The tyrant awoke from a sudden slumber. The far away ceiling was made of coal black rock with lava oozing from the miniscule crevices. The floor he lay on was hard and warm. He sat up. The terrain was flat but stretched further than he could tell. All that could be noted was the orangey like fog surrounding the area and the unwelcoming amount of lava nearby.
"You're finally awake." Acknowledged a familiar voice. "Welcome to Hell, Shao Kahn."
Kahn turned his head to face the voice.
"Y-you!" Shao stuttered as he stammered back in shock and fear of the being who stood before him. "Onaga!"
"EMPEROR Onaga!" The Dragon King corrected him with his voice echoing throughout the empty plane of the Netherrealm. "We are reunited at long last."
"Leave me be." Shao ordered. "Please…"
"Is that the almighty Shao Kahn begging?! Hah!" Onaga mocked. "You truly are pathetic."
"I took Outworld from you and nearly conquered all realms!" Shao argued as he raised his own voice. "If I am pathetic then what does that make you?"
"You needed to poison me like a coward." Onaga reminded him. "By the way boy, how was it being stabbed in the back?"
"What?"
"I've been watching your Empire fall and I must admit that it was very amusing." Onaga revealed.
"How?!"
"You think death can stop me?!" Onaga asked. "Fool! I have defied death and I now oversee the events happening throughout all the realms! Someday I will reclaim MY throne, MY realm, and you will rot here forever."
"Have you gone mad?" Kahn asked, not believing the vague story that his former master was spouting.
"A weakling like you cannot comprehend my powers." Onaga informed him. "Someday I shall return and with immense power as I am in the busy process of deceiving a foolish Earthrealmer."
"Spare me the delusions." Shao requested.
"Oh and merging the realms into Outworld for me was very kind of you, minion." Onaga thanked him while continuing his mockery. "I am eager to finalize the one worthwhile thing you have done."
"Reiko will finish my vision." Shao stated. "Not you."
"Your vision?" Onaga repeated. "I vividly recall telling you of my genius plan to merge the realms. If you had let me finish all those millenniums ago then you'd have known what was needed to achieve the power required to assure victory."
"And what is that?"
"That is not what I'm here to teach you." Onaga revealed as a sly smirk stretched over his face. "I am here to teach you how to beg for mercy."
Shao went to reply but was immediately grabbed on the arm by one of Onaga's enormous scaly hands who gripped on him firmly. Onaga dragged Shao by the arm and into a headbutt to Kahn's nose which immediately broke as it was before his death. Onaga's former servant cried in pain as Onaga laughed in amusement of his pain.
"I have waited a long time to get my hands on you." Onaga yelled as he punched Shao in the side of the head which caused his ears to ring. "You thought what the others did to you was bad? You haven't experienced anything yet!"
Shao Kahn swung a punch which wasn't even noticed by Onaga. Kahn struck another blow, this one was enough to gain Onaga's attention but it merely tickled him.
"Look at you: pathetic, treacherous, a failure and my personal ragdoll." Onaga gave a list of insults as he continued pounding away at his victim.
"Look at you: excellent, loyal, a success and my personal right hand man." Emperor Onaga complimented Shao Kahn, protector God of Outworld and the closest ally to Outworld's ruler.
"It is my pleasure to serve you, Emperor Onaga." Shao Kahn replied as he approached the smooth stone table for their scheduled one on one meeting. Carrying a pair of chalices, Kahn set one by the side of Onaga before taking a seat by his side.
"I have called for a meeting to discuss a discovery I have recently made." Onaga informed him.
"Do share." Kahn requested.
"One of my closest Holy Men has discovered the existence of seven powerful artifacts." Onaga revealed as he picked up his chalice. "With this power I firmly believe that I can accomplish the task of merging the realms into one.""
I can drink to that." Kahn responded as he stretched his drink holding hand towards Onaga, prompting his Emperor to do the same. "Cheers."
"Cheers." Onaga repeated before clinking his drink together with Shao's and taking a swig. "What type of wine is th-"
Onaga stopped talking as breathing suddenly began becoming a difficulty as his body temperature arose all at once in a sudden moment.
"Something wrong, my Emperor?" Kahn asked with a slight smile on his face. His plan had worked.
"Is this… poison?" Onaga asked quietly and weakly, his throat clearly dry as he was beginning to suffocate.
"Indeed it is." Kahn admitted. "I am tired of being the servant. I wish to become the Emperor."
"You naive fool… you have no idea of what it takes to become Emperor, boy." Onaga told Kahn as his vision began fading and as Kahn was summoning his Wrath Hammer. "You… have doomed Outworld."
Goodbye, Dragon King." Shao said his farewell before smashing the hammer against the face of Onaga.
The Dragon King fell backwards, his weight causing the chair to collapse and crash against the tiled floor. Shao Kahn walked over to the body. Onaga began struggling to his feet but another blow to the head kept him down. Then another. Then a final blow for good luck. Kahn examined his body. He was dead. Shao Kahn could now claim the throne of Outworld. Kahn pulled the helmet that covered the head of Onaga."This will make a fine trophy." Kahn noted. He put the helmet on as he looked at Onaga's corpse.
"Actually, why stop there?" Having been alerted by the thud of Onaga collapsing from his chair, many of his Holy Men came sprinting into the room and witnessed Shao Kahn as he tore Onaga's head off his body with his bare hands.
"What have you done?!" One of the Holy Men asked in horror."I have replaced him, Hornbuckle." Kahn replied with pride as he rose Onaga's mutilated head in the air by one of his horns. "So I suggest you all kneel to me. Now."
There was a divide between the Holy Men. Some chose to kneel to their new and imposing Emperor while others refused and stood their ground, some even drawing weapons if they were currently in their possession.
"Never!" Hornbuckle refused. "Our loyalty will forever be to Onaga! Not his backstabber!"
"If you will not join me, then you will all die." Kahn warned as those who chose to side with Shao Kahn began turning their attention to those refusing to do so.
"You're all traitors!" Hornbuckle yelled as he and those remaining their loyalty and dignity grouped together to stand against the new Emperor.
"Unfortunately for you, history will not see it that way." Kahn informed him. "Execute them!"
The former allies fought and those holding their loyalty after sudden tragedy were going through the battle with the most passion and emotion. Shao Kahn stood and watched the Holy Men fallout, entertained by the violence while still carrying the head of his former master. Kahn's entertainment was short lived though as Hornbuckle after fighting off a pair of treacherous Priests then blasted a beam of cursed fire at the chest of Shao Kahn. The new Emperor went to advance forward at the rebelling Holy Man but Hornbuckle took his second hand to send another beam of cursed flames which held him down with another Holy Man coming in and stabbing a dagger into one of Kahn's knees and another used their abilities to control magma to erupt a ray of lava at the back of Shao Kahn. Shao dropped his Wrath Hammer as he collapsed to his knees.
"Your reign has already come to a close!" Hornbuckle yelled. "We'll have Onaga revived and your head on a pike."
"So… gnr… certain are we?" Kahn asked as he tried to endure the pain. Shao suddenly smirked as he saw a figure stalking Hornbuckle.
"Absolutely certain." Hornbuckle confirmed while still using his cursed flames to hurt Kahn."This sudden tragedy will soon be rectified-"
Hornbuckle was abruptly cut off at the end of his sentence by the Wrath Hammer being taken by a treacherous Priest and clobbered into his ribs. The Priest kicked him into his allies who were already being surrounded. They then proceeded to send a pair of blasts of dark energy to immobilise the other Holy Men combatting Shao Kahn.
"Are you okay, Emperor?" They asked.
Shao laughed. "That was just a scratch."
"We have to retreat!" Hornbuckle unfortunately commanded his allies who reluctantly complied and sprinted out the room as they sought an exit of the Fortress with some using sorcery to summon portals to make desperate escapes from Kahn's wrath. Meanwhile in the meeting room, Kahn's new followers knelt before him.
"Excellent work." Kahn complimented. "You shall all have a grand serving as my personal Shadow Priests."
"It is a privilege to serve a God." The one who saved Shao Kahn's life replied.
"You," Shao pointed to them. "What name do you go by?"
"Talon."
"Well Talon, can I trust you to spread word that I am Outworld's new ruler?"
Talon nodded.
"Excellent." Shao took great pleasure in such compliance, a control that he never truly had until now. "And those who still wish to support the Dragon King will perish…"
Onaga was still wailing punches on Shao Kahn while keeping a firm grip on Kahn's muscular arm.
"My Holy Men told me that you decapitated me." Onaga informed him, further revealing how much he knew beyond the grave. "And you turned my skull into a mask?"
The beaten Shao Kahn nodded, still very proud of his handiwork. No matter what Kahn's response would've been, it wouldn't have prevented Onaga's next act. The Dragon King began pulling on the arm that he was already clenching. Kahn tried fighting off Onaga's pull but Onaga responded by digging one of his giant claws into one of his eyes, tearing it out just like what happened during his execution. Onaga then applied such force on Kahn's arm that it tore apart by its ligaments in the shoulder as some form of vengeance for his beheading caused by Shao Kahn himself. Shao began crying in pain and agony as blood seeped out the point where his arm had been ripped off.
This wasn't the end of his suffering yet though as Onaga took Kahn's amputated arm and smacked it over Shao's skull and followed this offense by launching Shao Kahn in the air and swooped up with his massive wings and grabbed his former ally before flying him into the indestructible ceiling and dropping him down into a small pool of lava. Onaga listened to the traitor's cries as he rolled out the lava but was still in agony from his flesh beginning to burn. Onaga landed on the floor, sending ruptures through the ground upon impact and grabbed Shao by the leg and began dragging him towards a nearby wall.
"Your arrogance has made you forget." Onaga pointed out. "Do you remember now?"
"Remember… agh… what?" Shao said between spits of blood.
"That I am your superior!" Onaga yelled as he tossed Kahn like a ragdoll into the obsidian wall that walled the two men in. As Shao landed and began writhing in pain, Onaga struck a hard fist into the wall and rubble from the old and eroded wall began collapsing atop of Kahn in large amounts, crushing but not killing him. The wall took up an infinite amount of space so no matter how much of it was destroyed it was still endless and would still contain the two former Emperor's.
"I wish I could slaughter you right now but I'd rather leave you to rot in hell forever just like how you did the same to me all that time ago." Onaga described while facing the pile of rubble. "I enjoyed catching up with you, traitor, but I have matters to attend to so that I may reclaim MY throne. Interfere with them if you wish to lose another limb."
Onaga took great satisfaction as he tossed Shao Kahn's severed arm into a nearby puddle before turning away and walking down the Netherrealm plane and leaving Kahn to suffer as the fate he truly deserved…