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Fan Fiction
| MK Annihilation (Reprised) |
| Round 5 |
By: Jeremy J. Banks |
The male Kombatants argued all the way to the vehicle bay where they saw Rayden was waiting as well. “Where do you think you all are going?” he asked demandingly. “It’s none of your business, Thunder god!” Stryker sneered. “If you must know, we’re going to Outworld so Sindel can finally choose which one she wants,” Liu said. “What the hell is it gonna take for you to realize that all she wants from us is our demise?” Rayden asked angrily. “You’d say anything to keep us from the queen wouldn’t you, Rayden?” Kabal asked snobbishly. “That’s right you masked freak!” Sub-Zero exclaimed. “He wants her all to himself and to hell with us!” “Sub-Zero, you said to me a couple days back that in the Lin Kuei you all stuck and worked together,” Rayden stated. “You remember, ice ninja. No, no. You were not talking about the Lin Kuei or a damn team; you were talking about being a family. So, I’m asking you all friends, partners, brothers, are you all willing to fight with me instead of against me?” Rayden looked at the Kombatants, who in turn looked at each other.
On the moon, Kahn’s warriors set up bombs for when the mission was completed while Rain and a female warrior called Jade made the final modifications on the Soul Chamber. As they finished Jade said, “All the preparations are in place, Kahn. Annihilation is ready to begin!” Kahn surveyed everything from a specially made throne for him. “I marvel at the largeness of the thing, master,” Baraka said as he approached him. “Remember, nomad,” Kahn quipped. “It’s not the size that really counts, it’s how you use it. The Soul Chamber was a twenty-ton device in the shape of Kahn’s death mask. A control panel was set up at the top so the emperor could operate it easily. The souls were going to be pulled in by the “mouth” and stored therein.
Jax was awakened by the sound of jet engines. He threw on his robe and ran to the vehicle bay. He found no one except the Elders, Nightwolf, Kitana, and Sonya. He asked, “What’s going on?” “Rayden and the others went to Outworld,” Nightwolf said. “We think they are going to fight each other for my mother’s hand,’ Kitana said. “And you all are just standing here?” Jax asked. “Elders, can’t one of you open a portal so we can stop this massacre before it happens?” “I said you were gonna get your shot Jax,” Fire. “Well, here’s your chance!” Jax, along with Sonya and Kitana, gathered some weapons and changed into their uniforms. They boarded the remaining Dragon jet and flew into the portal. Liu Kang, Sub-Zero, Stryker, and Kabal found easy access into the Black Tower. There were no guards or booby traps awaiting them as they walked through to the throne room. As they walked into the room, the throne of Shao Kahn moved to reveal Sindel. “Is there anything in any world more captivating and glamorous than you?” Liu Kang asked with slight drool hanging on his lips.
“Can’t think of a thing, Liu Kang,” Sindel answered. “Anyway, let’s get down to business. Are you ready to prove yourselves to me?” “Yes, we are, my beautiful,” Sub-Zero said. “But first, tell us of Kahn’s plot so that whoever is left standing can stop him.” “Oh, well, I guess I can tell you,” Sindel said. She then thought to herself, “You bastards won’t live to use the information anyway.” She then spilled it; “Kahn has established a lunar base on Earth’s moon. He has created a device to steal all of the souls in your realm. Earth realm is about to become a lifeless pit of sorrow and destruction as is this place!” “Thank you,” Stryker said. “En garde, fools!” The four men charged and stopped in each other’s faces. “Well, what are you waiting for?” Sindel asked impatiently. “Finish each other off now!” “Sorry, bitch,” Stryker said as he threw her a bottle labeled: Sedu`ce Counteractive. “We just don’t think we like you anymore.” The men charged towards the throne, but Sindel pressed a button and large net came over them.
Sindel ran towards the exit and turned around. “Got to go,” she said. “I’ve got a realm full of souls to take over and a pompous and arrogant emperor to overthrow! See ya!” As she headed out the door, Rayden, in mortal state, pushed her to the ground. “Not too big on words now, are you, Queen?” he asked. “You get the hell out of my way!” Sindel yelled as she expanded her hair and she slapped him on the shoulder with it. Rayden fell to the ground almost unconscious. She was about to continue her escape when Kitana jump kicked her back into the throne room. Kitana walked and stood over her mother who stood to her feet. “Is that anyway to treat your mother?” Sindel asked sarcastically. “My mother’s dead,” Kitana corrected. “As soon will be her daughter!” Sindel exclaimed as she leapt at her. Kitana flipped Sindel over onto the floor. The queen regained her posture and tried a series of kicks on the princess, but each kick was blocked.
Enraged, Sindel ran and grabbed a sword secured in a sheath on the wall and lunged at her daughter. Kitana blocked the blade with a fan, causing the sword to drop to the ground. “Let’s make it a real fight, mommy,” she said teasingly. “No weapons!” Having said that, she dropped her fans to the ground and tried another jump kick. This time her mother caught her legs and swung her into the wall. The princess seemed to be unconscious as the queen walked around her laughing. She kicked her in both sides and hit her in the back of the head with one of her fans. She turned Kitana around with her leg and attempted to stomp her in the face but Kitana countered it with her own leg. “You forget, mother dearest, I have two legs!” Kitana exclaimed as she managed to kick her mother in the side with her other leg. She rose to her feet and performed a combination of kicks and punches on the woman responsible for giving birth to her.
Once her mother was completely stunned by the blows, she finished her with an air roundhouse kick. The lick knocked her completely unconscious. Liu and the others finally freed themselves from the net and joined Kitana. Sonya helped Rayden into the room as Jax followed behind. “Nice fight, baby,” Liu Kang congratulated. He hugged her and the two shared a brief kiss. “We’re not out of the stew pot yet,” Stryker informed. “Rayden, Kahn’s on the moon, he’s gonna…” “Stop right there, Kurtis,” Rayden interrupted. “I heard the plot. Well, well, Jax. Aren’t you still supposed to be in training?” “Don’t start dissin’ me, man,” Jax said agitated. “The Elders told me I could come.” “I mean no disrespect, Major,” Rayden apologized. “I was just pulling your chain. Besides, we need all the help we can get. There’s work to be done! To the Temple!” “As they departed, Kabal asked, “Why are we heading back to base? Kahn and the Outworlders are on the Moon.” “I’ve got a surprise for you all,” Rayden said with a mischievous grin on his face.
Shao Kahn smiled triumphantly as Jade and Rain gave him the signal to start the machine. He stepped to the control panel and said, “The sixth day is upon us. The earth will belong to me!” He activated the great device. Machinery hummed and a eerie green beam poured from the mouth of the device and made its way to the Earth. All over the planet, souls were stripped from their bodies. Souls were captured from the major cities, slums, and suburbs of the world. In one city, when the beam appeared, traffic was stopped suddenly and a horrible accident ensued. Computers in another city stopped functioning because there were no people to operate them and the beam knocked out all electric and electronic lines and signals. “Annihilation is kicking ass, Kahn!” Jade shouted happily. “No, my dear,” Kahn corrected. “This is not annihilation. THIS IS THE APOCALYPSE OF EARTH REALM!” The souls continued to pour in as Kahn began to laugh maniacally.
Four odd crafts flew towards the moon. The occupants were none other than Rayden and his fighting force, all dressed in black versions of their regular uniforms. He had given Nightwolf orders to design these crafts and uniforms for space travel. The four Orbit Dragons contained the following teams: Liu/Kitana, Stryker/Kabal/Sub-Zero, and Sonya/Jax. Rayden traveled in the Spacebolt: a larger, new, and improved version of the Thunderbolt. A small television came on with Nightwolf and he said, “You guys better push it Lord Rayden, according to the Elders you have less than an hour to return the souls to Earth realm.” “Thanks,” said Rayden. He then spoke into some headphones. “Listen up, people,” he informed sternly. “Put the petal to the metal dammit! We have less than an hour to return the stolen souls to Earth!” He didn’t have to tell them twice. The Orbit Dragons increased in speed as the Spacebolt did. Baraka came and informed the emperor of the imminent attack.
“Take a squad of your nomad and head them off as soon as they land!” Kahn ordered. Once Baraka and his company left Kahn said to Jade and Rain, “Your services have been greatly appreciated but I’m afraid you’ve outstayed your welcome!” He fired a double Nova blast at the pair, which split in two and knocked both fighters to the base of the Soul Chamber. He then turned around to the control panel. “Excellent!” he proclaimed. He let out a short maniacal laugh and said, “Flawless victory!” The Kombatants landed on the moon and converted their crafts into land vehicles. They sped towards Kahn’s lunar base only to be met a Baraka and his nomad in similar crafts. The nomad fired torpedoes at the Earth realm warriors’ vehicles. All of the grand vehicles were shielded from the projectiles except Jax and Sonya’s. Jax was unfamiliar with the controls to the Orbit Dragon and was unable to start up the shields.
The torpedo hit the Orbit Dragon, blowing one of its sleek sides off. Sonya managed to eject herself out of the Dragon and high into the air. Not thinking twice, Jax hit some buttons and the other side of the craft popped off along with some other parts. The device was now a mini double occupant Orbit Dragon. Originally it had been made to fit up to five people but Nightwolf had this special feature installed for emergencies. He took to the sky and caught his partner out of the air noticing that she was without a breathing apparatus. Once she made it inside, he said, “Close call, aye, partner. Listen, how come you didn’t suffocate from oxygen depletion?” “Rayden has shown us how to manipulate our chi to supply our air underground, underwater, even here,” Sonya answered. “Everyone, back off!” Rayden ordered. “I’ve got something special for our nomad friends.” The Orbit Dragons fell back and left Rayden alone to deal with the onslaught of the nomad.
He jumped out of the Spacebolt and said, “Turtle.” He morphed into a giant turtle and turned his shell to the nomad. They continued to fire torpedoes only this time they bounced off the turtle’s shell and back into their crafts. The crafts exploded, the surviving nomad with Baraka fled, and Rayden returned to god form. He boarded the Spacebolt and continued with the Kombatants towards the lunar base. Shao Kahn surveyed all the action from a television screen that had been set up next to the control panel. “So he thinks he’s had the last laugh, huh,” Kahn said evilly. “Well, we’ll see about that!” He then turned on the base’s intercom system. “Rayden and his minions are about to penetrate base!” he shouted with authority. “ANNIHILATE ‘EM!” The Spacebolt and the Orbit Dragons parked in front of the grand structure. Rayden used the wind to propel him to the top of the base where the Soul Chamber was. Sonya and Jax went in through the front entrance; Liu and Kitana made their way around the back; Sub-Zero used Liu’s Dragonhook to climb down into the basement courtesy of the door at the back.
Stryker and Kabal were about to follow Sub-Zero down the Dragonhook rope but were jump kicked by two odd looking ninjas. The pair got up from the ground to face the two ninjas who were joined by eight more ninjas. “What the hell are these guys?” Stryker asked. “Nightwolf told me about them,” Kabal answered. “They are Lin Kuei cyborg assassins. We’ll call ‘em cyber ninjas!” Stryker punched one cyber ninja in the face but nearly broke his hand because of the metal exterior. The cyber ninja retaliated by kicking Stryker in the stomach. Kabal drew his blades and charged at the cyber ninja but was tossed aside by two others who grabbed him. He helped up Stryker and the two began to fight the cyber ninjas although their efforts were extremely futile. Sonya and Jax made their way up the stairs of the vast complex. They then walked up the dark hallway upstairs. “You nervous?” Jax asked. “Are you?” Sonya asked back.
“Maybe just a little,” Jax answered. “But I can shake it off because I know we’re fighting for all those people on our planet. I’ve learned to put them ahead of me.” “And those?” Sonya asked pointing to the cybernetic arm implants. “These are simply my helping hand to defeat the Outworlders with.” All of a sudden, the ground beneath them opened, dropping them into two separate pipelines. Jax landed back outside. He took a look around the moon but didn’t see anyone. The cry of a centaur caught his attention as he saw Motaro leap from a balcony of the lunar base to his position. Motaro snarled and stomped his back hoof at Jax. “Mister Ed, you’re mine!” Jax yelled. Motaro responded by back kicking Jax into a large rock almost crushing his mini oxygen tank and mask. Jax got up and shouted, “Is that all ya got, horse?” Sonya landed on the side just opposite to Jax. She was watching her friend when suddenly Ermac swept her to the ground.
“Good evening, Sonya Blade,” the red ninja greeted. “I look forward to killing you.” Sonya did a karate leap off the ground and quipped, “Leftovers are fine with me.” Sub-Zero arrived at the dungeon area, where Scorpion was waiting for him. “You!” Sub-Zero shouted removing his old Lin Kuei mask and getting into his fighting stance. The ghost ninja laughed teasingly and said, “We both know you were never a match for me, Sub-Zero. Now, I will crush you just as Liu Kang crushed your brother! Get over here!” He shot his patented snake creature at Sub-Zero, who countered by creating an ice clone. The creature hit the clone and it exploded. Out of the smoke, Sub-Zero leaped and performed a side Bicycle kick to push his lifelong enemy back. Liu and Kitana made their way into the throne room just below the Soul Chamber room. They were halfway to the throne itself when a vine hooked around Kitana’s leg and pulled her up to the ceiling.
Sheeva flipped out from behind the throne and sneered, “The date’s over, kiddies!” She shot a fireball at Liu Kang, which knocked him into the wall. Kitana, meanwhile, was trying to free her leg. Lord Rayden overlooked the great machine. He was looking for a way to shut it down and restore the souls when he found Rain and Jade unconscious. He tried to get them awake but was unsuccessful. He was about to leave them when Jade stirred. “Young woman?” he asked. “How do I release the souls and destroy the machine?” “O-On the control panel at the top of the device you’ll find two buttons,” Jade answered. “T-They’re labeled Soul Release and Chamber Self-destruct.” “Thank you,” Rayden said. He climbed the stairs to the control panel. He found the buttons and was about to push them when he heard a voice say, “It’s official.” He turned around to face his brother without death mask and cape.
Shao Kahn then exclaimed, “You’ve pissed me off!” and threw his brother to the control panel floor. Rayden swept his brother and got on top of him. He started punching him in the face but Kahn threw him off with a quick Shadow Rising Uppercut. Rayden was knocked against the control panel board and sparks flew from it. Stryker and Kabal were again knocked to the rocky moon floor by the cyber ninjas. “How can we defeat these things, man?” Kabal asked agitated. “I don’t know,” answered Stryker. “But whatever we’re gonna do, we better do it fast ‘cause not only are kicking our asses, they are killing our asses!” Motaro shot a fireball at Jax’s feet dropping him to the ground. The major then defended himself with a Ground Smash. The major then proceeded with an up close and personal attack. Motaro blocked all of Jax’s punches and kicks and finally twisted his arm. Sparks flew from his cybernetic implants and more importantly, his oxygen tank. Motaro ripped the cybernetic implant from Jax’s arm and smashed the oxygen tank and slapped Jax to the ground with it. He then lifted the arm high into the air, snarled teasingly, and slammed it into the ground.
Sonya faked at Ermac with a jab. The red ninja stumbled and Sonya took advantage with a kick to the face. Ermac then went for a charge but was caught in a headlock and kicked to the ground. Ermac did a karate leap off the ground and glared at Sonya angrily. He moved his hands around and ooze melted from his body. The ooze floated over Sonya and landed behind her. It then formed into an exact duplicate of Ermac dressed in all black. The red ninja and his clone then kicked Sonya in the face, knocking her to the ground. The clone said, “My, my how the tables have turned.” Sub-Zero held the upper hand throughout his fight. Though Sub-Zero’s punches and kicks slowed him down slightly, the ghost ninja would not go down for good. As Sub-Zero began to tire, Scorpion saw his chance. He gained some momentum and roundhouse kicked his opponent in the chest and punched him in the jaw.
The ice ninja pulled together what strength he had left and high kicked at Scorpion. The ghost ninja countered with a split and a punch to the leg. Sub-Zero held his leg and Scorpion went to work on it. He punched the man in his leg twice and kicked it again. Sub-Zero screamed in agony and Scorpion kicked him into a cell. Sheeva threw Liu Kang all over the throne room. After a final throw, Liu went for the Bicycle kick but was thwarted by Sheeva’s Ground Stomp. The Shokan female warrior grabbed Liu Kang, who was still shaken up from the Ground Stomp. She pitched him into the throne itself and shouted, “I will dismantle you!” Rayden went for a left hook to the face of Kahn. The emperor took hold of the thunder god’s arm and slammed him into the control panel floor. “You’ve grown weak, son,” Kahn said teasingly. “Those pathetic mortals have really worked you up, haven’t they?” Rayden charged at his brother again only to be caught and thrown to the ground again. Kahn smiled evilly and kicked his brother to the ground again as he was trying to regain posture.
A cyber ninja slammed Stryker to the ground. The ex-police officer crawled around the ground until he saw his bag. He moved over to the bag drew the tazer gun from inside. He was charging it when the cyber ninja approached him and said, “It is useless for you to resist, Kurtis Stryker. You must die so that Kahn will be glorified.” “Glorify this, sucker!” Stryker screamed as he aimed the gun and fired the electrified piton into the cyber ninja’s chest cavity, thus destroying him. He then stood up and fired the piton into the chest cavities of four more guards destroying them as well. The remaining cyber ninjas cornered Kabal. Before he could act, one of them punched him in the face knocking his mask off. He covered his face and two more guards kicked him to the ground. Nearby was a small pond, which Kabal crawled to and looked at his reflection. He became so disgusted by his appearance that he remembered the night that Kahn’s shadow priests disfigured his face.
He let out an anguished cry and stood up to face the cyber ninjas. “Look at me, you fools!” he shouted in anguish. “I’m a damn freak!” He let another anguished cry and the cyber ninjas began to malfunction. He continued to scream in anguish as sparks flew from the cyber ninjas and they all fall apart. He then covered his face and started to sob. Stryker ran over to him and helped him to fit his mask back on. “Hey, it’s all right, man,” Stryker soothed. “We got ‘em, man!” “You just don’t know, man,” Kabal cried. “To wake up each morning and look at this face.” “We’re gonna get you some help,” Stryker assured. Jax was gasping for breath as Motaro triumphed over him. “You really think you could have beat Motaro?” the Centaurion teased. “Without your weapons, you are no match at all for Motaro!” Jax was close to death when suddenly he remembered what Sonya said about manipulating your chi to help you breath in space. He managed to get himself into a squat and started to concentrate his chi.
Motaro was in shock when he saw the major’s body begin to glow. Jax stopped glowing and tore off the other cybernetic implant and rose to his feet. Motaro then prepared to stomp him with his front hooves when Jax landed an uppercut right in his underbelly. Dazed from the hit, Motaro stumbled back. “I got everything I need right here, man!” he shouted triumphantly. He then heard Sonya cry “Help!” from the other side. Motaro attempted some punches but Jax counter every one of them with some devastating punches of his own. When Motaro became stunned, Jax finished him off with an air crescent kick thus breaking his neck. Ermac and his clone took turns on Sonya. When one punched her, the other kicked her. They finally got her to the ground and Ermac lifted her off the ground with his mind. “Get off her, man!” Jax shouted as he ran and charged the clone. Ermac’s concentration was broken and Sonya fell back to the ground. After a couple of punches, the clone finally disintegrated.
Sonya ran to Ermac and did a Leg Throw on him, which brought him to the ground. With his head still in the grip of her legs, she snapped his neck and spine. She approached Jax and quipped, “Finally built up enough confidence to use that chi for what it’s for, huh?” “I see you finally asked for help, huh?” Jax asked. Scorpion removed his mask and blew fire into the large cell he kicked Sub-Zero into. “Come on, ice ninja!” Scorpion shouted. “Ya making it too damn easy for me!” He blew more fire into the cell and asked teasingly, “Ain’t ya got any guts, Sub-Zero? Get your ass out here and face me!” The shaft above the cell and behind Scorpion flew open and the ice ninja emerged from inside. He sneaked up behind Scorpion and said, “Hey, hot-mouth, blow on this!” He roundhouse kicked the ghost ninja three times and grabbed him. “I’ll see you in hell, you dead bastard!” Sub-Zero shouted as he engulfed Scorpion’s body with ice. He lifted the frozen ghost high into the air and snapped him in half. He looked around for blood but then thought, “Wait a minute. Ghosts don’t have blood.”
Sheeva slammed Liu Kang to the ground once more. He crawled around for a moment and suddenly heard Nightwolf’s voice. “Find that power inside you, man! Feel your Animality!” was the command from the shaman. She stood over him and said arrogantly, “Face it, Liu Kang. You will fail!” She started the animation of her Teleport Stomp by ascending high into the air. Liu’s eyes turned lizard-like as Sheeva came down. Before she reached him, he morphed into a dragon. Sheeva began screaming but it was too late. The dragon opened its mouth and swallowed her whole. The dragon then blew fire on the vine that held Kitana’s leg thus severing it. It broke and Kitana fell into the dragon’s arms. The creature then morphed back into Liu Kang, who said, “When we get back, I may be in the bathroom for a little while.” “Oh, shut up!” Kitana said as she kissed him.
Lord Rayden managed to elbow his brother and knock him over to the other side of the control panel. He then attempted to free Earth’s souls once again, but Kahn grabbed him by the neck and lifted him high into the air. “You little weasel!” Kahn exclaimed. “What makes you think you can win? I’ll crush you like a worm!” Lord Rayden, finally fed up, charged some electricity on his arm. “Hey, Kahn,” he whispered. “You take your weasel and shove it up your ass!” He reached his electrified arm back and punched his brother in the face. The hit was so powerful it knocked Kahn off of the control panel and to the Soul Chamber’s base. Rayden then directed his attention to Rain and Jade. “You two ok?” he asked. They both responded, “Yeah” and Rayden turned back to the control panel board. He pressed the button labeled: Soul Release and said, “Here goes nothing.” The green beam that had sucked all the souls from Earth realm once before appeared again.
This time when it shot out from the lunar base, it returned souls instead of taking them. As the earth was returning to normal, Jade proclaimed, “Lord Rayden, it’s working! The people of your realm are getting their souls back!” “Thanks,” Rayden said as he walked over to look down at Kahn. “I win, brother,” Rayden said. “It ain’t over yet!” Kahn exclaimed as he pressed a button on his belt. Aware of the coming danger, Rayden jumped off the device to his brother’s side. A computerized voice said, “Soul Chamber self-destruct mechanism has been initialized. Starting booster bombs.” The bottom edges of the Soul Chamber started to explode causing the machine to tilt. Rain and Jade held on to the mighty machine as it exploded in different places. The wall in front of the Soul Chamber collapsed and the Soul Chamber fell out with Rain and Jade still hanging on. This caused the beam to stop releasing the souls
Lord Rayden grabbed Shao Kahn by his shirt collar and yelled, “Look at what you have done, you fool!” “What are you gonna do, baby brother?” Kahn asked evilly. “Finish me off or save those useless imbeciles and your precious realm’s souls?” Shao Kahn began to laugh maniacally as Rayden morphed into an eagle and took off after the Soul Chamber. “Go to hell, Lord Rayden!” Kahn shouted after his brother. The eagle flew towards what was left of the Soul Chamber, for it was about to crash into one of the moon’s fabled craters. The eagle caught up with the device and yelled to the couple clinging onto it, “Grab on to my talons! It’s your only chance for survival!” Rain and Jade clenched the talons of the mighty eagle as the Soul Chamber crashed into the crater and exploded. The eagle dropped the pair off next to the cellar of the lunar base.
Rain and Jade screamed, “Thank you!” as the eagle flew back to the Soul Chamber room. As Rayden returned to god form, he noticed that the Kombatants had joined him there. “So, how did you all fare?” he asked. “We did ok, man,” Liu Kang answered. “How bout you?” “Oh, I’m all right,” Rayden answered. “A couple of cracked ribs but I’ll live. We have more important things to worry about. We have to find a way to restore those souls!” “But Lord Rayden, the hour’s up and the machine’s destroyed!” Kitana exclaimed. “How can we?” “Here’s how,” Jax shouted from a large box where the Soul Chamber stood. “This thing says: Back-up Soul Storage!” Sub-Zero ran over to the major and said, “Great. Now what do we do?” “Watch and learn, iceman!” Lord Rayden tilted his head to signal his approval and Jax clicked some buttons on the box. From the wreckage below, souls began to ascend and float quickly towards the Earth in a white beam. Also, a small opening in the box released souls in a white beam as well.
The Defenders of the Realm watched as their planet was completely returned to its normal state. All over the Earth, souls found their bodies. The only thing left now was to repair the damage done by Kahn’s forces. Sonya looked at Jax and smiled. Jax, in turn looked at Sub-Zero who was also grinning. Kabal and Stryker congratulated each other with a brotherly hug and tears. Liu slapped Kitana’s hand and the pair shared another kiss. Rayden looked at the planet he had been chosen to serve and realized that the victory belonged to him. “Just another lovely day on planet Earth,” he said. “Game over. Kombatants-100 points, Outworlders-zero.” The celebration came to a brief halt as Rayden stepped over to the fallen emperor. “You’re going back to the Netherrealm, Kahn,” Rayden said with authority. “Go on, little brother,” Kahn begged. “Finish it. You know you want to.”
“No, sir,” Rayden replied. “I don’t work that way. There is something you need to know, Shao.” He held up a small tape recorder and let Kahn listen to Sindel’s voice, which said, “Got to go! I got a realm full of souls to takeover and a pompous and arrogant emperor to overthrow!” “No!” Kahn exclaimed in agony. “How could I have been so foolish? I thought for sure if I resurrected her, she would be devoted to my evil cause!” “You resurrected her to be evil, not to be your evil,” Rayden corrected. “She’s not dead, though. She’s been taken to Outworld where she will await trial just like you.”
Rayden continued, “You can exact revenge if you want but I gotta tell you, vengeance is not power. Anyone of us can take a life, but a few of us have been chosen to give life. So I now choose you, Shao Kahn, to give life to someone you took it from. If you do this, I guarantee you a fair and just hearing for your crimes. Reveal to me the secret of giving Johnny Cage his soul back. I know the Shao Kahn once respected by me is still inside you. So…will you help me…brother?” Kahn looked into his brother’s eyes as they started to water. He reached inside a compartment in his boot and pulled out a small, spherical object. “Your shaman should know what to do with this,” Kahn said. The tears rolled from Rayden and Sonya’s eyes alike as the Thunder god took the object from his brother very slowly. “Congratulations, Mister Kahn,” Rayden said. “You’ve just earned yourself a fair trial.” Shao Kahn smiled in a subtle manner and placed his hand in his brother’s hand.
When the Kombatants made it back to base, Nightwolf explained to them what the object was. It was a temporary Soul Storage Sphere. Once a soul’s time was up, it was transplanted from that sphere to Hell. He placed the sphere in a device over Johnny’s body and activated a switch on it. He and the others watched as a white beam poured over the actor’s body. “The only thing left to do now is pray and be patient,” Nightwolf informed. Jax held Sonya close as she began to shiver and a nervous look came on her face. In the Netherrealm, the Outworld criminals welcomed Queen Sindel with “open arms” at the prison. Some spat at her, others threw paper, and some yelled all kinds of verbal assaults and made sexual gestures towards her. “Oh!” she exclaimed as the guards escorted her to a cell. “When the hell is this nightmare gonna end?” The guards opened a cell at the end of the hallway. “Hey, wanna come back and do me later?” she asked the guards sarcastically.
“I’m afraid if they come back later, there won’t be anything left of you to do, my dear,” said a voice from the corner in the cell. Sindel turned around to see that her cellmate was none other than Shao Kahn. One of the guards quipped, “We had extra special orders to make sure you two don’t get disturbed by us or the other prisoners!” “You two take care now,” said the other guard. As Kahn began to laugh maniacally, Sindel ran to the bars and shouted after the guards, “Hey, you boys! Don’t I at least get one phone call?”
the end of round v
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