Jackson Briggs was receiving one final check-up before the doctors could confirm that he was fit to leave the hospital. Jax had seemed completely fine besides for the obvious lack of arms. Sonya Blade had been sat at Jax's side throughout the entire night, constantly making sure that he was in good care. Sonya had already organized the construction of some prosthetics that the schematics for had previously been used on a few unfortunate Special Forces soldiers.

"Your recovery has been quite remarkable, Mr Briggs." The doctor informed joyfully. "We can let you return to your duties now."

"Thanks Doc." Jax said gratefully, sitting up from his bed. "And thank you, Sonya. For sticking by my side through this."

"Of course. We have some augments prepped for you back at HQ." Sonya explained.

"Good to hear." Jax said in relieve as he moved the stumps to all that remained of his arms. "This no arm thing feels... wrong. Good news is the pain is gone now."

"Thanks to Raiden." Sonya said, grateful of the gods help. She then pulled out her phone and showed the screen to Jax. "Johnny sent his love."

"Not just to me." He joked, chuckling. "You finally gave him your number, huh?"

"Wh-what no!" She said defensively. "He wouldn't stop nagging for it back in that Coliseum."

"Well you didn't kick his ass," Jax noted. "That's like third or fourth base with you."

"I don't like him!" Sonya snapped.

"Sure." He laughed. Sonya soon began laughing with him.

"Like I said, don't worry about the arms," Sonya repeated her plead. "I think you'll like the upgrades."

"Well I'd rather have actual arms," Jax sighed. "But anything beats no arms."

"Of course," Sonya agreed. "I'm sorry for what happened to you."

"Baraka will get an ass whoopin' from karma." Jax assured. "Anyway, let's hurry back. I can't wait to have arms again."

Shortly after leaving the hospital, Jax returned to the Special Forces headquarters to test out some new prosthetics. These enhancements to Briggs' arms were made entirely of steel. They were made to aid in combat, just like with his previous bionic arms but now more effective.

Jax took a quick moment to test his new arms on a punching bag in the HQ's training room. Jax intended to test his arms further but after just three punches did the bag split in half, the top half was left dangling the rope attached to the tiled ceiling and the bottom half flew across the room and into a man as he entered the room.

"Ugh!" He groaned after the bag smacked into his exposed torso. "Good to see you're okay, Major."

"Sorry Hsu," Jax apologized. "These things sure do pack a punch."

"I figured," Hsu noted. "I'd know after all."

Hsu Hao placed a hand on his cybernetic heart that was blatantly visible in his shirtless attire. Though he intentionally showed off his physique and his cybernetics, he was also very secretive about how he actually got the cybernetic heart. Whenever Jax asked about the cybernetic heart he was either blanked or told it was none of his business. An injury suffered from fighting in the military was what Jax presumed, though he couldn't confirm. Jax didn't worry about it and just inferred that it was an injury that had left his friend scarred at some point in his life, so it was understandable that he didn't wish to talk about it.

"Welcome to the club, my friend." Hsu Hao greeted in reference to the two now both having cybernetic augments. He shook the Major's hand which now had a much firmer grip. "We're quite similar, you and I."

"Not only in cybernetics," Jax related further. "But we also both fight for a good cause."

"Indeed." Hsu Hao agreed, a smirk stretching out beneath his moustache. He began examining Jax's new left arm as he held it in his arms. "A fine build."

"Yeah..." He said awkwardly as he pulled his arm away from Hsu Hao. "Did you just come over to greet me?"

"Well now that you mention it," Hsu Hao remembered. He was almost entranced by Jax's cybernetics. "Raiden informed us that Kano and a couple other goons are stranded in Outworld. Me and General Blade are going down there to arrest them. Care to join us?"

"Sure!" Jax accepted the offer enthusiastically. "How could I say no to using Kano as a practice dummy?"

Hsu Hao chuckled. "Very well then. We leave in five. Meet us at our portal."

"Understood." Jax nodded.

"Here he is." Sonya pointed to the approaching Jax. "On time."

"Twelve seconds late." Hsu Hao corrected as he powered up the portal. "You need to be prompt, Major."

"I can't tell if you're joking." Jax admitted.

"Doesn't matter," Hsu sighed. "The portal's ready."

A purple swirl suddenly summoned in the back of the room, the three friends trekked into the portal at the same time and the portal took them to the mini portal hub that had been set up in Outworld's Forbidden Forest.

"I'm still not a fan on this place's name." Jax said uneasily.

"Would you have preferred The Living Forest?" Hsu Hao asked.

"The place where the trees have faces?" Jax recalled. "Hell no!"

"I ordered fora secluded and safe area." Hsu Hao explained. "This forest is the same as Earthrealm's forests."

"The forest suddenly cuts off into desert if we head north." Sonya noted. "And in that desert is the Coliseum."

"Which is where they were last seen." Jax added, now realizing the plan.

"Now you get it." Hsu Hao said. "Let's get moving."

Hsu Hao appeared to be correct. As the three walked down the forest it felt almost the exact same as in Earthrealm. The differences amongst the oak trees were that the majority of the trees were much older than the usual tree on Earth, this detail could be visually noticed by the trees as they aged having grown to sizes unseen to Earthrealmer's whom have never traversed past their home realm. The aged trees also had far creakier branches, though the irritating sound was ignorable thanks to it being drowned out by the peaceful chirp of an unrecognizable species of bird. Hsu Hao alarmed himself after he stepped on a twig, a loud crunching noise echoed throughout the forest.

"Gave me a fright there." Hsu admitted.

"I could tell!" Jax joked.

"C'mon, lovebirds." Sonya ordered. "We've got a pack of rats to capture."

"Pardon?" Hsu Hao asked. "What did you just call us?"

A distant but loud growl interrupted the group's banter. Suddenly a beast popped his head around the largest tree in the centre of the forest. While Hsu Hao had alarmed himself, he had done the same to the local wildlife.

"The hell is that?!" Jax asked, raising his metal fists in preparation to fight the beast.

"A TaiGore." Answered Hsu. "A good punch will hush it."

"What?!" Jax became hesitant to confront the TaiGore.

"A... good... punch." Hsu repeated himself slowly.

"Fine." Jax finally complied. "A little cover would be appreciated."

"Do I look armed?" Hsu questioned rhetorically as Sonya drew a handgun.

"Opening fire!" Sonya warned right before shooting a few bullets at the TaiGore as it suddenly charged at Jax. Meanwhile, Hsu spectated the fight with his arms crossed. The TaiGore dove at Jax but was punched aside by a devastating right hook which cracked a few of the beast's teeth. This blow as well as five bullet wounds was enough for the TaiGore to stand down.

"It's finished." Jax confirmed. Hsu Hao ignored this fact and proceeded to blast a laser from his chest to finish off the poor creature.

"We shouldn't have been making noise, General." Hsu scolded. "This may have alerted other TaiGore. We need to get running now."

"You shouldn't have killed the damn thing!" Retorted Sonya.

"Enough bickering!" Jax interrupted. "We have to get moving as a squad."

"Right." Hsu reluctantly agreed as the three began running to the north.

After many minutes of countless running the allies finally saw the forest cut off into desert. Jax sighed in relief and Sonya checked back to make sure that no TaiGore were tailing them. Hsu Hao meanwhile, continued moving forward with desperation to hunt down Kano and his fellow Black Dragon as soon as possible.

"They must still be here." Hsu assured. "We've just got to check beyond these sand hills."

"What about that village?" Jax pointed to a small settlement that stood near the ginormous Coliseum.

Hsu Hao shook his head. "Too small and too close to the Coliseum to be hiding." He explained.

"Unless they had a boat then they can't make it beyond the sea ahead." Sonya noted. "We're in the clear by the way."

"Good," Jax said, once again more relieved. "What happened to that forest being safe, Hsu?!"

"You're still here aren't you?!" Hsu snapped. "What happened to 'enough bickering'?"

"C'mon, this is petty." Sonya pulled them together. "We keep travelling north, checking over the hills we walk by."

"Sounds like a plan." Jax nodded in agreement. "Hsu?"

"Very well then." He complied, and thus the three were on the move once more.

"Raiden also said that Outworld soldiers were tracking them down, though they shortly returned to the Coliseum and without Kano and the lot."

"Maybe they killed them and was done with it?" Jax considered.

"Do you not recall them chaining me and Kano up?" Sonya recalled. "They'll have had preserved them to entertain the sick bastards in the Coliseum."

"Brilliant analysis, General." Hsu oddly complimented.

"... Thanks."

"Say, Hsu," Jax called out as he zipped up his jacket. "You sure you ain't gonna get sunburnt?"

"The whole point was that this would be a 'quick' mission." He retorted, mildly irritated at Jax's comments regarding his shirtless appearance which the point was to appear intimidating due to his impressive physique.

"Nobody made any promises." Sonya reminded.

The three finally made it to a hill just in front of the shore ahead and despite the exhaustion they managed to traverse up it. The three scanned the surrounding area with their now much higher ground. Hsu Hao scanned the shore before his eyes finally set on a group of men sat around a campfire.

"Look over here," Hsu pointed to the campfire. "Some trash has washed up."

"I've got Kano." Sonya immediately took her pick before sprinting down the hill. "Thought you could get away, Kano?!"

"Sonya!" Kano, No Face and Tremor had now been alerted. "First that General Reiko and his lads, now you?!"

Kano dashed a knife at a charging Sonya which the General caught and threw it back. Kano ducked the knife and spun around to catch his weapon as it passed over his head. Sonya continued to run at Kano, diving between Tremor's legs as he tried to stand in her fist finally made its way into Kano's face. Tremor went to grab Sonya but his rocky back was blasted by Hsu Hao's heart laser.

Tremor spun his head round to see Hsu Hao in a fighting stance, the Mongolian was ready to try grappling the unit that was Tremor. To their side fought Jax and No Face. The anarchist began blasting fire from his flamethrower at point blank range, Jax blocking the flames with his metal arms before fighting through the fire and unloading with heated steel punches.

"Why do you linger with such filth, Tremor?" Hsu Hao asked Tremor. "Odd that you wouldn't even choose to join The Red Dragon."

"Would you want me to?" Tremor raised a stone eyebrow.

"Perhaps." Hsu replied ominously before being socked with a boulder.

"Your powers are limited in a desert." Hsu noted. "There's no environment for you to fuel your geokinesis."

"Foolish that you think so." Tremor said as he began pulling the sand from the ground and surrounding it around Hsu Hao but the grappler blasted a laser through the mini sandstorm, striking Tremor once more.

No Face was punched into the shallow sea water by Jax, his flamethrower being drifted away by the waves of the water. No Face had become angered by this and rose to his feet, charging at Jax with a punch which he found his fist caught and squeezed by Jax's metal hand as Briggs dragged him into a clothesline.

"So that's why they call you No Face." Jax realized as he got a glimpse of the man's face beneath the mask.

"I'll... I'll kill you!" He promised as he lay on the floor writhing.

"Whatever you say." Jax muttered as he picked up the maniac and but some handcuffs around him.

"My friends will save me!" No Face reassured himself. "Tasia, Jarek, the lot!"

"I doubt they care enough." Jax muttered as he lit a cigar and began smoking it. "Y'all need help?"

"No!" Sonya declined the aid while dodging attacks from Kano. The mercenary went to gut her with the knife but failed after Sonya delivered a sudden leg sweep before flipping her knee into his remaining human eye. "Give up!"

"Rack off." He spat at Sonya before receiving several punches to his eye, causing wounds to close it shut. Kano then desperately shot his laser eye but as he could no longer see it was a wild attack which Sonya used to her advantage by pushing Kano's body into the line of sight of Tremor who was beginning to overpower Hsu Hao.

"AGH!" He yelled in irritation. "What do you think you're doing, Kano?"

"Wha-" Kano was kneed again, this time in the back of his head which left him unconscious.

Hsu Hao then mustered the strength to grapple Tremor, pick him up over his head and then slam him into the floor.

"It's just you left, Tremor." Sonya informed as she handcuffed Kano. "Surrender!"

"Never Sonya." Tremor refused, sending a mass of sand to pick up No Face and send him flying into Tremor's hard arms. He proceeded to retreat.

"Should we go after them?" Hsu queried.

"We got Kano, that's a big enough success." Sonya said. "I think we should leave."

"Alright." Jax complied. "Let's head back. Watch out for TaiGore's."

"I personally feel that we should feed Kano to the TaiGore." Hsu Hao recommended.

"Trust me I won't hesitate in doing so if they come at us." Sonya threatened.

"Easy Sonya." Jax calmed, placing a still warm metal hand on Sonya's shoulder.

"Maybe you should escort him." Sonya considered.

"Of course." Jax accepted and scooped Kano up in his arms. "Time to finally be rid of this bastard."