AN: I hate my brain, that all I'm gonna say. To everyone that's still around, thanks for your patience, and I hope you enjoy the new chapter
Also, I realized way too late that I confused Mortaro and Kintaro. That's fixed in the previous chapter

Chapter 18: Outworld Finals, Part I

"Get the prisoner up. It's time."

Mileena could feel the chains around her being loosened. She sighed. If she were at full strength, now would have been the best time to escape from her planned execution. Alas, Shang Tsung had taken the time to make sure such thoughts were out of the question.

"Not even going to give me a drink as I'm hauled to my execution?" Mileena asked, the sarcasm laid thick upon the Tarkatans dragging her

"Could always spit on you, whore. How's that for a drink?"

Mileena glared at the Tarkatan who'd made the comment, but she didn't respond. Her day was already shaping to be terrible enough without adding spittle.

As she felt herself dragged through the Coliseum, she could hear Shang Tsung speaking in the background.

"My fellow Outworlders, today is a historic day in our history! Today not only marks the final rounds of Mortal Kombat between Outworld and Earthrealm, but it also marks the execution of the traitors that betrayed our Emperor!"

The chains clapped around her wrist. At this, the crowd booed, showing their clear displeasure at the supposed traitor. Mileena rolled her eyes at the performance taking place before her. In the corner of her vision, she could see Skarlet approaching her.

"Mileena and Kitana both will be executed for their crimes against their own father, and Skarlet will be rewarded for her loyalty by taking their place as Shao Khan's heir!"

"Quite the show the snake is putting on, hmm?" Skarlet asked.

"He can talk all he wants. Kitana will not die today." Mileena replied.

"Your traitorous 'sister' is many things, but a betrayer is not one of them. She will come for you, because in her addled mind, you are her family."

At this, Skarlet looked over Mileena. "Can't see how she'd believe that. I don't see any resemblance."

At this, Shao Khan rose from his throne to address the crowd.

"Today, my fellow Outworlders, this traitorous creation of mine will be executed by my own hand, and the rest of Earthrealm's kombatants will fall! Today, all those who oppose me will know the fate of those who cross Shao Khan!"

At that, the gate opened, and Earthrealms Kombatants came strolling in. Johnny Cage, Kenshi, Kung Lao, Liu Kang, and…

Kitana.

Mileena's heart plummeted. She had hoped that her sister would've been smart enough to leave her to her fate, but she'd known deep down that, if the roles had been reversed, nothing would've made Mileena consider it for even a moment.

Right next to her sister, she could see Izuku walking in, wearing his demonic mask.

"Liu Kang, will you put forth a champion of your own choosing, or will you choose to fight first?"

Kung Lao stepped forward. Without even giving Shao Khan a moment to react, he pointed toward the Tigrar Shokan.

"I challenge Kintaro in Mortal Kombat."

Shao Khan seemed a bit taken aback, judging from the way his eyes widened slightly behind his helm. However, he said nothing, as the rules of Mortal Kombat forbade him from interfering in Kung Lao's challenge.

Kintaro roared as the crowd cheered. Walking up slowly to Kung Lao, the Shokan smiled.

"I will eat your heart!" he roared.

"Sorry, but I have a strict no-heart-eating policy." Kung Lao replied.

As the announcer shouted for the fight to start, Kung Lao wasted no time before immediately aiming a strike at Kintaro's eyes. Blinded, the Shokan was unable to react to the flurry of blows the Shaolin aimed at his chest. As Kintaro seemed to be recovering from Kung Lao's onslaught, the Shaolin quickly spun, his bladed hat driving into Kintaro with such force that the Shokan was blown backwards.

Not giving his opponent any room to breathe, Kung Lao jumped into the air and landed a kick on Kintaro's jaw, further pushing him back. Growling in anger, Kintaro backhanded the monk, before jumping high into the air. Dazed, Kung Lao was unable to defend himself before Kintaro landed on him, forcing him to the ground. The Shokan quickly grabbed Kung Lao and threw him across the Collesium, with his face grinding against the sand.

Kung Lao spat the sand out, before glaring at Kintaro. He threw his hat at the Shokan. Kintaro laughed, before blocking it.

"Enough of this farce! Time to finish this!" Kintaro roared. He began to inhale.

"I agree." Kung Lao replied, seeing the fire gather around the Shokan's mouth.

In a burst of speed that surprised his opponent, Kung Lao dashed towards Kintaro. Before the Shokan could use his Flame Breath, Kung Lao landed a strike on Kintaro's throat. Mileena winced as she heard the bones near Kintaro's throat break apart.

Kintaro screamed in pain, clutching his throat. As he was hunched over, Kung Lao raised his hand high into the air…

Before slamming it onto the back of Kintaro's neck.

The crack this time was even louder, as the back of his neck and even part of his spine split apart. The only reason Kintaro was still alive was most likely due to his Shokan durability. It was a small mercy that he had lost consciousness from the final blow the Shaolin had dealt him.

Kintaro had barely fallen unconscious before Kenshi had stridden towards the throne and pointed towards Quan Chi.

"I challenge Quan Chi in Mortal Kombat."

The look of surprise on Shang Tsung's face was clear to everyone in the tournament. It seemed that the sorcerer had planned to challenge Kenshi personally.

Shao Khan stared at the scene in front of him, displeased. "It hasn't even been five seconds since Kintaro fell! How-"

The Emperor of Outworld turned his attention away from the incoming fight and towards the vigilante that had defeated Raiden. His mouth may have been hidden by the mask he wore, but the satisfaction was clear in his eyes.

As Izuku pointed out the diagram he had drawn the previous night, Liu Kang raised his hand.

"It's nice of you to draw up these plans, but how will we be able to ensure that we fight these Kombatants specifically?"

"Simple. Does anyone remember the rules of the Mortal Kombat tournament?"

"Yeah, no fighting until the tournament starts, special powers can be used, and requests can't be ref-" At this, Johnny stopped. "Wait, are you saying-"

"Yep. It's time we start using the tournament's own rules to our advantage." At this, Izuku turned to face his friends. "Don't focus on the fight. Focus on our opponents. Keep them right in your line of sight. The second a fight is done, immediately take advantage of the small window of time before they can issue a challenge. I'll be behind you all, keeping an eye on the fights. As soon as they're done, I'll tug on your forearm. That'll be the signal to issue your challenge."

"So, you are the one that destroyed Ermac. I must admit, I had many plans for it once the tournament was over, and I'm not one to take kindly to having plans disrupted." Quan Chi stated.

"And I do not take kindly to sorcerers that treat souls as playth-."

Kenshi felt a heavy object hit him in the chest and shatter, forcing him to double over. Growling at the Neatherrealmer's underhanded tactic, he searched out with Sento, and 'saw' the sorcerer preparing to immediately hit him with another Skull Ball.

As Quan Chi threw the Skull Ball towards Kenshi, Kenshi, in a smooth motion that showed the years he had dedicated to his swordsmanship, tore Sento out of it's sheathe and reflected the projectile right back at Quan Chi. Quan Chi's eyes widened, before he was blasted backwards by his own magic.

As he was thrown backwards, Quan Chi opened a portal and fell into it. As Kenshi looked for the necromancer, Sento glowed blue. Kenshi immediately looked up to the sky immediately blocked the kick to his head as Quan Chi jumped out of his portal.

Still in the air and now exposed to his opponent, Quan Chi had no chance to react before Kenshi spun and slashed with his blade. Unwilling to give the necromancer space to breathe, Kenshi unleashed a flurry of sword strikes and telekinetic blasts that sprayed blood all over the Colliseum's sands.

"Well, someone's certainly been practicing. I don't remember the swordsman being able to do that before." Mileena thought.

Mileena had to give credit where it was due, Quan Chi was somehow still standing, and looking angrier than ever. As Kenshi tried to swing Sento at him again, Quan Chi swept Kenshi's legs under him. As Kenshi was brought down to the ground, Quan Chi teleported. This time, his kick landed right on target, and Quan Chi stomped on the swordsman's head.

Once.
Twice.

Thrice.

After the fourth kick, Kenshi grabbed the necromancer's leg and threw him upwards. As Quan Chi was flipped upside down in the air, Kenshi threw a kick at his head, the force of it sending his opponent flying through the air and landing forcefully on the ground, his face grinding against the rough sand.

Spitting blood, Quan Chi glared at Kenshi.

"I…will not be defeated…by a blind man." Quan Chi growled.

"You speak as if I'm giving you a choice in the matter." Kenshi replied.

A sinister glow began to surround the Kombatants. Quan Chi's body glowed green and purple, while Kenshi's glowed blue, signifying that they were getting ready to unleash whatever power they had left to finish the fight.

Quan Chi and Kenshi attacked, a flash almost blinding the audience. Quan Chi threw a Skull Ball at Kenshi's head. The projectile landed, stunning Kenshi. Smirking, Quan Chi tossed a skull at Kenshi's hands. The green glow that had surrounded his body previously was now around Kenshi's head, and the swordsman's right hand, which was now carrying the skull, began to move toward Kenshi's own skull. Kenshi grabbed his hand, forcing it downwards.

Quan Chi's smirk slipped a few molars. He was about to make a motion to enhance his magic, when his eyes widened.

…Where was his opponent's sword?

Whistling through the air, Sento buried itself through Quan Chi's stomach, forcing the necromancer to drop his spell on Kenshi. Throwing aside the skull Quan Chi had forced him to carry, Kenshi quickly took his sword out. Flipping it in a reverse grip, Kenshi smashed the hilt right into Quan Chi's skull. Mileena could hear the necromancer's skull crack all the way from her spot.

Not done yet, Kenshi quickly slashed upwards, spilling even more blood across the sands of the Coliseum and breaking apart Quan Chi's ribs. Quan Chi hit the ground, before a portal shortly opened up beneath his body and whisked him to safety.

As soon as Quan Chi hit the ground, Kitana pushed her way forward.

"I challenge Skarlet in Mortal Kombat." Kitana stated, her glare full of steel towards the red-clad assassin.

Shao Khan growled, but he could do nothing to stop her claim. As powerful as he was, he was not foolish enough to break the rules of the Mortal Kombat tournament.

"I will not fail you." Skarlet stated to Shao Khan, before walking to her challenger

"Even now, I still struggle to imagine why you chose your path. To be the heir of the Empire, the daughter of Shao Khan…do you realize what an honor it is that you threw away? But I suppose I should thank you. Because of your treachery and foolishness, I have now taken your place."

"I am not here to engage in your vanity, Skarlet, I am here to save my sister. And I'm going to make sure you suffer for every wound she has suffered in your captivity!"

Kitana attacked first, driving the point of one of her fans into Skarlet's stomach. As soon as Skarlet blocked her blow, Kitana unfolded both her steel fans and raked upwards, causing blood to spill from Skarlet's forehead and forcing her to stumble back, and not willing to give her time to react, Kitana immediately grabbed Skarlet's arm and pulled her forward. As Skarlet stumbled, Kitana, in a show of athleticism that surprised even Mileena, lifted her left leg and drove her heel into Skarlet's left eye, before tossing her to the ground.

As Skarlet cried out in pain, Kitana brought her heel down to Skarlet's right eye. The moment she brought her foot down, however, Skarlet teleported away in a puddle of blood.

"Impressive." Skarlet drawled. Kitana's eyes widened as she saw the blood that had spilled from her opponent begin to return to Skarlet's body. Skarlet waved her hand across her face, and her ruined eye healed instantly.

"My turn."

Skarlet disappeared once again in a flash of blood. Kitana had no time to react before a pair of daggers tore flesh from her back, forcing her to the ground. Getting up to face her opponent, Kitana tried to create some space between her and Skarlet with a blast of air from her fans. Skarlet, realizing what Kitana was about to do, slid underneath Kitana as she was about to make the motion that would summon the air. Kitana tried to counterattack, but she was left too open to make an effective counter, and received a knee to her stomach. As Kitana was reeling, Skarlet rushed in to attack. As she was about to dig her daggers into Kitana, Kitana took off a vial from her belt and threw it at Skarlet's face. Skarlet chuckled, before slicing the vial in half, splashing the liquid around Skarlet's body.

"Enough. With the enhancements my Emperor has gifted me, I am invincible! Surrender, and I will grant you a swift death!"

"If you're going to lie to me, at least try to put in a bit more effort, Skarlet. Besides…you are not as invulnerable as you think you are"

Kitana's eyes raked up and down her opponent, and her mind flashed back to the previous night…

"You saw the blood returning to her body?" Izuku asked.

"I did." Kung Lao replied. "I stabbed her with one of her daggers during our fight. As soon as she decided she was going to retreat, I saw the blood that had spilled on the ground flow right into her."

"Then that means Skarlet probably has a healing factor now."

"If that is true, then what can I do to defeat her?" Kitana asked. "I do not have the power to heal myself like she does."

"Hmm. Maybe not, but…"

At this, Izuku flipped to another page, near the beginning of his notebook.

"Regeneration doesn't mean invulnerable."

"What the hell is a-" at this, Johnny paused, squinting his eyes at the title that had been written in Japanese. "-a Nomu? Also, why're the rest of your notes just gibberish?"

"You can read Japanese?"

"What, you surprised that the best martial arts star around is multilingual?"

"A bit? As for what a Nomu is... Let's just say that Shang Tsung wasn't the first person I met who loved experimenting on people, and leave it at that. As for the rest of the notes..."

At this, Izuku tore out a page from the back of the notebook, and began to write something on it. After a minute, Izuku put his pen away, and turned the filled page over to Johnny. Looking over it, Johnny whistled.

"A code? Nice!"

"It was a necessary precaution, in case any of my notebooks ever fell into the wrong hands. Anyway, going back to the Nomu, one of the first ones I ever fought had a combination of Regeneration and Shock Absorption Quirks, and since I was Quirkless, I had to come up with a plan to destroy it."

"What did you do?" Kuai Liang asked.

"Simple…"

Kitana folded up her fans in preparation for what she was about to do, while Skarlet seemed to be getting ready to leap toward her. With a roar, Skarlet jumped into the air, folding into a front flip.

"...I set it on fire…"

As Skarlet's boots were about to collide with Kitana's head, Kitana scraped her folded fans against each other, causing sparks to fly out towards her opponent. The liquid Skarlet had been drenched in caught on fire. Skarlet screamed, as the fire engulfed her body. Kitana, capitalizing on Skarlet's panicked state, threw both of her fans into Skarlet's throat. With the fire touching everything except Skarlet's head, Kitana grabbed her opponent's head head and slammed her face-first into the ground, which further shoved in Kitana's fans in Skarlet's throat. Flipping her opponent over, Kitana took out her fans…

"...And I started slicing off every limb I could."

…And proceeded to simply hack Skarlet apart, every slash of her fans fueled by the rage Kitana had felt when she had seen how badly Mileena had been tortured after being hung on display in the arena.

Blood spilled across the sands of the Colliseum, beneath Skarlet's body. Even in the red haze that Kitana's vision had descended to, she could see that Skarlet's regeneration had completely stopped.

Skarlet's body became still, but even then Kitana refused to let up, refused to stop slashing.

As she was about to bring down her fans into Skarlet's brain, the hemomancer's body disappeared in a pool of blood, signifying that Skarlet had somehow been able to find the strength to teleport away from the fight.

Kitana breathed heavily. How long…how long had it been since she had lost control like that? She couldn't even remember…

Kitana took one more look at her sister, who had been chained up like some prize Shao Khan had conquered, and realized she didn't care.

"There is nowhere in the realms you will be able to hide from me, Skarlet. I will find you. I swear, upon the grave of my mother." Kitana hissed, glaring at the puddle of blood on the ground.

As soon as Skarlet disappeared, Izuku stepped forward.

"I challenge Shang Tsung in Mortal Kombat." Izuku growled.

AN: Been a while, huh?
Lotta stuff happened between last chapter and now, biggest among them being that I actually got a job! Unfortunately, it's also why updating this fic took such a long time. Between work, new games, and heavy writer's block, trying to finish this part has been a very big challenge for me. Now, thankfully, a lot of the next 2-3 chapters are already done, so hopefully there won't be such a long break between chapters. However, I can't guarantee anything, because my brain is very bad at keeping track of stuff that I need to do in the evening.
Also, on another note, I actually played Mortal Kombat 1 and Khaos Reigns. Storywise, I actually think MK1 has the best story of all the games since MK 2011. Because I liked that story so much, I might end up making a new story based around Liu Kang's New Timeline (although it would have to be restricted to a 1-2 chapter sneak peak, and only go into full writing mode once this story is finished, which, at the rate I'm going, will probably be within 10 years or more, lmao)
That story would follow a "Bad Ending" of My Hero Academia and this fic, where Izuku, after losing One For All, tried to strike out as a solo hero, but was forced out of it by Class 1-A applying financial and political pressure on him that he couldn't fight back against. This betrayal by his friends traumatizes Izuku to the point that he develops a mental block in his analysis skills, which puts a final stop to whatever plans he has to become a Quirkless Hero. Driftless, he spent years training to be a teacher to have a semblance of his dream achieved, but he'd be visited by Fire God Liu Kang and told that he has the potential to be a Champion of Earthrealm. Izuku starts seeing memories that aren't his, showing that he did have the potential to be a Quirkless Hero, and that he wasted years of his life trying to be something he wasn't. This ends up giving him severe anger and trust issues, which causes friction between him and the other Champions of Earthrealm, and his arc for most of the story would revolve around him dealing with those issues, resolving his trauma and regaining his skills as a hero and combat analyst.
Anyway, that's all I got for now. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!