands right on top of her, stabbing her shoulders with her sharl high heels, causing more pain and blood. Khameleon is dazed. Kitana then uppercuts her in the air, cracking her jaw, throws her dagger fans into her neck, grabs Khameleon's shoulders and slams her to the ground, making the daggers go through her neck and then knees her in the head, cracking her skull and breaking it. Kitana then jumps on her, stabs both of her eyes, jumps off and behind her, thrusts her dagger fan into Khameleon's throat once more, completely taking her head off in a Brutality.

"I may not have his cruelty, but I only do what I must only if necessary." Kitana said. She sees everyone else fighting, including the Outworld armies fending off the Red Dragon. Something is different though. Where is their leader? Jade continues to fight Reptile.

"Shao Kahn's most blind minion." Jade tells Reptile.

"Better than being Kotal's kept woman." Reptile snarls at her.

"At least I learn to open my eyes and see the better picture." Jade roasts him. Reptile roars at her as they continue battling it out.

Jade avoids a few swings from his claws and does a green kick to the chest, takes out her staff and pole kicks him in the air while swinging around it. Reptile lands, recovers and turns intangible. Reptile kicks the back of Jade's left ankle, jumps in the air, punches her head, then punches her across the face, and kicks her straight in the chest, sending her backwards. Jade manages to recover. She sees Reptile turning intangible again. Jade slams her staff to the floor and swings it, sending two Edenian sparks both directions, causing Reptile to trip in front of her. Jade sends a strong kick to the collarbone, slams the staff on top of his head, cracking it and sending an endpoint of her staff, towards Reptile's jaw, nearly breaking it and sending him into the air. Reptile falls onto his back, defeated and out cold.

"I believe I have made my point." Jade gives a mocking smirk as she helps Kitana out with dealing with more members of the Red Dragon.

Chang Bao going all out against the Red Dragon. She draws her Odachi sword and charges towards them and swings her sword through two of the members, cutting them in half and they fall over dead. Another falls by her when she swings her sword upward through one's chest, killing the member. Chang Bao spins her sword in circles while facing two more members and pushes the wind towards her two opponents, knocking them into five more. Chang Bao sees three more running towards her with weapons in their hands as well as magic and chemists. Chang Bao raises her sword in the air and fire appears at the tip of her blade and she swings her sword three times, shooting fireballs at their faces, burning and killing them as their faces are about burned off and nearly showing their skulls. As their faces continue to burn, they are suddenly put out by water. Chang Bao looks up and it is none other than Rain himself.

"Another demigod. One that specializes in wind and fire. I will say that your skills are quite impressive. But they won't save you from my abilities and superiority. You may call me Rain." Rain introduces himself.

"So you're the egotistical Edenian demigod my mother and father have told me about. Also known as the traitor of Edenia, your own home." Chang Bao points out.

"They were traitors when they refused Shao Kahn. Your mother and Jade and of course, Sindel. They remind me of Argus, who, unlike them, was a coward. I was promised eternal glory in Edenia. But with our alliance with the Red Dragon and Chaosrealm, that will change." Rain said as they began to fight.

Chang Bao starts swinging a few more fireballs at Rain, but he, with his hands covered in water, backhands one away, stops another with a palm and kicks the last one away. Rain holds his palm out and shoots water at the ground and slides into Chang Bao, pal striking her chest, sending her back. He summons water to grab her by the waist and pulls her towards him and he roundhouse kicks her into a water portal and she comes in behind him, allowing Rain to punch her across the face, a kick to the chest and front flip kicks her in the head, sending her into the ground. Chang Bao rolls back and Rain draws his Katar weapon. Rain shoots projectiles out of his weapon, which Chang Bao easily deflects. He fires more, but she uses her sword and wind powers to spin them around her and throw them back at Rain, causing him to dodge. This however, leaves him open, as Chang Bao spins in the air and kicks him in the stomach, knees his chin, punches his face and kicks him across the head and pushes him back with the wind.

Rain gets back up, only to be met by Chang Bao swinging her sword. Rain tries his best to defend himself with his Katar, until Chang Bao glares at him and yanks the weapon out of his hand and tackles him and tries to finish him. But he evaporates into water and steps backwards before reforming into his normal form. Rain once more charges forward and does another palm strike, a kick to the right leg, and a knee strike to the chest, cracking it. He grabs her arm and kicks her in the back of the head, sending her forward, making her drop her Odachi. Chang Bao managed to get to a knee and was not going to give up. Her fists are surrounded by small amounts of wind while Rain forms a sphere made of water. He throws the sphere and she fires wind from her fists and the water disappears upon colliding with the wind. Rain jumps up and closes a fist, but punches the ground when she dodges. Chang Bao comes in and punches his gut, making him spit up blood, swing kicks across the head, cracking part of his skull, picks up one of the sharp projectiles Rain shot earlier and thrusts it into his left shoulder, causing him pain. Rain and Chang Bao shoot fire and water balls at each other and fog appears, blinding both of them. Rain walks through a water portal, leaving Chang Bao alone. She closes her eyes and listens for the sound. SHe hears water sounds and she turns around when Rain was about to punch her, only for her to dodge, punches and kicks his jaw, cracking it, pulls him in with the wind and double kicks him in the spine, greatly cracking it, sending him forward in defeat.

"Greed for power tends to lead to consequences, especially for people like you, Rain." Chang Bao insults him, standing over his unconscious body.

Shu-Shang fights fiercely. She swings her sickles horizontally past one member's stomach, cutting it open and blood spills out and swings the other sickle up one's chin, killing the man. She then punches one across the face followed by an elbow strike and shoulder bashes the clan member into the water. Shu-Shang slams one sickle into a member's right hip, breaks the right knee and slams the other sickle into her head, killing yet another member. She uppercuts another person, slams a sickle into his heart and pulls it back, ripping his heart out in the process. All the dead bodies suddenly start floating upwards and surprisingly enough, they all go flying backwards, revealed to be none other than Ermac himself.

"Young Osh-Tekk girl. Brave but arrogant. You are one, but we are many. Your father was a fool to not kill me when he had the chance as well as Kitana missed hers. Your father led well when he was Kahn. But he passed on his mantle to a weak leader." Ermac tells her as he descends.

"My father was a strong Kahn. So is Lady Kitana. How dare you insult my family? If you so much as think of seeing my family as weak, then I will rip your head and tongue out!" Shu-Shang yelled in anger.

"We shall enjoy splitting you apart and let every ounce of blood drain from you, followed by your race of Osh-Tekk." Ermac said as the two began to fight.

Shu-Shang grabs one of her disc-shields and throws it at Ermac, who grabs it with his telekinesis. He throws it back at her, but she ducks and uppercuts his chest, does a sidekick and reverse kick to the right rib cage. Shu-Shang then grabs Ermac's shoulder, punches his face twice, slams him onto her left knee and knees his face with her other one, sending him into the air. Ermac levitates in the air however and teleports right in front of her. He punches Shu-Shang across the face followed by a backhand strike and a roundhouse kick to the chin, sending her back. Ermac teleports again, uppercuts her upper spine and sends her into the air, grabs her with his powers and slams her to the ground, back first. He swings his arms at her right shoulder and head and fires an energy blast at her chest, sending her further backwards.

Shu-Shang struggled to get up. As she gets to a knee, she feels the sunshine lighting on her. She remembers her father's words. Words about sinking in the sunlight, let it heal Osh-Tekk wounds and using the rage to make her stronger and summon her power. Use it against her enemies. Shu-Shang looks into the sun, closes her eyes and yells in anger as suddenly, sunlight starts dawning onto Ermac and it is causing him plenty of pain, like he's actually burning up. Shu-Shang uppercuts his jaw, slams both fists down his shoulders, and does a charge kick to the chest, sending him rolling to the ground. Ermac recovers and throws some debris at Shu-Shang, but she raises her hands up and two medium sized totems block the debris from hurting her. She then thrusts her arms forward, making the totems charge at Ermac, but he jumps over them and does two roundhouse kicks to her head, followed by a sidekick. Before he could execute another kick, Shu-Shang grabs his leg and does an elbow strike, breaking it and causing him pain. She then slams one of her sickles into his right shoulder, cracking it and causing blood to spill. She finally does a backhand strike to the jaw followed by a punch, cracking it and almost breaking it. Ermac slides backwards and is defeated.

"Filthy creations. They should know better than to say bad things about the family names." Shu-Shang said as she spits some blood onto Ermac's chest.

Cyan fights more Red Dragon members, taking them down one by one. He slams his three-sectioned staff on one's left shoulder, breaking it and swinging it onto his back, sending him down. Cyan fights another and spins it into his chest before taking a strong, hard swing at his head, knocking him out cold and pulls another in with the end part, wrapping it around her wrist, pulls her to him, kicks her in the throat and a double kick to the head. The two end sections of the staff unites into a single staff as he slams an endpoint down, jumps over it and swings it at three more members' heads, knocking them out. Cyan hears someone unsheathing their blades and smaller ones nearly miss his head. He faces someone and they appear to be Ferra/Torr.

"Ferra and Torr want payback on Outworld traitors. All filthy. All need to die to be cleansed. Including Osh-Tekk filth, starting with Kotal! Heard you are a son of Kotal! We send gift to him!" Ferra yelled.

"Ferra and Torr." Cyan recognized them by the former's form of grammar. "My father gave you a chance to side with us and bring Outworld to peace. But yet you serve a false emperor. He would have done worse to you if he still ruled. I never thought you would be this simple-minded." Cyan insults them.

"No one makes fun of Ferra and Torr as they still stand and go smashy smashy on you! Torr! Charge!" Ferra orders as they begin to fight Cyan.

Torr charges and slams his fists down to the ground, which Cyan jumps backwards with a flip. Cyan puts his staff up and goes into a defensive stance. He dodges two punches and a backhand strike, parrying the latter and does three straight mid-air kicks to the chest and face. He sweeps Torr's right leg, chin, sends a palm strike upward his jaw, chop strikes his left rib cage and side kicks his left shoulder before taking a few steps backwards. Torr felt that. Despite not being capable of speech, he is capable of feeling pain. Torr growls as Ferra yells. Torr charges once more and swings a fist down, which Cyan dodges. But Torr then grabs him with a hand and tosses him to the other side behind him, uppercuts his chest, grabs his leg and throws him to the ground, causing his spine to be damaged a little. Cyan rolls backwards, but is slammed on the head, punched in the chest and left shoulder. Some blood starts falling out of his mouth. Torr grabs Ferra and thrusts her close to Cyan's face as she is ready to stab his face.

Cyan quickly grabs Torr's hand to try to push back as much as possible. But what isn't helping is Ferra slashing her small but deadly blades. Cyan was quick to see that Ferra has no pattern in her swings and keeps doing the same motion back and forth. As soon as Ferra swings her left arm again, Cyan bites down on Ferra's arm hard, making her scream in pain as Torr was forced to pull her back. Ferra growls out of anger and annoyance on how such a young kid like Cyan is still alive despite his injuries. Seeing this as a distraction, Cyan charges in and does two backflip kicks to Torr's head, a swing kick to the chest and left knee and a strong punch to the face. Cyan brings out his staff and pulls Torr in by the right hand, does a backflip kick to the chin, cracking it, a back kick across the face, slams the hilt into his face followed by a swing to the forehead, cracking his skull and is almost broken when Cyan spins his staff in place and, to his surprise, accidentally fires two edenian sparks from the two ends of his three-sectioned staff and fires straight at his chest, sending him flying backwards.

Ferra takes advantage of his distraction and jumps to stab him in the face once more, but Cyan holds his staff up and Ferra swings her blades at his weapon, but misses. Cyan swings the staff at Ferra's head, vertical and horizontal swings. One of the endpoints wraps itself around Ferra's small body and Cyan slams her into the ground, tosses her into the air and takes one more swing at her and she is sent flying into Torr's face, finally defeating them. Cyan falls to his knees, exhausted.

"Charging into your enemy without a plan is simple-minded indeed, such as yourself." Cyan tells them as he continues to catch his breath. He sees his sister Shu-Shang also hurt from her fight against Ermac and goes to check on her. "Sister. Are you alright?"

"I am fine." Shu-Shang shrugs off. "That creature is called Ermac. He was very strong for someone who looks dead."

"Come. We still have some work to do. Besides, someone has to watch your back and help with your recklessness." Cyan said, showing his protective side, much to her dismay.

"How amusing, brother. I can take care of myself. But I appreciate your support anyways." Shu-Shang rolls her eyes as the two carry on despite being tired from the fighting.

Daisuki is fighting effortlessly with his Guandao. Despite him being the least violent out of all of them, he is skilled. He swings his weapon at four members, slicing their chests open and stabbing another through the chest, lifting him up and kicking him away. One magic user tries to get close to him, but he throws his weapon through the magic user's arm, pulls it away, ripping off her arm in the process and swinging the stick part at her head, knocking her down as she bleeds to death. He reflects an explosive a chemist throws at him and knocks it into the air as it explodes. Daisuki swings his stick part of his weapon at the chemist's head, knocking him down and thrusts the blade through his face, killing him as blood covers what remains of him as some covers his blade. Daisuki looks up and ducks as an Osh-Tekk was sent flying towards him. He sees none other than Drahmin, who just killed another Osh-Tekk warrior by breaking his leg and thrusts a hand through his neck, killing him. Drahmin looks up and growls seeing the young Edenian's face.

"Welcome to Hell, Edenian!" Drahmin growled.

"An Oni. Now Shao Kahn is recruiting dimwitted monsters to his cause? Oh, so unwise. He must be running low on ideas." Daisuki claimed and smirked. The two begin to fight.

Drahmin jumps and swings his iron club at Daisuki, but he easily dodges and the club hits the ground. The Oni fighter swings two more times horizontally and diagonally, leaving him open. Daisuki slams the endpoint of his weapon at Drahmin's left shin and swings it at the bottom of his chin and swings the blade at his shoulder, cutting him a bit and making him bleed. Drahmin yells in pain as Daisuki withdraws his weapon and does a palm strike to the chest and the injured shoulder followed by a back hand strike to the face and ends the combo with a punch. Drahmin backhands Daisuki across the face and slashes his claws across his chest, causing him pain as he yells. Drahmin then knees his jaw and swings his club at his chest, sending him backwards. Cyan gets up to a knee and quickly sees Drahmin coming in to swing his club right at his face like a golf club, but Daisuki dodge rolls out of the way, kicks his left knee followed a strong punch, breaking it and Drahmin falls to a leg. Daisuki draws his Guandao and stabs him through the same shoulder and throws him backwards, landing onto his face, knocking him out.

"And my point stands correctly." Daisuki said as he goes to check on his sister Chang Bao. "Chang Bao. Are you alright?"

"I am fine, Daisuki. Rain was tougher than I thought for a demigod. But still, he always had more go than skill from what mother has told us." Chang Bao said, catching her breath.

"Well they have been training for years, you have to admit.." Daisuki said.

"I'm glad that you survived so far. But this isn't over. We still have some work to do. Let's help the others." Chang Bao reminds her brother and she nods. They go to help Kitana, who looks worried about them.

"Are you two alright?! They better not dare leaving more wounds on you, or they will answer to me like my opponent did." Kitana exclaimed in anger, noticing the scratch marks on Daisuki's chest.

"Mother, we're fine. I promise." Daisuki said, feeling slightly intimidated by the tone of her voice. "Besides, he's out cold."

"At least you are okay. Next time, do not hesitate to take a life from your enemy in combat, but only if absolutely necessary. And I mean the both of you. Do you understand?" Kitana stared at them. Daisuki and Chang Bao look at each other and quickly nod. They know way better than to piss off their parents like they did when they were younger. Kitana relents and smirks as she squeezes both of their shoulders as they carry on.

Kotal cuts many down with his sword as he beats and kills many Red Dragon members as he goes. He slices one's stomach open, picks him up and slams his head to the ground twice, cracking his skull and breaking his neck in the process. Two more come towards him but he thrusts his sword through them, instantly killing them. There, he meets General Reiko, who has killed many edenian warriors and Osh-Tekk warriors.

"General Reiko. I'd be lying if I were to say I'm surprised that you're still alive. What surprises me is that Mileena and Daegon found you and you work for them again after your exile. You serve three masters, which makes you a lost cause." Kotal said to him.

"Because unlike some people, I always please my masters. The only mistake Shao Kahn has made was keeping you alive for Shang Tsung's Flesh Pits. Now I shall be the one to end your life, traitor." Reiko exclaimed as the two generals begin to fight.

Reiko rushes in and swings his hammer at Kotal, but he ducks and knees his chest, slams his fists on his shoulders and his back, sending him down to the ground. Kotal kicks him in the ribs, cracking them as he slides backwards. Reiko quickly gets back up and throws assassin stars at Kotal. He deflects them with his giant sword, but is left open when he throws a star past his left waist, cutting him and causing Kotal to grunt in pain. Reiko uses this as an opportunity to swing his crude hammer at his head, grab his head and slam it onto his knee. Kotal stumbles, allowing Reiko to do two punches to the face, a knee strike and a reverse kick to the chest and another kick to Kotal's chin, sending him flying. Kotal rolls back and growls, remembering how tough Reiko is, given that he is Shao Kahn's most trusted general after Kotal was locked up.

Reiko swings his hammer at him, but Kotal dodges and throws an uppercut right at his chest, sending him backwards, stumbling him. Reiko tries to swing again, but Kotal blocks his attacks with his sword as he kicks his right shin, elbows his face, and gets behind him. He elbows Reiko in the back, sending him to his knees, lifts him up and throws him down to a knee, cracking his back greatly before Reiko gets thrown off. Reiko struggles to get up, but he is not gonna go down without a fight. He tightens his grip on his hammer and suddenly elbows Kotal's chest followed by a punch, sending him to the ground. Reiko jumps and slams his hammer down, but Kotal barely dodges and stabs his left shoulder with a sickle, but is kicked away by Reiko. Reiko tries to finish him off, but Kotal grabs his hammer with his hand and sends a strong punch to the throat, causing him to spit up plenty of blood. Kotal grabs his throat, throws him into the ground, stabs his right leg with his sword and finally kicks him away again, this time, breaking his right rib cage completely.

"At least I did not lose in a tournament, Reiko. You are finished. Surrender now. And we may show you mercy if you tell us your masters and their plans." Kotal advised. Instead of growling in defeat, Reiko starts laughing quietly. It was quiet, but loud enough for the heroes to pick it up.

"You think something is funny, Reiko?" Kitana glared and points her fan at him.

"You forget. You all forget. Do you remember why I became the new general after Kotal was locked up in Shang Tsung's Flesh Pits? Because I always make strategic plans. Most of them worked. And now this one will too." Reiko reminds everyone. He looks up and evilly smirks.

"What does that have to do with anything? Explain yourself." Kitana demands.

"Winning or losing did not matter in this situation. Regardless of the outcome, I was only delaying you. For the inevitable to arrive on my behalf." Reiko laughs more as he coughs up more blood, holding his wound he received during his fight.

Red portals are summoned below the surviving villain's feet. Reiko, Rain, Reptile, Ermac, Drahmin, Ferra and Torr all fall through them as they quickly close. As they disappear, some of the Red Dragon members started falling back into more portals above the Kahn Kove. The heroes dash after them to stop them all from retreating, but they all leave by the time they returned above the water.

The entire ocean closes on them, sensing their departure. And the entrance to the Kamidogu's hiding spot is now hidden again. But one thing does not make sense. What did Reiko mean by inevitable?

In the main center, with the Kolosseum and big cities, Outworlders are being evacuated by the Tarkatans, Edenians and the Fire God himself. They are taken to hidden basements and bunkers so they would be safe from any threats. Fire God Liu Kang leads Erron Black and Baraka to the Kolosseum to prevent as many casualties as possible.

"Be on your guard. The enemies are coming here at any point in time." Fire God Liu Kang warns them.

"Two ton savages. They just don't know when to learn that invading private property ain't worth spit." Erron Black stated in disgust.

"Shao Kahn is unwise to learn that it has never worked. Edenia, Outworld. They never work. They are sadly mistaken if they think about invading a realm that involves me and my tribe. Whatever flesh they have, I am up for chewing on it." Baraka said. He sharpens his blades and licks his long teeth as he readies to fight.

"Drinks in Outworld afterward. Totally worth it." Erron Black smirked as he readied all of his guns.

"Here they come. Get ready." Liu Kang warns them. A green portal opens. They are all expecting Shao Kahn to appear.

Instead, Baraka picks up a smell. It's not Shao Kahn. It's someone familiar. Too familiar perhaps. Someone that the heroes are not expecting at all. "That smell. It is too familiar to me despite the years passed. Smells like….. Prince Goro!" Baraka exclaimed.

This caused both the fire god and mercenary to look at him with surprised looks on their faces. Prince Goro of all people appeared to attack. Unfortunately for them, Baraka is right. Goro is the one that steps through the portal. It stays open as he approached them.

"Recognize me, Fire God?" Goro said, staring at him.

"Goro. The former prince of the Shokan. You decided to go back to Shao Kahn so you would be less useless. How tragic of you." Liu Kang said.

"Now that you mention it, didn't he get kicked outta the club for being a bad boy and disappointing his so-called master?" Erron asked.

"Indeed. I do not forgive him for what he did, but he was wise to spare me because he always respected the Shokan's brute strength, despite losing them to the blood traitor Sheeva. I remember my life from the Old Era and I have come to settle scores. With the filthy Tarkatan, Edenians, the champion Kung Lao for humiliating me, and his hero and friend…. THE FIRE GOD HIMSELF!" Goro roars in anger as more than several undead start attacking.

Baraka roars and orders his Tarkatans to attack. He cuts his way through many undead. Using his blades, he slices and dices many of them as he goes. He bites one's throat out, knees and stabs another in the face and fires sparks from his blades, killing several of them. He stabs one undead through the abdomen, thrusts them upwards, ripping their arms off almost completely, decapitated it, and slices the head in half and stabs both parts of its brain. Erron Black shoots so many of them with his weapons as he came with more than plenty of ammo to spare.

Fire God Liu Kang sees one coming to him and grabs it by the head and electrocutes it and punches it through the chest, completely making it explode. He waves his hands back and forth, burning more than dozens of them as he jumps over them. He surrounds himself with several fire balls as they started glowing blue. He puts one hand on top of another in a monk stance and spins them around making a blue fire circle. Liu Kang thrusts his arms out sideways and the circle spreads out and any undead that got caught in it disintegrate immediately. He jumps forward with a fiery frontflip kick, does a fiery one-two punch and an uppercut through one's chest, killing it. Liu Kang takes his nunchucks and powers them up with lightning and strikes one so hard plenty of times, its limbs fall off one by one before falling over. He then approaches Goro, with several undead with him, ready to attack.

"Back away!" Goro ordered them. "I will deal with this new god myself. He's mine."

"Your move, Goro." Liu Kang challenges him.

"You fool. You forgot that I have been training for millenia. I was on par with the Great Kung Lao despite my loss. I nearly triumphed over his descendant and Shao Kahn's former wife Sindel. I have been wanting to face a god forever. You should be pleased, Fire God." Goro said. The two begin to fight.

Goro shoots fire out his four hands, which Liu Kang reacts with his own fire. They collide and explode and smoke is everywhere. Liu Kang suddenly comes in and does lightning bicycle kicks, sending Goro backwards. Liu Kang then does a kick to the right leg, right rib cage and two elbow strikes to the chin. Goro quickly shrugs it off and grabs Liu Kang by the shoulder and punches his chest two times before doing a double punch that sends him backwards. The fire god rolls backwards and gets to his stance. Goro and Liu Kang exchange blows. Goro had brute strength, but Liu Kang was stronger and faster. Liu Kang dodges his attacks and does a fiery uppercut. Goro jumps and slams all four fists to the ground. Liu Kang jumps but is caught by surprise when Goro grabs his ankles and slams him to the ground, chest first. He does two punches to the back and a two fist slam. Liu Kang teleports away to a safe distance. Goro does another fireball, but this time, Liu Kang fires lightning at his hands. It goes through Goro's fire and he gets electrocuted. Goro goes for a straight punch, but Liu Kang dodges, thrusts a chop strike through Goro's right hip, causing alot of pain. He grabs one of Goro's arms and chops it, literally breaking a bone and jumps and does two fire punches to the face and sends a strong one to the stomach, sending him flying down, defeating him.

"Your own ego is what always holds you back, Goro. That is why you always lose. And your greatest mistake was ever coming here looking for a challenge without care." Liu Kang tells him as he approaches him, ready to finish him with his combined powers. But he stops upon seeing a smirk on his face, "You find my words amusing?"

"Win or lose. I had my wish. You are a god. Someone like me, or Shao Kahn, Daegon or Havik or even someone more powerful than them could beat you. You are wise, but not wise enough to know that I was only buying time." Goro explained. He shouts to all undead in Shokan language, telling them to fall back.

The undead, with only dozens left, stop attacking everyone and start running back to the portal that just opened behind Goro. Speaking of which, he recovers and shoots another fire to the ground and another at Liu Kang despite his broken arm. Liu Kang blocks the fire, but is knocked back and slides on his feet. By the time the smoke cleared, the green portal shuts off on them. Liu Kang steps forward, trying to figure out what Goro meant.

"What the hell was that about? Goro himself is no pussy. But he wouldn't just run from a fight like this. Bullshit fucking coward." Erron points out. Liu Kang remembers him mentioning Shao Kahn, but remembering him mentioning the names Daegon and Havik, the idea comes to the fire god and his eyes widened and looks into the direction that his wife Kitana and the family have gone off to.

"No. No!" Liu Kang yelled as he goes flying off after them, hoping it's not too late.


Blood and corpses are everywhere in Kahn Kove, including in the water. Thankfully the heroes prevailed and recovered Outworld's Kamidogu and look tired from the fighting. Things seem to be over for them. Or so it seems. They remain confused on what Reiko meant.

"I do not understand. What did Reiko mean by the inevitable? He must have planned something for us. But we have won the battle." Kotal expresses his confusion.

"I do not know. Reiko has been known for being a competent and dangerous general under Shao Kahn's command. But he must have been up to something while trying to get this." Kitana said, holding up the dagger.

"But we won. That is what should count. We showed those evil beings that they should not mess with the likes of us." Shu-Shang expressed.

"How often must I tell you not to jump to conclusions, sister?" Cyan reminds her, much to his annoyance.

"Your brother is right, Shu-Shang. Our enemies do not give up easily. We have faced them long before you two were born. They will never go down without a fight to the death." Jade tells her.

"The apple must continue growing before truly it is ready." Kotal advised. Shu-Shang seems confused by his words. Cyan on the other hand nods.

"I have a bad feeling about this whole thing." Daisuki expresses his fears. "What if this is a trap? There is no way this could have been way too easy."

"Then we will fight, Daisuki." Kitana tells her. Unfortunately for them, for strange reasons, Outworld's Kamidogu starts glowing a bright purple. "By the gods. What is happening?!"

A red portal opens a hundred feet in front of them. Kitana was the first to step in front of them and unfolds her fans and glares at whoever is coming at them. Everyone else brings out their weapons, ready to fight. But to their surprise, only one person slowly starts walking through the red portal. It is none other than Daegon himself. The portal closes on him as he evilly smiles at them.

"Daegon. Founder and leader of the Red Dragon who brought ruin to the Shirai Ryu and Edenia." Jade glares at him.

"You assume correctly, Jade. Bodyguard of Kitana Kahn. I know all about you all. Sworn enemies of Shao Kahn. Friends and allies of Earthrealm and Edenia. General Reiko knew you'd come here." Daegon smirks at them.

"He knew that only a Kahn can have access to the entrance to the dagger. He alongside you and Shao Kahn knew we would come here and bring this." Kitana realized, tightening her hands.

"Precisely. Shao Kahn could have come here instead, but he has other things planned. Despite his brute strength and great power, it would be too risky to have him come here, given that you know our plan. I shall inform you that the Kamidogu daggers can also track one another. That is how we knew exactly where you would be. That is why we sent Reiko and some of our other allies to keep you in one place just as he planned." Daegon said.

"You may be clever, Daegon. But you will not succeed in your quest. Your Red Dragon has fallen before along with your son. It will not come to pass." Kotal said.

"You do not have a choice. We already have the Kamidogu of Chaosrealm and the Netherrealm. Each contained with powerful and dangerous magic beyond you all. Not even the fire god can control it." Daegon said.

"My husband will not allow you to succeed. Liu Kang will see through Reiko's plan and he will come for you." Kitana said, her hands tightening.

"By the time Liu Kang gets here, you will all be covered in blood, bruises and broken spirits." Daegon chuckles with plenty of confidence. This greatly angers Kitana. She folds one of her hands and points at Daegon.

"Attack!" Kitana ordered.

Kotal was the first to make a move, but Daegon draws a Drakesword, blocks Kotal's sword swing and does a strong kick to the jaw, sending Kotal flying backwards and into the water, dropping his sword near the edge. Cyan swings his three-sectioned staff and one end wraps around Daegon's sword, but he pulls the young one in, punches him straight in the face and hits him in the back of the head with the hilt, instantly knocking him out cold. Chang Bao tries shooting fire at him, but he replies with his own fire power, which proves stronger than hers. She boosts herself with her wind powers to attack, but Daegon grabs her by her face, throws her down to the ground followed by a straight kick to the head, knocking her backwards and defeating her.

Daisuki thrusts his Guandao at Daegon, but he grabs the weapon, pulls him in, kicks his right shin, cracking it, knees him in the back and does a backhand strike and a punch to the head, knocking him down and beating him as well. Shu-Shang starts swinging her sickles at Daegon. He easily dodges her attacks and swings his sword down at her, but she blocks them with her weapons. Much to his surprise, she manages to disarm him by pulling the weapon out of his hand. She does two horizontal swings, but misses and tries to do two vertical swings, but Daegon catches her wrists, knees her in the face so hard, blood comes out of her mouth and nose and punches her to the ground, knocking her out. Next were Kitana and Jade.

Daegon kicks his sword up and catches it by the hilt and swings as Kitana throws her fan daggers. Daegon blocks the attack, but is triple-kicked in the face, followed by a poke to the stomach by Jade's staff, followed by a staff slam to the right shoulder. Jade knees his stomach and palm strikes his face, stumbling him. Daegon growls at this. He draws his second sword and was ready to counter. He swings and blocks their weapons and chuckles lightly, finding his battle amusing. He nearly corners Kitana over the edge of the docks and smirks. But Jade uppercuts his jaw with her staff, sending him flying. He recovers and shoots fire at them. Jade uses her shadow ability while Kitana waves her fans and gets rid of it with the wind. Jade tries to slam the staff on his head, but he dodges and swings at it. Kitana comes in to jump on him, but he kicks her away and punches Jade in the forehead, stumbling her but recovers. They both surround him. Kitana throws a chop strike at Daegon's head, but he sidesteps and kicks Jade in the stomach, sending her flying. Kitana once more tries to jump to stab him. But Daegon punches her in the chest, cracking it and sending her backwards. Jade comes back in and tries swinging her staff, but he blocks and dodges many blows she throws at him. Daegon then elbows her stomach and punches her in the face, making it bleed a little as she slides down, finally defeated. Daegon turns his attention towards Kitana, while Kotal's hands reach the docks and pull himself up.

With no one else left, Daegon approaches her. Kitana struggles to get up. Daegon flips her over to her back. Kitana looks up at him with hatred in her eyes. "You know, I prefer to kill anyone who I think is worthy enough to face me. Though I am disappointed you couldn't bring more of a challenge. You don't seem worthy to me, but Shao Kahn does. Fortunately for you, he asked that I spare you and your so-called family. He wanted the pleasure of killing you himself."

"You two share the same arrogance. Letting us live will be your downfall. As it has before with him and his minions." Kitana said.

"He also hoped that I would bring you and Jade in…. Perhaps not in one piece. Just broken enough for him to tell you that Armageddon is among you. That you would see it unleashed on all realms." Daegon tells her. He sees her trying to grab the Kamidogu from her waist and steps on her wrist causing her pain. He smirks as he grabs it from her waist and holds it up into the air. But then, he felt a strong pain in his back. He grunts and turns to see Kotal, completely pissed off.

"You hurt my wife. My son and daughter and my friend Kitana and her family, Daegon. Do not think that the Red Dragon will get off so easily. Your plans have failed in the past. You are nothing but a fruitless tree." Kotal said, tightening his fists.

"I will be more than that once I get what I want. The Red Dragon always gets what they want in the right hands of the right leader. It has always been strong no matter the circumstances we face. Because as long as those strong leaders such as myself and my apprentices stand tall, blood will always be shed, even through brutal means." Daegon tells him.

"And despite all of your bluster, you continue to fail. And it will happen again. I am willing to fight and die for Outworld. For the good realms and souls in them. And for my family." Kotal draws his giant sword as he and Daegon begin to fight.

Daegon starts by firing a fireball from his hand, which Kotal blocks by thrusting his sword forward. They clash swords and switch between defense and offense. They lock weapons briefly until Kotal headbutts him and shoulder bashes him backwards. Kotal swings his weapon down, but Daegon blocks with both of his very durable drakeswords. He manages to sidestep Kotal's swing and punches across his face followed by a kick to the stomach. Daegon swings at Kotal's left leg, forcing to a knee as Daegon backhands his face and he is sent to the ground. Daegon gets on him and punches his face three times before Kotal takes one of his sickles and stabs his right forearm. Kotal headbutts him again and gets back up. As Daegon removes the sickle, he is ambushed. Kotal uppercuts him in the chest twice, knees his stomach, slams both fists onto his back and pushes him back, stumbling Daegon. Kotal turns into his black jaguar form and punches him, biting off part of Daegon's left shoulder, making it bleed a bit. Daegon shoots a strong fireball at Kotal, sending him backwards and he reverts to his Osh-Tekk form. Kotal gets back up and spits out some blood. Daegon's hands light up with fire. He spins and steps back and sends a fiery palm strike to his partly burned chest, sending Kotal rolling back, only to be met by a fiery uppercut, sending Kotal flying back. Kotal slams his giant sword down onto the ground, stumbling Daegon and swings it down onto his already injured shoulder, making it even worse before Daegon is kicked backwards.

Kotal throws a metal disc at him, but Daegon quickly catches it and swiftly throws it back at Kotal. He avoids it, but he felt a sharp pain in his right shoulder, as Daegon thrusted a sword into it. He forces Kotal to a knee, stomps on his right leg hard, breaking his right knee, grabs his right arm and twists it so hard, his shoulder breaks and his hand lights up with fire and sends a strong fire punch to his chest, nearly breaking it. Kotal falls to both of his knees, defeated and dropping a lot of blood.

"I said it before. I'd be happy to spare your wife as well as Kitana. But as for you, Kotal. Former Kahn now general. Shao Kahn said this to me and I shall say it to you on his behalf… you have been no more than a nuisance to him and those who followed him." Daegon said.

"This….. This isn't over. Stronger beings than me will rise up and take my place. They will prevail….. You Red Dragon filth." Kotal said, coughing up blood. Jade and the others begin to wake up.

"We shall see about that." Daegon chuckles once more. He draws his swords.

"KOTAL!" Jade yelled. Her eyes widened and are filled with tears. Cyan couldn't believe his eyes and neither could Shu-Shang.

In fact, the latter is beyond pissed off, she starts yelling so loud, stronger, taller totems start coming out and begin herding towards Daegon. Daegon sees this and tries to slash his way through them, but the swords bounce off of them. The totems collide with his left shoulder, breaking it and breaking his right leg too, and one bigger totem pushes him far forward… right in front of them.

"YOU WILL PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO FATHER, BASTARD!" Shu-Shang yelled with so much rage. Fire is in her eyes, anger taking over her thoughts and her judgement. But she couldn't care less. The others were ready to finish him, but Daegon smirked.

"Is that right, Osh-Tekk girl?" Daegon mockingly asked. He holds up the Outworld Kamidogu and within a second, thrusts it into his own chest and blood magic starts glowing around him. He screams in pain. Not only from the stab wound, but his own injuries are quickly healing up. He stands up and both of his eyes are glowing red.

"By the gods! What do you think you are doing?!" Kitana claimed as she stood up, still a tad weak from the fight.

"This is power! True power of the Kamidogu. Within it, the blood magic! This feeling, before the Elder Gods evened each one out, they are unbelievable! This is their mistake! And soon, your downfall!" Daegon yelled, laughing.

"You fool! You do not know the consequences of using one! Blood magic can lead to madness! It can corrupt your soul! Leave you weak and vulnerable!" Kitana tells him.

"And yet you fear it! I can tell by your eyes and voice! I can feel a part of the One Being within me! It is only temporary! But enough to kill you all, except you and Jade!" Daegon smiles. He puts his hands together and was ready to shoot a very large fireball upon the entire group.

But before he could make his move, he was suddenly shot by lightning and rolled backwards to a good distance. Fire God Liu Kang comes flying in. And he is beyond pissed. About everything. "Daegon! You savage monster! You sent Goro to distract me, tricked everyone in doing your work for you and attack them at their weakest! How cowardly of you!" Liu Kang's entire body starts lighting up upon seeing his family, Jade and her family all injured. But he starts getting more angry upon seeing Kotal and a critical condition.

"Fire God Liu Kang. Protector of the realms and Keeper of Time. You could have wiped us clean from existence with your powers, yet you refuse to do so." Daegon points out.

"Violence is not the answer to everything. I have known that for a long time. And my visions only come in the most dangerous situations. You harmed my family and friends, now you have crossed the line! I have spared my enemies from time to time. But you will be no exception!" Liu Kang said with so much anger.

"Let us see if your power can match the power of blood magic." Daegon said. His fists light with fire as the two fight.

Daegon shoots fire at Liu Kang but he ducks and spin kicks fire at Daegon, striking his chest, allowing Liu Kang to do a Dragon Kick at his chest and a fiery backflip kick to his jaw before striking him with lightning from the sky. Daegon gets back up, only for him to be punched across the right shoulder, chop striked in the throat followed by a kick in the throat. Fire God Liu Kang then does fiery bicycle kicks to the chest, sending him crashing through a wall.

Daegon gets back up. Despite being empowered by the Kamidogu, he still feels pain. He was not going to go down easily. Daegon cracks his neck and was ready to fight back. Liu Kang goes for a fiery frontflip kick, but Daegon jumps back and shoots fire at the ground, momentarily distracting the fire god. Daegon takes advantage and uppercuts him, punches his right knee, and with both hands, palm strikes his chest and forehead, sending him backwards. Daegon then comes in and sends his slams upward his chest, sending Liu Kang upward. Daegon jumps and kicks him in the back, sending him backwards. Liu Kang gets back up, but Daegon punches his face, chest and does a reverse kick to the right rib cage, cracking it and Liu Kang falls down.

Liu Kang couldn't believe how strong he is from the Kamidogu's power. He is more angry than ever and has to end this. Liu Kang yells and powers up with his lightning and fire. Daegon cracks his fists. He once again shoots fire at the ground, but Liu Kang was quick and uses his lightning powers to electrocute Daegon and send him backwards. The fire god then stomps his right leg, cracking it, and triple kicks his face, making him spit up blood. Liu Kang punches his face and gut, and then uses his thunder-enhanced nunchucks and swings it at his right eye, cracking the front of his skull and blinding his eye. He kicks Daegon in the gut and punches his jaw and palm strikes it, cracking it. He finished him off by kicking his left rib cage and double palm strikes his back, nearly breaking it, sending him down, defeated, making him drop the Kamidogu.

"Lust for power and greed leads to weakness, Daegon." Liu Kang said. He snaps his fingers and the dagger teleports to him and he holds it to his waist. "Now. I will strip the flesh from your bones. For everything you have done in the past and here and now." Liu Kang tightened his fists and fire and lightning comes forward.

Purple smoke comes out of nowhere and Mavado appears and shoots dark energy blasts at Liu Kang. He quickly shields himself and slides backwards. When Liu Kang lets the shield down, he sees Mavado and Daegon quickly escape through a red portal and it closes before Liu Kang could have a chance to attack. Liu Kang looks down at the dagger in his hands and remembered something. He runs out of the building and runs to everyone else… who are rather unhappy as they stand over Kotal.

"Kotal. Please forgive me. If only I had foreseen this, I would've-" Liu Kang tries to apologize but Kotal puts a hand on his shoulder.

"N-no. It is not your f-fault, Liu Kang. I-I was willing to d-die for you and my family and for the Kahn." Kotal said weakly.

"Kotal. Please. Stay with us. I beg of you." Jade said. She holds his hand and squeezes it tightly. Kotal does the same thing.

"Lord Liu Kang. You're a god. Please. Save him. Please." Cyan begged. His voice sounded like he was going to tear up.

Fire God Liu Kang glows with power and hovers his hands over Kotal's body and heals his wounds, but he falls into a deep sleep.

"What did you do?" Kitana asked.

"In order for his wounds to heal, he must sleep for three weeks. Have I not done so, Kotal would have died."

Liu Kang explained. "But I am not sure if he will survive. I am sorry."

Jade could no longer hold it in and starts crying into Kitana's arms. Kitana holds her sister-figure as she too closes her eyes and drops some tears. Cyan and Shu-Shang embrace each other of what has happened. Chang Bao and Daisuki look on with sad looks on their faces and bow their heads to honor him. Liu Kang falls to his knees and slams his fists to the ground. While the heroes have recovered Outworld's Kamidogu, it came at the cost of a good friend, father, husband and general.