General Sonya Blade

It's been a while since I've written anything in this journal, but I need to clear my head otherwise I'm gonna burst. Normally I rant about this sort of crap to Johnny, but since he's been MIA for a few weeks now, I gotta let it all out without his help. Even Jax's been distant lately, though I can see he needs to talk too... After my promotion, I've had to hide my feelings and just focus on saving the world, so I really need to get all this off my chest before I explode...

Saving the world? It just sounds so clicha233; no matter how many times I've actually done it, and this time, I have to save three worlds; Earth, Outworld, and Edenia. Thank God (well, technically, Raiden) that this time, it's not just 10 people doing it alone. He actually managed to get the support of all the nations on Earth. He ordered leaders to set aside their differences and defend the realms against Sektor, Onaga, and Drahmin. Though I don't exactly accept his methods for getting every political leader to join (I think his exact words were ``either help to save the Earth or be turned to dust''), the fact he did it was enough to make people either really happy, or really annoyed. I'm one of the annoyed ones.

It was a good idea in theory, but forcing a whole bunch of groups together who have had rivalries for decades, even centuries, can be really tough, especially when it comes to conflicting ideas and getting over any wrongs. Hostilities don't suddenly disappear just because someone tells you to either work together or die, you know? I'm saying this because Raiden is forcing my people of the OIA, the Lin Kuei, and the White Lotus Society to work with the Red Dragon clan. I have no problem working with any of the other groups, but when it comes to the Red Dragon, it's just... The Black Dragon spawned from those lousy bastards, and I can't let that go. To add insult to injury, the Red Dragon had their own agents infiltrate our ranks and gain our trust by helping us stop the Black Dragon. Then they destroyed our base and took out a lot of good people. Those agents were my friends, and they were needlessly slaughtered by those horrible rats. I actually bought Hsu Hao a beer or two after work a few times! The Red Dragon was helping the Deadly Alliance with their plans and at war with the Lin Kuei before the Tekunin showed up and almost destroyed `em all! Mavado himself almost killed Kenshi, Jax and me while we were all in Outworld too! How in the world can Raiden expect us to even see past that and work side-by-side with these hired murderers? They helped Shang Tsung and Quan Chi with their plans to conquer the realms, and now they are helping us protect ours? Bullshit.

I can understand the situation being a little desperate since this is the first time so many enemies are coming together with their own armies and already have established themselves in each realm, but this is the first time we've ever had a united front with so many powerful groups as well, so I'm not worried in the least, and don't think Raiden should be either. To make a quick list, we have all of Earth's military forces and various hero groups standing together for the first time in millennia, which is already more than what we've ever had to defend Earthrealm. Add to that Edenian soldiers with their Light Priests and Sorcerers, Shokan warriors and their Light Priests, advance-intelligent Vampires, and for the first time, Centaurians all on the same side, that should be enough to stop Mummies, Demons, and Robots. Do we really need the Red Dragon helping us? I know that Mavado is only doing this to save his own ass, and the Red Dragon clan too. I trust any Red Dragon member as far as I can throw them, and with his new Red Dragon mumbo-jumbo magic, I'm sure he'll screw us over as soon as he gets a better offer. He has something up his sleeve, and personally, I'd rather someone did him in now before we ever go to war...

Speaking of Vampires, I got to admit, Cyrax bringing the Vampires to our side was kind of scary at first (which I did not tell him at all), but he has assured me that he's not going to let `em feed on any of us. He actually came up with a really good idea of feeding them various prisoners from around the world to deal with overcrowded prisons, and with the Vampire's ability to teleport using their crystals, they don't take very long to eat and come back. My only problem with `em is that they can only battle at night, meaning that once the sun comes up, they have no choice but to go to another realm where the war is continuing. When they leave, it'll hinder whichever army they are fighting alongside, so we have to be sure not to rely on them for man-power, and expect to fight at 100% without `em. Cyrax also mentioned making a really good deal that would benefit all of us if we win the war, and I must admit, I never expected Cyrax to have such a devilish side to him... But then again, he was a Lin Kuei assassin who worked with explosives and capture nets, so it makes sense that he is a little sadistic to go along with his calculating nature... Raiden seems more concerned about the Vampires than the Red Dragons though, claiming that the Vampires are really crafty and are only helping because we're one of their best food sources; I'd take that over the Red Dragon clan shooting for world domination.

It's not just that that annoys me; Raiden's methodology about who helps us and who doesn't irks me too. I mean, Raiden and Fujin have been getting a lot of support from old allies as much as new, like Scorpion, Kai, Sindel, and Blaze to name a few, but what I don't get is why Raiden wasn't more persuasive when it came to some other heroes from Earthrealm. Raiden brought Kung Lao and I to Canada to track down Nightwolf and see if we could get his help, as well as help from the Amerindian tribes. When we got to the reserve though, we saw two fighters sparring, and I have to say that they were phenomenal.

I never met these guys before, but Raiden said they were a very prominent team when Shao Kahn almost took over Earthrealm. He even gave Kung Lao and me a bit of back story about `em. The first guy is Kabal, and he was horribly scarred by the Extermination Squads, and would've died if he wasn't saved by Sub-Zero's friend, Smoke. Yeah, Smoke's been missing for a few years, and every mission to find him has failed miserably... It definitely bugs Subby a lot. Anyway, I thought Kabal had one heck of a good plastic surgeon because he was a looker and a half, and kind of reminded me of Elvis. Anyway, he was the fastest fighter I've ever seen! I mean, he made Liu look like a slowpoke when it came to running and throwing punches and kicks and stuff! I wasn't sure on how strong he was, but damn, he was a real-life Flash. He was able to create some sort of metal mask on his face and shoot out purple energy balls that packed a heck of a wallop too. I couldn't tell how damaging the attack was because the other guy took it like a champ; sure, he was sent back pretty far, but the guy landed on his two feet and came rushing back at Kabal without any signs of pain. He didn't even look like he cared. If anything, that second guy, Kurtis Stryker, gave me the creeps.

Raiden explained that Kurtis was a riot cop who was the only person who kept his soul in his home city during Shao Kahn's attack. It left him emotionally scarred, but he got a lot of help from Smoke to deal with it. Kurtis looks like one of those gritty cops you read about in those detective novels, except that he is really buff. He kind of reminded me of Jax, since he was using metal tonfa in the fight... But the comparison became more realistic as we walked closer. I noticed that the tonfa were attached to his arms, connected to metal plates that went up his arms, to his shoulder blades, and connected to his spine. I mean, at first, I thought they were removable implants, like the ones used by the OIA, but being connected to his spine, that's a really delicate area to mess around with, so I thought they were permanent. In any case, this guy seemed to be the more disciplined fighter, using a fighting technique I didn't recognise. He was able to block some attacks, but any he couldn't block, he took well. He usually attacked Kabal from a distance using small explosives, or would dash in with his tonfa, dodge back, and dive in again when he saw an opening. He couldn't out-speed him, but damn, he could take a lot of punishment and give it right back. I'm sure that Kabal was flinching under that mask when Kurtis plunged his tonfa into him like short-ranged tasers and sent weird electric shocks through.

We weren't there to see `em though; we needed to see Nightwolf, a really powerful Shaman who was a great help to us when Shao Kahn invaded. He was like a Light Priest, since he worked really well with the magical shields and healing spells. He protected us a lot when the Extermination Squads attacked, but he also had a lot of offensive power that I know he didn't show us during the invasion. One time, Nightwolf was able to change into a copy of Raiden and scare the pants off some Nomad and Centaurian warriors! One Raiden is scary enough, but two? No army would want to face that! He couldn't copy his powers or anything, but it was a good strategy to keep the bad guys away, and it tricked a lot of them while the real Raiden stepped out to lead Kung Lao and Liu Kang to battle Shao Kahn himself in the fortress. I think Noob Saibot went with them too, but I wasn't sure... I never really trusted that guy, even though he said he was betraying Kahn. Who would trust a demonic shadow ninja, right? It was too bad that Nightwolf couldn't turn into a member of Shao Kahn's army to infiltrate the base; I would have liked to have seen a Kano transformation... I know that would've been better than seeing Johnny collapse after the portal closed and thinking Kung Lao was dead... Isn't it wonderful having memories of your friends dying and then having `em turn up with random stories about resurrection or hiding out?

Anyway, as Kabal and Kurt sat down with us, Nightwolf explained that he found Kabal severely wounded and undergoing a horrible transformation that almost changed him into a Cyborg. After suffering a gruesome attack from a Red Dragon thug, the nano-technology Smoke shared with him years earlier to heal his neck and create a respirator attempted to heal his wounds again. The last time, the microscopic machines were controlled by Smoke to not change Kabal, but with him in Outworld, the nano-technology almost took it too far and nearly transformed Kabal into a Lin Kuei Cyborg. Nightwolf stepped in and used his powerful magic to change the little robots into natural body cells that Kabal could manipulate to both rebuild flesh and bone, and heal almost any injury possible within a matter of seconds. Now Kabal can heal all his wounds instantly, and with that, healed his scar tissue. Nightwolf's magic made Kabal's respirator useless, so he no longer has it with him. Makes you think that there's hope for Smoke and any other Cyborg out there with the Tekunin...

Kurtis met with Kabal and Smoke during the merger after Raiden gave him a message to find us, but he got trapped in Outworld with Smoke when the portal closed. Kurt learned how to become a more disciplined fighter through intense training and meditation under Smoke's tutelage. He learned how to control his emotions and the nano-technology he carried to replenish his weapons. Against Smoke's advisement, he allowed the machines to attach themselves to his spine so he could manipulate them the same way Smoke could to create weapons and armour at will. His intense discipline allows him to control the machines constantly and not have them change him. They could be used as more direct offensive weapons too, like the tonfa he had earlier. He and Smoke went their separate ways when Smoke was no longer healthy enough to travel after forcing his machines to make him as human as possible. Kurt was fortunate enough to find Nightwolf in Edenia, who was searching for some herbs that didn't grow on Earth. Nightwolf could sense that Kurt was a good soul, and human, so he eagerly brought Stryker back with him. It's kind of funny how these random coincidences happen. Maybe this means that we'll see Smoke come back some day.

We explained what was happening with the war and how we needed help. At first, Nightwolf seemed happy with lending us a hand and sending us his strongest men, but then he got some weird looks from Kurtis and Kabal. Nightwolf's eyes flashed a brilliant white, and Raiden started doing the same thing. They were having a telepathic conversation, and I have to say that it was rude considering Kung Lao and I can't read minds. If Raiden was just going to talk to Nightwolf in his head in front of us, why even bother inviting Kung Lao and me? The worst thing is that Raiden just stood up and said ``I understand your request, and I appreciate the help you are offering. Thank you, and good luck, all three of you, with your plan,'' and led us out the door. And what was this agreement? The Amerindians would help us, but Kabal, Kurt, and Nightwolf wouldn't fight because they had some ``plan'' they were working on! I asked Raiden a dozen times what the plan was, but all he says is, ``all in good time.'' I'm General of the Special Forces division of the OIA and Kung Lao's the new Grand Champion, you'd think we'd at least get a heads up on what they were doing that was more important than saving the world. Don't get me wrong, I am grateful that Nightwolf's sending people to help us, but why aren't he, Kabal, and Kurt stepping up too? Those three alone would be a big help, why can't Raiden just make `em fight with us like he did the rest of the planet? He's a freaking God, it's not like he couldn't threaten them any less than the other military groups. It just doesn't make any sense that they're getting special treatment and we don't get an explanation.

Another thing I noticed is that Raiden and Fujin can detect a lot of our old friends like Nightwolf in completely different countries, but how is it that neither of `em can find Johnny? His life may be depending on it, and the God Squad there can't find that obnoxious ass anywhere on Earth, alive or... I don't even want to think about him being dead again. Okay, Johnny's not a complete ass, but I'm just so frustrated about losing him on top of Liu. He already died once, and Raiden was able to bring him back only because the Heavens were in danger and Johnny was a terrific help in beating back Shinnok's forces, so he earned his life back. Raiden said that he can't bend the rules when it comes to choosing who lives or dies, which is why he and Fujin can't bring back Liu, or any of us if we're killed. Earth is in danger here; shouldn't that be enough to get back Liu Kang or Johnny?

Mokap, the apparent best friend of Johnny, said the last time he heard from him, Johnny was on his way to Japan. Come on, how dumb do you have to be to let a friend go into a war zone run by Borg-wannabes and not try to stop him?! Wouldn't you go out of your way to stop someone from doing something incredibly stupid? He said he tried to call, but come on, get off your butt and keep him from going into his private plane!

I remember when Jax and me found Cyrax we had to use a very dangerous procedure to bring his soul back to dominate his mechanical functions. Until his soul was strong enough to override his programming, Raiden literally couldn't sense Cyrax unless he saw him. With that in mind, I just hope that Mokap was wrong about Johnny going to Japan... It's bad enough thinking that he might've died again; it's even worse thinking of fighting against him as a super-powered Cyborg... I guess it's not fair of me to be angry at Raiden and Mokap for Johnny's stupidity, I mean, he is a grown man and it was not their responsibility to keep Johnny out of trouble, but damn, why in the world did Johnny cut out everyone before he left? He could've at least talked to me before going to Japan by himself...

Speaking of friends and their idiotic decisions to get themselves killed, Jax volunteered himself for a suicide mission! He's been forced to work in the labs ever since he came back from Outworld and focusing on making more improvements on our bionic implants. When he came back from the scouting mission of the former Lin Kuei base, something in him snapped. He just got so distant and kept on focusing on how only he and Cyrax came back alive... Jax is going to do something reckless and get himself killed if he's not careful. I can't even talk to him now; he's just so obsessed with working on the implants that he doesn't even come out of the labs unless it's to talk to members he wants to infiltrate the base with if his mission is approved. The Red Dragon being here hasn't helped either. I've seen the looks that he and Mavado exchange, especially when Jax shows off Hsu Hao's heart implant like a trophy, which he proudly modified to use as an arm cannon with his right arm implant. One way or another, Jax has to watch his back, because as long as he's acting like this, he's the only one who can.

I'm not even sure Raiden can save him if anything happens, and in all honesty, I'm not sure if any of us should trust Raiden anymore. Not too long after meeting Nightwolf, the Gods held a meeting with all the leaders and gave us detailed plans about what they wanted to do to prevent an all-out war between our forces and theirs. I don't need to go into detail about that because it would be too long to explain, and his plan seems alright, but he did recently reveal some info about one of our most powerful enemies. It turns out that Raiden helped give Meat (or ``General Mitharos'' as he calls him) all of his training and God-like power. He said Meat's future was undecided and that he could've been an amazing force for the good guys, but wound up serving Onaga instead. I mean, come on, that's practically out of Star Wars for crying out loud! You'd think that a God wouldn't be as stupid as a generic movie character.

Anyway, Meat can manipulate all the natural elements and can channel ``Nether-energy'' to create weapons and different projectiles in battle. He can also mimic our fighting styles, our special abilities, and can summon enough power to demolish a small army by himself, and it's all because Raiden was too stupid see that Meat'd be loyal to Onaga no matter what. Anyway, Raiden managed to get the help of a powerful Elemental named Blaze to take care of Meat, and said that unless two or more powerful fighters attack him at the same time, nobody should try facing off against Meat. Blaze is there to specifically handle Meat and the Mummified Army; his powers apparently allow him to kill the Mummies with incredible ease, so that makes him really valuable. I've never seen Blaze in action, but from what I get, he's the only thing standing between our Outworld forces and total annihilation from Meat and the rest of the Undefeatable Army.

During this meeting, Raiden also kept mentioning how the massive armies will be spread out to handle each threat at certain locations, so instead of all the ``heroes'' being together in one realm to face one bad guy, we'll be separated into the three realms with our armies to handle the threats individually, and stop `em from causing any problems wherever they are. The Lin Kuei, Red Dragon, some agents from the OIA, and some Centaurians and Shokan, will be stationed primarily in Outworld to go against Onaga, Meat and the Mummified soldiers. It'll be night time during the grand assault against Onaga's forces, so the Vampires will be there too. This means that Sub-Zero, Mavado, and Nitara will be leading the attack, along with Special Agents Cyrax and Kenshi, who received my permission to lead our forces and make sure that no Red Dragons do anything funny. Like I said before, Blaze will be there, and some Raptor chick named Khameleon, who was tagging along with Nitara too. Not sure what makes her so important to Nitara, but at least she's a decent fighter.

The Edenian forces will consist of Edenian soldiers and Light Priests, the White Lotus Society, some OIA agents, Shokan soldiers and Light Priests, and some Centaurians. Bo' Rai Cho, Kung Lao, Kitana, Jade, Scorpion, Fujin and Raiden are all going to handle that part of the army, mostly Oni led by Drahmin, Moloch, and Reiko. Normally I wouldn't be concerned, but based on what Raiden has been saying about Reiko being some unnatural powerhouse from Hell, I'm just a bit scared; that, and Drahmin having immense power thanks to merging with that stupid sorcerer Quan Chi. Hopefully Raiden's plan works...

Earthrealm's forces will be primarily made up of the human nations from around the globe, led by the Special Forces, along with some Edenian soldiers, Centaurians, Shokan, and a good number of Edenia Light Priests and Priestesses and White Lotus members. Kai, Sindel, Mokap and I are basically here to go up against the machines, along with Jax if his mission is approved. We'll head to the Lin Kuei's former base to go against Sektor and his Tekunin units. Sindel's the most important person on this mission, as she is keeping us away from a missile massacre with her ability to change the pitch of her voice. Through weeks of testing, we've discovered that she can emit a specific frequency capable of destroying Tekunin missiles, which could prevent an onslaught before we even get a chance to set up a perimeter around the base. We've tried mimicking her screams with our technology, but the pitch is so specific and has to be kept focused and directed in such a particular area that we cannot reproduce it in any way. All experiments to copy her ability failed miserably, and if we're one decibel off or can't direct the sound waves properly, we could wind up destroying our own weapons or the ice sheet we're fighting on. Sindel's basically going to keep us alive long enough to throw punches at the tin-cans. I kind of wish that we had more firepower from more people I was familiar with, but since I'm General of the Special Forces, I can't let it show that I want more of my friends on Earthrealm, helping me in battle.

I'm feeling a lot better now and I have to wrap this up. It's time to lead the troops through the portal to face the Tekunin at the former Lin Kuei base. Jax had better tell me if he's going on the mission because I need to at least wish him luck and hope that he comes back... I have to wish everyone luck in this, as the last thing I want is to lose more of my friends to all of these monsters. It's just getting so hard to tell who's a good guy and who's a bad guy... Anyway, I hope that this isn't my last entry, as I'd hate to leave this on such a sad note... Hopefully I can get through this to write one more time to say we won.

Author : Jerrod Therace

Creation date: 2008-6-25-49

Modification date: 2008-6-25-49