On the shores of Shang Tsung's island, the Lin Kuei assassin known as Sub-Zero was dominating the competition in his tournament matches against warriors from across Earthrealm, albeit reluctant to be aiding a sorcerer. After his latest victory, the Lin Kuei warrior turned to his own host for the subsection of tournament matches that had kept him away from his fellow clansmen.
"Is that the last of them?" Sub-Zero asked after a strike of an ice-made hammer left his last challenger unconscious.
The supervisor for these matches was an older man in a knight costume straight from mediaeval times, who leant against a crooked palm tree on the beach as he tried his best to avoid sand entering his ancient armour.
"You're the last one standing," the knight pointed out.
"Is that a 'yes' then?" Sub-Zero presumed, tensions building between the two.
The knight nodded, his helmet hiding his face. "I shall escort you back to Shang Tsung's Palace for you to get some rest, I believe you'll be grouped with the remaining fighters soon."
"Why wasn't I before?" Sub-Zero questioned as he reluctantly followed the knight through the island's forest.
"So many questions," the knight rolled his eyes behind his headgear. "If you have any complaints then take it up with the actual host, which isn't me."
"The less I have to see of Shang Tsung, the better," Sub-Zero remarked. "Know that if my clan gave me a choice, I would not be fighting for him at all."
"Aligning with Shang Tsung isn't so bad," the knight argued as they arrived at the palace. "It has certainly been beneficial for me."
"I care not for whatever benefits he offers," Sub-Zero sighed, turning away and marching angrily through the large palace doors.
The knight headed towards the inn that housed the Earthrealmer guests for the duration of the tournament. Although more chaotic and thus progressing faster than previous tournaments, the knight was well aware that both Shang Tsung and Outworld's Emperor Shao Kahn were both impatient to hasten the merging of Earthrealm into Outworld. Loyal to Shang Tsung, the knight was willing to say farewell to his native realm.
Making it to the outside of the inn, the knight saw Nightwolf and Liu Kang exit the building at a hastened pace and determination on their face. Listening in as he walked past, the knight managed to overhear their conversation.
"Where do you plan to search for him?" Nightwolf asked the Shaolin Monk. "Did those two soldiers assist you?'
"Jax and Sonya described the dungeon they were brought to," Liu Kang confirmed. "There's an entrance to it within the forest area."
"That's still rather vague," Nightwolf admitted as he crossed his arms. "Are you sure you don't want me to come along?".
"Just focus on training for the fights that are still to come," Liu Kang recommended. "My friend's recklessness shouldn't be your issue to resolve."
"As long as you're sure," Nightwolf replied.
"Raiden will be in the forest anyway," Liu Kang recalled. "He shall help guide me."
"You know the Champion resides in those dungeons right?" Nightwolf reminded him.
"Yes," Liu Kang nodded. "I shall be careful, Nightwolf, see you at the tournament."
"See you," Nightwolf waved as he watched Liu Kang depart to find Goro's Lair.
After listening in on their conversation the knight stepped into the inn, the metal of his armour jingled as it dragged across the old wooden planks that made the floor. Across the room was the inn's reception, a dimly lit space with flickering lanterns casting long shadows across the rough stone walls that were exposed through gaps left by the decaying old wallpaper. The air smelled faintly of smoke and damp wood, a testament to the inn's age and the chilly winds that surrounded the island. A worn, wooden counter stood at the centre, its surface scarred with countless nicks and stains, manned by the grim and tired face of Erron Black, serving as the attendant with a kind and gentle attitude which he put on purely just to bring some amusement to himself with such a dull job.
"Mr. Black," the knight spoke up in a joking tone.
"Well if it isn't Sir Garrett Bennett," Erron Black mimicked a posh accent as he addressed his old friend, looking up from his withered desk at the knight, polishing one of his two revolvers.
The pair were soon interrupted by a sudden burst from a fiery vortex that magically appeared in the doorway. Black, familiar with this spell, slowly holstered his weapon.
"Shang Tsung," Erron greeted as Garrett bowed his head.
"Erron Black, I trust our guests are inside?" Shang Tsung inquired.
"Some are," Erron nodded. "Those Special Forces have stayed in the same room since their arrival at the inn," he revealed.
"Good..." Shang Tsung paused before ordering, "Eliminate them."
"You're the boss," Black replied, drawing his guns. "It'll be done."
"Thank you," Shang Tsung said gratefully as he began fading away into a portal.
"Here we go again," Garrett sighed as he drew his sword.
"Not your first rodeo?" Erron asked as he leapt over the reception desk.
"Tsung had me go after some blind stalker of his," Garrett recalled. "Best swordsman in Earthrealm… yeah right."
"You killed him?" Erron wondered as he loaded his guns.
"Nah," Garrett shook his head. "Sent him packing though, he never made it to the Nethership."
With Erron Black behind him, Garrett Bennett began pacing down the corridor, concerned that more fighters from the tournament would soon return to interrupt the impending assassination. The duo slowed down as they reached the room that Sonya and Jax were staying in. Erron slowly unlocked the door to the room and sneaked inside as Garrett waited outside in the hallway. Erron could hear idle chatter between the two as he peered around the corner of a wall and began blasting bullets.
"Get down!" Sonya yelled, quickly reacting to Erron's gunfire. She dove behind a bed whilst Jax took cover behind a wall.
Black fired another round into the bed, attempting to get the bullets to penetrate the cotton material and impale Sonya, but he was unsuccessful. He let out a loud sigh as he walked down the room, only to be launched back into the corridor once he reached the wall Jax was hiding behind.
"Dammit!" Erron said through gritted teeth as Garrett helped him up.
"What's going on out here?!" Came the voice of Johnny Cage, disturbed from a midday nap. Erron Black hadn't realised that he was still in his room when he went to assassinate Jax and Sonya.
"Scram, Cage," Black muttered, trying to focus his aim on Jax, who remained behind the wall and Black was expecting him to peek out soon. Neither Jax nor Sonya had any weapons on them, all their gear having been confiscated by Masked Guards. Much like Johnny, they were just waiting to leave the island.
"What do you want from us?!" Sonya's voice called out, which Johnny recognized.
"Hey, I think I might know them," he said to Erron. "Excuse me, partner." He tried to walk past the gunslinger, only to be held back by Garrett.
"Off limits, actor," Garrett stated as Johnny tried to push past. "Don't make me put you down as well."
"Sooo intimidating!" Cage mocked.
"Scatter!" Erron ordered.
"I've played a cowboy too," Johnny recalled as Erron and Garrett sighed in unison. "Your accent's a little off, compadre."
"Didn't you learn from your defeat to Baraka that none of this is an act?!" Garrett asked.
"My martial arts aren't either," Cage warned, which made Garrett burst into laughter.
Due to Johnny Cage's distraction, Erron and Garrett had now turned their backs on Sonya and Jax. Sonya didn't hesitate to attempt an ambush. She rolled over the bed and sprinted towards Black, only for him to spin around and smash the handle of his revolver into her jaw.
"Leave her alone!" A more serious Johnny Cage yelled, swinging fists at Erron in an attempt to repay Sonya for helping him against Baraka. Erron backed him off with a pistol whip as Garrett lifted him up and slammed him down with a spinebuster grapple manoeuvre.
"We throwin' hands, boy?!" Black asked rhetorically, holstering his guns. "Bring Mr. Hollywood over here, Garrett."
"Here you are," Garrett smirked behind his helmet as he pulled Johnny up by the collar of his dress shirt and shoved him at Erron.
Johnny Cage intentionally slid across the floor and rose up in front of Erron Black with a devastating uppercut as he stood up, which launched Erron Black upwards, smashing him into the ceiling and leaving a hole that bore the imprint of Black's body. Kicking the actor in the back of his leg, Garrett knocked him over as Erron fell from the ceiling, stomping his boots into Johnny's stomach, causing him to cry out in pain as Black dug his boot spurs into Cage's body.
"Deal with the soldiers," Erron commanded his friend who nodded before charging into the guest room.
Meanwhile, Johnny Cage was climbing to his feet, leaning against a window at the corridor's end for support. The chance for him to rest didn't last long though as Erron Black dove at Cage, dropkicking him through the glass and outside of the inn.
"Where were we?" Black asked, turning to Sonya, who Garrett had shoved into a wall before challenging Jax.
Sonya and Erron traded blows, Sonya's experience in judo giving her the edge as she grabbed Black's arm as he reached for a revolver and slammed him to the ground. Peering through the doorway, she saw Jax dodge various swings from Garrett's longsword; heavy swings gave Jax the time to evade them. Sonya rushed in with a flying kick to the back of Garrett, sending the armoured warrior tumbling to the ground.
"Look out!" Jax yelled as he pointed to Erron who reached out to grab Sonya, only to be headbutted violently.
Staggering against the wall, Jax lunged at him with a punch so powerful that it smashed the outlaw through the wall which left Erron bloodied and unconscious. Sonya then picked Garrett up and kicked a piece of armour off to expose him for a sequence of knee strikes to the gut, before shoving him to Jax who delivered a huge powerbomb on top of Erron.
"What happened?" Nightwolf asked as he rushed into the corridor, having returned from admiring the nature outdoors. Despite how horrific the owner was, the island itself was filled with wonder. "Are either of you injured?"
"We're fine, Nightwolf," Jax reassured him.
"Barely," Sonya sighed. "We need to find Raiden… this place clearly isn't safe."
"What about that one guy?" Jax asked.
"Who cares? Just leave him," was the harsh response.
"I meant the actor."
"So did I."
"I shall remain here," Nightwolf offered. "I'll prevent these two from causing any more harm."
"Thank you," Sonya said gratefully as they shook hands.
"C'mon!" Jax called for Sonya as they rushed out of the inn.
Upon leaving the old building, lightning struck merely a few metres away from them, with Raiden appearing through the blast.
"Thank the Elder Gods, you're both okay," Raiden said, relieved, but something still worried him.
"Well, not everyone..." Jax muttered as he looked at Johnny Cage, who was lying on the floor along with hundreds of minuscule glass shards.
"I cannot heal him; my power is still drained from healing the pair of you," Raiden informed the soldiers.
"He can walk it off," Sonya shrugged.
"Sonya," Jax sighed.
"I do feel bad for him," she admitted as they carefully lifted him out of the pile of glass. "He did try to help us."
"And you saved his life," Raiden added. "It is possible that Johnny Cage could become a real hero."
"We need to get him somewhere safe first," Jax pointed out.
"I must save my powers for when the tournament has concluded," Raiden concluded. "I always have to cast a mass teleport in order to allow the tournament survivors to return back to Earthrealm," he revealed. "Shang Tsung always refuses to bring them home."
"No surprises there," Sonya quipped as Jax crossed his arms.
"What now then?" Jax questioned. "And what's the matter, Raiden?"
"I just evicted a group of assassins from a nearby jungle," Raiden revealed. "Shang Tsung had them camping there to use against you Earthrealmers."
"What a scumbag!" Sonya yelled angrily, frustrated by the sorcerer's scheming.
"Is this the norm?" Jax asked with a raised eyebrow of concern.
"No," Raiden shook his head. "Not even Shang Tsung has stooped to such lows as host… until now."
"Why the change?" Jax wondered.
"Considering how long he and Shao Kahn have waited, they must be desperate for victory," Raiden concluded. "I had presumed Shang Tsung would be arrogant after Outworld' many victories, but Earthrealm has one many more matches than usual."
"So he wants to take out the remaining participants," Sonya noted. "Neither of us are competing though!"
"Merely gathering some extra souls whilst I'm at it…"
The soldiers and Raiden spun around to see Shang Tsung approach a portal with a sly smirk on his face, but he was annoyed deep inside seeing that Sonya and Jax had survived.
"Sorcerer," Raiden glared at Tsung with glowing eyes.
"Did you have fun with those pawns of mine?" Tsung asked.
"Attempt this again, and I shall personally drag you to meet the Elder Gods," Raiden warned the sorcerer who laughed in his face.
"Sounds delightful," Tsung grinned. "I can then personally tell them how I feel about their cowardice."
"Ah…" Johnny Cage groaned as he began to regain consciousness. "What happened?"
"Your ass got hurled through a window," Jax put it bluntly.
"Shit…" Cage swore as he looked up to see the sorcerer. "Not this asshole again!"
"The displeasure is all mine, Mr. Cage," Shang Tsung retorted. "I'm disappointed that my minions couldn't deal with such measly Earthrealmers."
"Looking to harvest more souls I take it?" Raiden asked.
"Always a nice plus," Shang Tsung chuckled. "It was primarily to be rid of any extra support before I'd send more of my allies to eliminate Nightwolf."
"Glad to hear you understand the threat I pose to your master's tyranny," Nightwolf commented as he carried Garrett out of the inn whilst the spirit of a wolf dragged Erron out by the collar of his jacket. "Unfortunately, your plans won't pay off."
"I'm still confident," Tsung remarked. "You will have to face Baraka himself."
"I look forward to the challenge," Nightwolf said as he locked eyes with the sorcerer.
"Uhh… hate to be interrupting…" Johnny chimed in as he pointed to the wolf spirit, "but is that real?!"
"His name is Kiba," Nightwolf introduced the wolf who let out an enthusiastic bark. "He's been my closest companion since childhood, this is his spirit that my powers allow me to call upon from the Heavens."
"He's a… Ghost?!" Cage shrieked, leaping back into Sonya who shoved him lightly.
"Keep at least a couple metres from me," Sonya warned.
"Yes, ma'am," Cage complied.
"Ghost is another word for them, yes," Nightwolf confirmed. "Heyoka, what should we do about these attackers?" Nightwolf asked as he prodded Garrett's armour with a tomahawk.
"That's not the Thunder God's decision!" Shang Tsung interjected. "They're returning to the palace with me."
"Very well then," Raiden allowed it as the sorcerer began casting a portal. "But know that if you attempt another assassination, there will be consequences."
"Save your bluffing, Raiden," Tsung dismissed him with a hand wave. "Don't worry though, I'm done with these games."
"Your word cannot be trusted," Raiden argued.
"Then don't trust it and be paranoid for your last night on this island," Shang Tsung shrugged. "It makes no difference to me."
"Where is Kung Lao?" Raiden asked one last question.
"Your apprentice already knows where," Tsung pointed out. "He'll get to meet my own apprentice there."
"Indeed," Raiden acknowledged.
"Bring your Earthrealmers to my palace at sunrise," Shang Tsung ordered. "There we shall put an end to this five hundred year old conflict…"