Chapter 42
Unknown Area
After witnessing the tournaments first death, Shang Tsung decided to stage multiple matches at the same time.
With a little bit of sorcery, he transported multiple kombatants to various battle grounds. After being transported, Sonya is seen fighting a Tarkatan on a solid platform made of stone, Acid surrounded the arena and chains clinked on from the ceiling.
Ducking under a punch, Sonya's mind began to drift towards something that has been bothering her. Since arriving to this tournament, she had not received any words from Jax. Before leaving for Outworld, Jax had actually messaged her about coming to Outworld undercover and since then, she has not received any feedbacks from him.
"Where the hell are you?" Sonya asked herself as she kicked her opponent.
The Tarkatan did a spin kick as he knocked her to the ground. As he ran towards her, Sonya shot her legs up and wrapped it around his neck as she swung him to the ground, cracking his neck at the same time.
Immediately she finished killing her opponent, Sonya was transported back to the Coliseum to hear everyone cheering 'Johnny'. She automatically knew Johnny had won his match.
"That was a quick one." Kung Lao said greeting Sonya.
"Yeah, Johnny's match was quick as well." Sonya said.
"Kombatants!" Shao Kahn announces, as he stands up from his chair. "The tournament will resume at dawn! You are free to roam through the city as you please. Until then." He turns around and departs. Multiple spectators all rise and start to do the same.
"What, that's it? Really?" Johnny asked, as he walks towards his allies.
"You fought well." Raiden said, as the other warriors gather round him. "You all fought well, though it pains me that one of you had to die."
"I'm going tear that Reiko to shreds." Sun growls, as Sub Zero places a comforting hand on his shoulder
"What now?" Kai asked. "He said we're free to roam the city until dawn."
"I don't think that's a good idea." Smoke said
"Indeed." Hotaru spoke next. "Even though kombat outside the tournament is frowned upon, it is not forbidden. So your lives are still very much in danger."
"Hotaru is right." Ironwood said. "We should use this time to conserve our strength."
"If I may General?" Sonya spoke, causing Ironwood to nod. "Since arriving, I have been unable to contact Jackson Briggs of Special Forces, my adoptive father. With your permission, I would like to look for him."
"I see." Ironwood said thoughtfully, before facing Raiden. "Lord Raiden?"
"You intend to undergo a dangerous task." Raiden said to Sonya. "For all we know, Jackson Briggs might already be dead."
"I don't believe that." Sonya said
"Regardless, Fujin and I cannot assist you right now." Raiden said. "But we will send Hotaru in our steed to aid your search."
"Thank you."
"Still, do you have any way of tracking him?" Blake asked. "This city is huge, and he could be anywhere."
"Actually I do." Sonya said, as she brought up a holographic map. "I was able to track his Special Force badge." She said, gesturing to the red dot on the map
"Cool, road trip." Johnny said
"I'm afraid I can't allow everyone to search for him." Ozpin spoke up. "Some of you will have to remain here."
"Indeed." Ironwood agreed. "Vine, Elm, Harriet and Marrow of the Ace Ops will accompany Sonya."
"Yes sir." Said individuals answered
"Team CFVY will also accompany her, alongside Blake, Yang, Liu Kang and Kuai Liang." Ozpin said
"Hey what about me?" Johnny asked
"Quite worrying Cage, I'll be fine." Sonya assured him, making the movie star nod reluctantly
"Then let's head out." Sub Zero announced
Shang Tsung's Lab
After about an hour of walking, the Jax Retrieval Team (JRT), found their way into an underground location on Outworld. While walking, Sonya noticed Jax badge on the floor, Infront of a three-way hallway.
"This is where the trail ends." Sonya said, as she picked the badge up
"Which way?" asked Liu Kang as he scanned the hallway.
"Yeah," Yang muttured. "Bizarre-looking hallway one, bizarre-looking hallway two or bizarre-looking hallway three?"
"I say we split up." Coco said
"In that case, Team CFVY hallway one, me and my team will take hallway two and the rest of you with take hallway three." Harriet said
"I think me, Kuai Liang and Hotaru should keep guard here." Liu Kang suggested
"Fine by me." Harriet said
"Then let's get moving." Sonya said, not wasting anytime
Hall 3
As Sonya's team walked into what appears to be a prison or a lair. Rotting bodies stripped off their flesh hang off rusty meathooks. They proceed through the cave, eventually coming out into a large underground throne room. Dead oni and skulls of long
deceased monsters litter the ground.
"This place gives me the creeps." Yang mutters, as her allies silently agrees with her
As they go deeper into the hall, one of the the iron barred cells Sonya comes across contains Jackson Briggs. He looks like he's been severely beaten during his incarceration.
"Oh my God. What did they do to you? Sonya asked, as she walked towards Jax cell, before destroying the bars of the cell, with her wave energy blast. She supports Jax up as best as she can. "Jax, come on! We're outta here!"
"Run, girl, run…" Jax mutters, barely audible for them to hear
"There's no way they leff him unguarded. Let's go before whoever's on duty gets back." Blake said
"I never left."
From behind a nearby pillar emerges the Netherrealm wraith known
as Noob Saibot. He enters a fighting stance. Resting Jax on a pillar, Sonya, Yang and Blake respond by aiming their weapons at the Wraith and opening fire. Noob disappears in a flash of magic and appears to the right of Blake in the form of a shadow. They all began opening fire again but the bullets go straight through the apparition, ricocheting off the cave walls.
Several more shadow forms of Noob Saibot appear around them, leaving the trio surrounded on all sides. They stand back to back, waiting for the shadows to make a move. One suddenly roars and charges them, and they fire immediately. This time their bullets manage to dissipate the shadow into thin air and they immediately
shoot two more shadows into nothingness. Doing so, however, leaves them open for three more shadows to attack. The trio parry their strikes and throw them to the ground, dissipating them as well. Another three shadows attack, but Yang fells one with a flurry of body blows and a spinning back kick to the chest, while Blake and Sonya fends off the others behind her.
Another shadow rushes Sonya and lands a punch across her face, but Sonya blocks its next blow, ducks a strike and lands a counter punch that rocks the shadow. She follows through with a jumping spinkick that turns it into vapour.
A shadow suddenly appears behind Yang and grabs her in a rear choke hold. Two more shadows appear, and while she elbows one in the face, the other grabs her arm and restrains her. As Sonya and Blake try to help Yang, six more shadows appear around them before restraining the duo in the same fashion.
With all three of them restrained, Noob steps out of the shadows to face them fully.
Hall one
Inside the hallway, Coco, Fox, Velvet and Yatsuhashi spiral down a staircase into the lower levels. Bodies long rotted to bones litter the ground they walk on.
"I'm officially tired of Outworld's weirdness." Fox says, as they walked passed another body
"Tell me about it." Coco said, as the group reached a dead end. "Nothing here, let's turn bac-"
Before she can finish her statement, Fox gets consumed by a stream of flames. Fox is instantly set ablaze,
screaming in agony, before falling to the ground dead.
Watching in horror as their teammate die, a loud growling eminates to their right. Before them, they see Kintaro
approaching.
"Humans. Less ugly when they burn." Kintaro says, as he approaches the group. Seeing the new threat, the remaining of Team CFVY prepare themselves for the fight of their lives.
Hall two
Marrow, Vine, Elm and Harriet having reached a dead, were about ready to turn back when suddenly, a strong vibration eminates from the chamber itself. A wave of souls float out and around the area.
"You have disturbed our regeneration process." The red garbed enigma known as Ermac, appears in front of them.
Seeing this, Vine extends his hands over to Ermac, with the intention of restraining him
But before Vine's arm can reach his opponent, Ermac stops it by raising his glowing telekenetic hand. He then uses the other glowing hand to telekenetically grabs Vine's other hand. Vine is unable to stop his arms from being moved out to his side. Vine's entire body then starts vibrating with green energy and he begins screaming in terror. Ermac then brutally causes Vine to explode into bloody pieces via his telekenesis.
"Vine!" The entirety of his team scream at their comrades demise
"I'll kill you!" Harriet growls, as electric sparks appear on her eyes
"We are many, your power pales in comparison to us." Ermac says, as he adopts a fighting stance.
Meanwhile, at the hallway entrance. Liu Kang was thoughtfully contemplating how he would meet up and talk to Kitana. But said thoughts was interrupted by the sound of screaming, coming from two of the hallways.
"That cannot be good." Sub Zero narrowed his eyes, before turning to his allies. "We need to go, now."
"We'll split up." Liu Kang said, as he headed for the first hallway, while Hotaru and Sub Zero went into the second and third hallway respectively.
Back in the first hall, Ermac has been keeping the rest of the Ace Ops at bay easily enough. He faceplants Marrow with a telekenetic slam, blasts Elm into a pillar with a burst of soul energy and caps it off by deflecting an attack from Harriet, before levitating her into the air. Before Ermac can finish her, Hotaru suddenly appears as he grapples him in a sleeper hold, breaking the energies keeping Harriet in the air. She falls unconscious, and Ermac breaks free of Hotaru's grapple
"Fiend of Outworld, you face me now." Hotaru said, as he rushes to face his opponent.
Meanwhile, at the third hall
"Who are you?" Sonya asked, as she struggles against Noob's shadows
"A deathly shadow. In life, I was called Bi-Han." Noob said, making Blake's eyes widen
"And we should know who that is?" Yang asked
"Brother?!" Sub Zero called from the entrance, having heard Noob Saibot
"Wait, he's your brother?" Yang asked, slightly shocked
"Yes, Kuai Liang. It is I. Quan Chi restored me." Noob said, as he walked towards Sub Zero
"Restored?" Sub Zero asked, observing his brother's new form. "You are a flawed copy of your former self."
"I have no flaws. Quan Chi has perfected me." Noob growled
"For what end? To serve the Netherrealm and Outworld?" Sub Zero asked
"It suits my purpose."
"But brother, we-"
"We share blood." Noob said, cutting Sub Zero off. "We are not brothers."
Taken aback by this, Sub Zero reluctantly enters a battle stance. "Then I will not regret your defeat." he said, before both brothers charged each other in kombat.
In the other hall, Hotaru had just launched a fireball at Ermac, who dodges it, but as his eyes follow
the projectile Hotaru rushes forward, as he clobbers Ermac with a powerful haymaker across his cheek.
Ermac manages to block a multitude of blows from Hotaru and kicks him backward, but Hotaru recovers and throws a combination of punches and a knee strike. Ermac blocks them all and counters with a palm strike to Hotaru's face, following it with a roundhouse
kick.
The fight goes back and forth for a while, before Hotaru blocks a chopping strike from Ermac, ducks under another chop and dodges a roundhouse kick. He fights back with a superman punch but Ermac catches his wrist, hits a palm strike to his chin and a straight punch to his chest, following that with a right hook that knocks Hotaru back.
Ermac then hits a jump spinning sidekick that catches Hotaru in the
abdomen and staggers him. With some distance created, Ermac uses his power to restrain Hotaru, as he begins to slowly absorb his soul
Meanwhile in the other hall, Sub Zero ducks under a roundhouse from Saibot and leaps over a leg sweep attempt. He blocks two sidekicks, ducks another
roundhouse kick and blocks several more punches and a high kick,
countering with an elbow strike and palm thrust combo that sends Noob sprawling backward.
Sub Zero leaps into the air with a superman punch, but Noob counters
with a blast of dark magic, sending Sub Zero flying backwards. Noob spins back up and summons a portal as Sub Zero lands. The portal is powerful enough to suck in all the surrounding air and with it, Sub Zero as well.
As Sub Zero desperately tries to keep a hold on the ground, one of Noob's shadow clones emerges from the portal and grabs him, dragging him in.
"Kuai!" Blake yelled, worried that Sub Zero might be dead
Satisfied that his brother was gone, Noob closes the portal, but turns his back before it is fully closed. He completely misses the gust of ice that emerges from it, and Sub Zero leaps out shortly thereafter, having used his powers to propel himself through the air that ends with him landing in a three point stance directly in front of Saibot.
"A new trick, Bi-Han?" Sub Zero said as he straightens himself. Meanwhile, Blake signs in relief at Sub Zero's quick thinking
"You have never beaten me before Kuai Liang." Noob said. "Now, I am more powerful than before." he said before charging his brother again, to continue their fight
But just then, a loud rumbling occurs, making pieces of rock fall from the ceiling. As rocks keep falling, Yang, Sonya and Blake managed to free themselves from Noobs Shadows.
Now free, they all try to shield themselves from the falling rocks, with Sonya running to aid Jax
Now the reason for the earthquake was actually due to Kintaro stomping on the ground while battling the remaining members of Team CFVY.
In the other hall, we see Coco lying on the ground, having been blasted through a pillar. She writhes in pain and tries to gather her wits, but Kintaro grab her around her limbs and hoist her up. She is brought face to face with Kintaro, who grins
"You really thought you could defeat me?" Kintaro asked, in an amused tone
"I am not finished yet!" Yatsuhashi said, before tackling Kintaro, effectively freeing Coco from his hold
Kintaro, having recovered from the tackle, backhands Yatsuhashi into another pillar. But before he can continue his assault, Velvet charges in and attacks Kintaro with a copy of Ruby's Scythe
But her weapon bounces harmlessly off the Shokan's skin. In response, Kintaro charges at Velvet, shoulder barging her into a wall and breaking through it, sending her into the other hall where Ermac is about killing Hotaru
Kintaro shoots out a blast of flame from his hand, but Velvet rolls aside and dodges it, but the attack ends up hitting Ermac, which in turn saves Hotaru. Before Kintaro can continue his advance, Liu Kang suddenly appears, delivering a bicycle kick to the Shokan, knocking him onto his back.
"I am going to enjoy ripping your limbs." Kintaro said, as he got ready to charge Liu Kang