"Good morning, combatants!" Shang Tsung greeted the tournament contestants with unusual enthusiasm. "Today's battles will take place on the bridge before you, a nice change of pace to the regular courtyard." He pointed to the second bridge, parallel to the one where the fighters stood as spectators. These were the same bridges that towered above the infamous spike-filled sea pit.
"I shall fight first, Shang Tsung," Scorpion declared eagerly, leaving no room for negotiation.
"Very well," Shang Tsung replied. "For some new flavour, victory shall also be determined if one opponent falls from the bridge," he added bluntly.
"What?!" Liu Kang gasped as he turned to Raiden. "Does he normally do this?"
"Unfortunately," Raiden sighed. "It's a workaround to enable his violence."
"Surely the Elder Gods would forbid such savagery," Nightwolf shook his head as they watched as Scorpion teleported to a bridge further back, the one where the tournament fights would take place.
"They hadn't considered that the host would hold fights at a death trap," Raiden remarked. "I shall intervene if a serious fall occurs."
"Don't be so afraid, Raiden," Shang Tsung taunted. "You can survive the drop… it's just unlikely."
The sorcerer's voice was momentarily drowned out by the grinding sound of a gate opening from one of the cavern entrances at either side of the bridge. From the shadows of the cave emerged the Lin Kuei warrior known as Sektor, a sight that caught Shang Tsung by surprise.
"Finally," Scorpion hissed with satisfaction, "a chance to fight Lin Kuei scum."
"No," Shang Tsung put a hand in the Spectre's face. "He's on our side."
"Wrong," Sektor shook his head as he activated a pair of rocket boots to fly over to Scorpion.
"What are you doing, Sektor?!" Shang Tsung shouted from the neighboring bridge. "You both represent Outworld; you cannot fight!"
"The contract expired when you attempted to murder Cyrax, Tsung," Sektor replied coldly. "Just wait until I inform my father of your treachery." He leveled a threatening gaze at the sorcerer.
Shang Tsung merely chuckled, fully aware that Oniro would care little about Cyrax's fate, especially with the Cyber Initiative looming. "Then wait until I tell your father that you've failed to fulfill your contract with me."
Sektor opened his mouth to retort, anger boiling over, but was cut off as Scorpion's signature spear pierced his back. The Spectre had taken advantage of the distraction, striking before his opponent even had the chance to face him. Scorpion yanked Sektor towards him, delivering a crushing elbow to his chest. Sektor staggered back, igniting his flamethrower in a desperate counterattack, but the flames were useless against Scorpion, who absorbed the fire and pressed on with his relentless assault.
Sektor pushed Scorpion back with a sequence of Niniitsu strikes, a martial arts style that was taught to all Lin Kuei. With ample distance made, Sektor fired a rocket mounted to his wrist at Scorpion's feet, hoping to turn the tide, but the Spectre teleported behind him, delivering a brutal dive kick that sent Sektor crashing into his own explosion. The blast hurled him off the bridge. Sektor desperately tried to activated his rocket boots, but the explosion at his feet had damaged them too badly to allow full flight, only enabling him to barely evade a bed of spikes.
"Scorpion wins!" Shang Tsung announced with delight as Sektor crashes on the hard floor, his armour bracing the impact.
"Now give me Sub-Zero!" Scorpion demanded, his eyes burning with vengeance.
"Tomorrow," Shang Tsung responded curtly.
"NO! I want Sub-Zero NOW!" Scorpion's voice echoed with fury.
"What you want and what you'll get are quite different," Shang Tsung retorted, a smirk playing on his lips as he revelled in Scorpion's rage. The Spectre vanished in a flash, his screams of anger echoing throughout the island as he teleported away.
Meanwhile, at the bottom of the pit, Sektor struggled to rise but was swiftly kicked down by a green-clad ninja. The mysterious ninja hissed at the Lin Kuei assassin, who recognised him as having been talking to the sorcerer in whispers.
"You die here," the ninja growled, his voice raspy and menacing. "I'm sorry."
"Follow orders... but not from that basta-" Sektor's words were cut short as the ninja pressed a foot against his throat, applying pressure. Desperate, Sektor unleashed his flamethrower at the ninja's face, forcing him to recoil. As the ninja crawled back, part of his mask burnt away, revealing scaly skin beneath.
"You're not human..." Sektor muttered, eyes widening.
"I will silence you, Sektor," the ninja hissed, charging at the Lin Kuei warrior. But before he could strike, a corpse was brutally flung onto the concrete beside them, discarded from above by Baraka. The Tarkatan had already slain the unfortunate man from his own tournament match, but the distraction was enough for Sektor to make his escape.
Above the pit atop the bridges, Shang Tsung pondered his next move after declaring Baraka the winner of his easy fight, as the sorcerer was uncertain of what to do about the Lin Kuei. His thoughts were interrupted by Quan Chi, who placed a hand on his shoulder. Shang Tsung was startled but masked his fear.
"The Lin Kuei are not worth your time," Quan Chi advised, as though reading Shang Tsung's mind. "They have violated the rules of Mortal Kombat; they cannot disrupt the tournament any further." Shang Tsung nodded in agreement as Quan Chi added, "give Scorpion his match against Sub-Zero tonight. It will remove them both from the tournament."
"I do want this tournament finished as soon as possible," Shang Tsung admitted. "We've waited long enough to conquer Outworld, and I'm sitting on something very powerful."
"I'm sure you are," Quan Chi replied with a brief look of frustration but not one that Tsung picked up on. "What do you say to my idea?"
"Very well," Shang Tsung agreed to it. "Inform your Spectre that tonight is his night for vengeance." He then turned to the fighters, preparing to announce the next match.
"I see you eyeing me," Nightwolf commented as he clutched onto his tomahawks. "Let's just get it over with."
"Nightwolf, you will face..." Tsung glanced around, searching for his intended choice, Kano, only to realise the mercenary was no longer present. Ignoring this, he selected a different name from the dwindling crowd. "Skarlet," he announced, though his tone was reluctant, afraid of enabling her bloodlust.
The blood construct eagerly approached the other bridge, making a floating path of blood on her way there, anticipation gleaming in her crimson eyes as she prepared to taste the blood of a powerful warrior. Nightwolf was shoved through a portal to the other bridge by Shang Tsung, but he quickly readied himself into his fighting stance despite the surprising shove.
"Fight!" Shang Tsung bellowed from the other side.
Skarlet immediately lunged at Nightwolf with deadly speed, but he swiftly batted her away with a tomahawk, sending her tumbling off the bridge. Nightwolf stood tall, believing victory was his, until a blood puddle behind him began to swell, forming a statue-like figure. The blood statue morphed into Skarlet, who immediately attacked, stabbing at Nightwolf with ferocious precision. He managed to create some distance by firing a green energy arrow into her shoulder.
Skarlet knelt, her hand reaching down to absorb the blood splattered across the bridge. She savoured it, her voice dripping with satisfaction. "Delectable," she taunted, trying to unsettle Nightwolf. Her overconfidence, however, left her vulnerable.
Nightwolf charged at the construct, shoulder-barging her before attempting to deliver a finishing blow with his tomahawk. Skarlet sidestepped and then grabbed him with a surprisingly powerful claw grip, beginning to drain his blood with her touch.
Skarlet could have easily claimed victory by tossing Nightwolf into the pit, but her thirst for blood overrode her sense of strategy as well as a strange reluctance as she saw the wicked sharp spikes below. Nightwolf eventually fought out of Skarlet's grasp though, energy pulsing around his body that knocked Skarlet back.
"You're strong," Skarlet assessed as she rushed at Nightwolf again. "That only means that your blood shall make me better!"
"There's much more to strength than raw power," Nightwolf tried to tell Skarlet as she laughed wickedly.
"I've not yet seen it," Skarlet replied as she summoned a blood dagger and lunged at Nightwolf.
Skarlet swung the dagger violently, slashing through the denim jacket Nightwolf wore to cut open his chest. Continuing her aggressive onslaught, Skarlet became progressively less focused as more blood splattered onto her. This lack of control allowed Nightwolf to find an opening, kneeing her in the stomach and following up with a powerful upwards strike from a tomahawk which inadvertently sent Skarlet plummeting off the bridge. Too stunned to reform on the bridge, Skarlet began crashing uncontrollably to the pit below.
Fortunately for Skarlet, the green ninja was waiting at the bottom of the pit. He caught her before she could hit the lethal spikes. As Skarlet recovered from her dazed state, she gasped as she found herself being hung upside down with a long lizard tongue wrapped around her ankle.
"Your blood does not smell like that of a human..." Skarler mused, her tone curious. "That tongue certainly isn't."
The ninja sighed as he set her down gently.
"You cannot hide your identity from me, Saurian," she said, recognising his species by scent alone. Saurians were a species that once resided in Zaterra, one of the many realms conquered by Shao Kahn, a fate that Earthrealm would share if Outworld wins the current tournament.
"My identity matters not, human," he snapped back, his tone aggressive.
"It matters to me if I am to take your blood," she replied, her words half-threat, half-warning.
The ninja hesitated, unsure of Skarlet's full capabilities. "What do you mean?"
"It matters not," she echoed his earlier words, dismissing the subject. "What is your name?"
"My master calls me Reptile, but again, it doesn't matter."
"And mine calls me construct, but I still have my own name," Skarlet stated as she stepped towards the Saurian who slithered back.
"Syzoth," Reptile reluctantly introduced himself. "I serve Shang Tsung and Shao Kahn, I'm no threat."
"I had heard that Saurians are dangerous monsters," Skarlet recalled as she summoned her dagger. "That's why you're endangered."
"Propaganda…" Reptile hissed with frustration. "The Emperor keeps some of us to be servants, I've never seen you serve before though."
"This is my first time… outside…" Skarlet admitted.
"Yet you know of Zaterrans?" Reptile scoffed.
"I've seen experiments," Skarlet revealed vaguely.
"Experiments?" Reptile asked with growing concern. "What kind?"
"Like you said, it doesn't matter," Skarlet refused to reveal any more information.
"You're lucky Shang Tsung informed me that you're an ally," Reptile muttered. "I'm leaving now."
"Wait!" Skarlet yelled before Reptile blended into his surroundings.
"What is it?" Reptile asked.
"Oh what's the saying?" Skarlet thought aloud. "Thanks for the help, Reptile." Skarlet turned to leave, her interest in him waning.
Reptile watched her depart from the pit, his mind still racing from the strange encounter, before departing himself as he had been called for a particular task by Shang Tsung himself…