It had taken Stryker a half-hour or so to make his way down the mountain path from Dracula's castle. He had made good time; at a jog, he had gone past the fork in the road where he had first arrived into Outworld and down the path he had seen the carriage travel down. Fortunately, the carriage had been moving at a slow speed, so he surmised it hadn't had that much of a head start on him.

That said, he had finally made it to where the carriage was parked, in front of a large cave in the mountainside. He hid behind a large boulder, and peeked his head around. An Outworld soldier stood guard by the carriage, a large spear in his hand. Beside him, the two beasts of burden snuffled and huffed. Now that he got a good look at them, they reminded Stryker of a pair of large bison, except with no hair.

I need to get into the cave, he thought to himself. Normally I wouldn't use lethal force, but these ARE Shao Kahn's guys, and what he's doing is an act of war...

One of the beasts growled. The guard turned to it, and said something indistinct and decidedly unpleasant. Now's my chance, Stryker thought. He quickly slipped around the boulder, and hurried over to the guard. He pulled his nightstick out of its holster, and swung it, cracking it against the guard's skull. The guard fell to his knees, dazed, the surprise and force of the blow preventing him from making any sound. Stryker quickly dropped his nightstick, took the guard's head with his hands, and twisted sharply. There was a loud snap as the guard's neck broke, and he slumped over dead.

Stryker picked up his nightstick, and made his way around the back of the carriage to the cavern entrance. Steeling himself, he walked into the darkness. The cavern itself was dark and large, with little cover. He cursed silently as he crept along. I'm a sitting duck, he thought bitterly. The only light came from an occasional lit torch hanging on the cavern wall.

After a couple of minutes, Stryker saw that the tunnel turned sharply to the right. Also, a white glow was coming from that direction. He could hear voices as well, though not clearly enough to make out what they were saying. Pressing against the cavern wall, he went up to the corner, and listened.

``Are you sure these... `nightclubs' of which you speak will be good hunting grounds?'' a woman's voice asked.

``Yes,'' a man's voice quickly followed. ``We've since found that those `strip clubs' and `motels' you recommended are more heavily guarded.''

``Don't worry about it, mates,'' a rough but familiar Australian-accented voice said. ``I keep telling ya I know the best places for you lot to feed from. The emperor's been grateful for your help, and that's why I'm here, to make ya happy.''

Stryker looked around the corner. The tunnel opened up into a much larger chamber. In the center, an orb about the size of a basketball glowed with a bright light, illuminating the area. Off to his left, two vampires stood, one a tall blond haired man, and the other a shorter redhaired woman. He recognized both from the police sketches taken after the latest Dracula Killer murders. In front of him, about twenty feet away, stood two other figures. One was head to toe in purple robes, and seemed to float over the ground. Stryker recognized him as one of Shang Tsung's shadow priests. In his hands he held a large leather-bound book. The other figure was a burly man wearing tactical pants and boots, no shirt, and a brown vest. His face was brutal and needed a shave, and his close cropped hair was receding fast. Stryker couldn't see the right side of his face, but knew there was a metal plate and red cybernetic eye there.

So Kano survived the invasion and is working for Kahn, he thought. Everything made sense now. Kano was once a member of the criminal syndicate known as the Black Dragon. Stryker had seen him fighting alongside Kahn's extermination squads during the Earthrealm invasion, but the last he had heard the man had been presumed dead after a fight with Sonya Blade. I wondered how vampires from another realm had been so good at picking victims. As a criminal Kano would know the best places for them to easily find their prey.

The vampires turned to each other, and conferred quietly while Kano watched with a smug grin. The shadow priest's expression, on the other hand, was hidden under his hood. Finally, the vampires turned to Kano and said, ``Very well. We are ready.''

Kano grinned. ``That's the spirit!'' he cackled. He turned to the shadow priest and nodded. The shadow priest turned away from Kano and faced the vampires, his back to Stryker. He then opened the book, flipped to a certain page, and began to read an incantation. As he did, the crystals on the vampires' pendants began to glow with a blue light.

They're getting ready to cross over, Stryker realized. He had to act quickly. He pulled his pistol out from his holster, and aimed at the shadow priest. He narrowed his eyes, sighting his target, and pulled the trigger twice. The pistol bucked in his hands.

The results were dramatic. The shadow priest's head whipped forward as the bullets smashed through the back of his skull. The body started falling forward; as it did, the robes burst into green flames. The flames quickly spread to the book, immolating it.

``NO!'' the female vampire screamed. Both vampires and Kano turned to the cave entrance, their faces twisted in shock and anger. Stryker stepped out into the open, his gun pointed at them.

``All right, nobody move,'' he stated firmly.

Kano's eye narrowed, and then widened in recognition. ``You gotta be kidding me,'' he said. ``Of all the people, I get the Village People reject?''

Stryker decided to ignore the insult. ``Put your hands behind your head,'' he stated.

``Or what?'' Kano sneered. The vampires remained silent, watching Stryker intently. ``You going to place us under arrest?''

``Nope,'' Stryker replied. ``No jurisdiction here. We're just going to wait quietly for Dracula to get here.''

``Dracula?'' the male vampire hissed. ``He knows?''

``Yeah,'' Stryker answered. ``So, we're going to wait for him to get here.''

``Yeah, I don't think so,'' Kano replied. Stryker turned to look at him, and saw that his cybernetic eye was glowing brighter than usual. Knowing what that meant, Stryker ducked to his knees. An instant later, he felt a surge of intense heat as a laser blast fired from Kano's eye, slicing through the space where Stryker's head had been.

Stryker heard a screech. He turned his head, and saw the female vampire fill his vision. A second later, she had bodily slammed into him, knocking him to the ground and causing him to lose hold of his gun. The gun scattered across the ground out of his grasp. He quickly brought his leg up, and kicked as hard as he could. His boot hit the vampire's pelvis, and knocked her off him.

He quickly got to his knees and looked around. Kano was eyeing the gun, and it was halfway between the two of them. They locked gazes, and Stryker put his hand on his nightstick. Kano reached behind him, and pulled out a large knife. Holding it before him, he grinned wickedly. Stryker grunted and pulled the nightstick out.

He sensed a motion to the left of him. He quickly dived again, doing a forward roll. Behind him, the male vampire had swiped through the air, hoping to have savaged Stryker with his claws. Not wasting time, Stryker sprung forward, swinging the nightstick up. Kano had raced forward to try and pick up the gun; instead, the nightstick connected with Kano's jaw. Kano staggered to the right of Stryker, who quickly straightened up and swung his nightstick again. The stick smashed into the side of Kano's head with a crack. Kano quickly crumpled to the floor.

He spun around. The vampire had recovered and was sprinting towards him, a snarl on his face. Stryker dashed forward as well, bringing his nightstick up. Right as he got within a few feet of the vampire, he brought both feet down in a skidding slide, leaning back. The vampire tried to claw at Stryker; instead, Stryker slammed his nightstick across the vampire's gut. His momentum caused the vampire to lose balance and topple forward against the nightstick. He threw his arm up, and the vampire sailed head over feet into the air, landing on his head with a crack. The prone form twitched once, and then lay still.

Stryker brought his knee down, stopping himself. Before he could recover, the female vampire jumped onto his shoulders, clawing and screeching. Stryker thrashed back and forth, trying to shake her loose. She then thrust her knee up, hitting the small of his back. He yelped in pain, and fell forward his knees, his hands on the ground. He felt her trying to pull his head back, to expose his throat. He grunted, and shrugged his shoulders, trying to protect himself.

``You've denied me my hunting ground, human,'' she growled. ``But I will make up for it by feasting on you!''

Stryker thought quickly. If he tried to grab at her, he'd fall forward and be fully at her mercy. He also wasn't sure how long he had until the other vampire awoke. He looked around, and saw he was right by his gun. However, if he went for it, he knew he would still be in the same predicament he was in before. He then looked up, and saw the glowing orb. A last desperate plan came to mind.

He quickly grabbed forward, his right hand taking hold of the gun as his chest crashed to the ground. He quickly raised the gun up, and aimed as the female vampire laughed in triumph. I hope this works, he prayed silently, and pulled the trigger, closing his eyes.

He had expected a bright flare of light that would surprise the vampire long enough for Stryker to do something. Instead, the orb exploded with a loud rush and a brilliance he could see through his closed eyes. A blast of air and energy hit him, tossing him into the air and across the chamber. He felt himself hit the chamber wall at full force, his head smacking against the cold stone. He crumpled to the ground, and felt the world fade to black...

The first thought that went through Stryker's head was that the room was slightly lighter than it should be, with the light orb having been destroyed. The second was that he hadn't noticed a soft bed in the cavern.

He awoke with a start. He quickly sat up, and looked around. He was in a modestly-sized bedchamber, on a well-kept bed. The walls were made of grey stone, and decorated with maroon curtains and portraits of different individuals. He quickly checked his throat, and found no evidence of bite marks.

``You have not been fed upon,'' a woman's voice said softly to his right. ``The master would not allow it.''

Stryker turned. Standing by one of the windows was a beautiful young woman with dark hair. Her slight form was clad in a simple white dress, and her feet were in simple shoes. Even if she hadn't been wearing a portal crystal on a pendant, Stryker would have known she was a vampire due to the wings she possessed.

``Dracula's castle, I guess?'' he asked.

``Yes,'' she nodded. She walked over, and sat on the bed by him. ``Our master and several others arrived at the cavern to find the three of you unconscious. We brought you back here.''

Stryker grunted, and swung his legs off the bed. Then, he paused. ``Wait, three of us?''

``Yes, you and the traitors Taris and Selica.''

``Damn,'' Stryker muttered. Sonya's not going to like that Kano got away again. He gingerly stood up, and looked at the girl. ``I don't suppose you're my guard?''

She smiled softly. ``No. My master wished me to bring you to him once you had awakened.'' She stood, and gracefully strode over to the door, opening it for him. He walked out the door, and she brushed past him.

She led him down the hallway, around a corner, and into a doorway. Walking through it, Stryker saw that he was standing on the balcony overlooking the main hall. He looked down, and saw Dracula speaking to another female vampire. He walked down the steps, noting his guide was walking behind him. As he approached, he heard Dracula say, ``This has gone on long enough. We must be free of this damned emperor...''

Dracula turned, and smiled at Stryker. ``So, our hero awakens. I must thank you for your services to me, human.''

Stryker stood there, and regarded Dracula evenly. ``No offense, but I didn't do it for you. I did it for my people.''

``Of course,'' Dracula said. ``It is a pity you were not able to recover the Inselaciune Stone.''

``From what I could hear, it's already in Kahn's possession,'' Stryker replied. ``Kano's probably already told Kahn by now that you're on to him, so good luck in trying to get it back.''

Dracula's smile faltered. ``I have no intention of dealing with the emperor ever again. Nor, hopefully, with you. Mircalla will send you home. Thank you again, Kurtis Stryker.''

With that, Dracula turned back to the woman he had been talking to. Stryker looked at her briefly, in her skimpy bustier and knee-length boots. She looks like a damn pirate, he thought idly, before turning to his escort. Mircalla smiled, and gestured to the main doors. As they walked to them, Stryker could hear Dracula say, ``Now, Nitara, as I was saying...''

They walked out into the courtyard, and as they approached the portcullis, it raised to let them through. They stepped onto the path, and Stryker stopped, turning to Mircalla. ``I do have one question,'' he said. ``How is he going to punish Taris and Selica?''

She smiled, and said, ``He already has.''

Stryker looked at her in confusion. She raised an arm, and pointed down the path. He looked at her arm, and then turned around to see what she was pointing at. A second later, he understood with a sick realization what she meant. The pointed staves along the side of the road were still there. However, the two closest to the castle had new adornments: both Taris and Selica had been impaled upon them, face-down, their bodies hanging a third of the way down. The expressions of absolute agony and terror frozen on their faces made it clear they were alive and conscious of their fates when lowered onto the staves.

He turned to Mircalla, disgusted. She smiled, and touched the crystal on her pendant. It glowed blue, and a bluish vortex of energy appeared next to him. ``Fare thee well, Kurtis Stryker,'' she said.

Stryker nodded, and stepped into the portal, feeling himself pulled away from Outworld and into the darkness.

``So, what do you think about this headline?'' Ramirez asked, holding up the newspaper. Stryker looked at it; his portrait was featured prominently. The headline above it read ``HERO COP TAKES DOWN DRACULA KILLERS''.

``I dunno,'' Stryker replied, looking up from where he was sitting on the locker room bench. ``Not sure about the hero part, though.''

It had been a week since Stryker had returned from Outworld. Mircalla's portal had dropped him into the middle of Bucharest. His arrival had frightened some nearby residents, who had called police. Local police had locked him up for several hours, not listening to his requests to speak to the U.S. embassy, until a couple of OIA agents had arrived with consular officials and arranged to have him released into their custody.

Since then he had to be repeatedly debriefed by OIA agents until Sonya Blade had arrived and cleared things up. After that, he had been flown back home and into a storm of problems at the station.

Ramirez chuckled. ``Yeah, I still gotta laugh. McGurk was ready to have you suspended without pay for taking off like that until that Blade chick threatened him. He really didn't like that you took the credit away from his taskforce.''

``Yeah, well, that's what friends are for,'' Stryker replied. He read through the newspaper to see what line the OIA had fed them. According to the story, it seemed he had tracked the killers back to their home in Romania, where they had died in a confrontation with him and local police who were assisting in the investigation.

Ramirez nodded. ``You did good work, man,'' he said. ``I owe you one.'' He patted Stryker on the back, and walked out of the locker room.

Stryker watched Ramirez leave, and smiled to himself. He then put the paper down, and sipped at his coffee. It was time to get back to work.

He stood up, and finished buttoning his uniform shirt. Making sure his belt was secure and he had everything he needed, he stepped out of the locker room, ready to begin a new shift.

Author : Scott Bishop

Creation date: 2011-5-27-10-2

Modification date: 2011-5-27-10-4