Konquest: For Earthrealm

Shao Kahn's screams echoed throughout the room as his body began to glow a brilliant green. Liu Kang, satisfied with his victory, let a slow smile come over his face as he fell to his knees with weariness. Not only was he able to avenge the death of his comrade Kung Lao, he also ensured that with Kahn's humiliating defeat, Earthrealm would be safe from Outworld. These thoughts had only a moment to last as he was quickly swept off the floor by a jovial Raiden. Shao Kahn could no longer contain himself and released massive amounts of his magical energy along with the billions of souls he absorbed from Earthrealm, all of which were ripping through the tower like tissue paper. Raiden and Liu needed to make a hasty retreat before being crushed.

"Congratulations, champion," Raiden said hurriedly flying towards the blocked doorway, "you've made me proud to put my faith in you. You have a gift, Liu, and once this is over, I'll show how to harness your true power. Now we must get out of here before the realms separate and we are trapped in Outworld."

Liu Kang was honoured... Being trained by a God was no small reward to the Shaolin Monk. Before he could imagine all the possibilities of this training, he caught a glimpse of Kung Lao's motionless body before they teleported out of Kahn's Pit Arena and into the more stable hallway. "We cannot leave Kung Lao there," exclaimed Liu, "he needs to be buried!"

"If we go back for his body, we will all be buried in Kahn's tower; besides, he has found peace, what happens to his body will not affect his soul. Your life is more important than a burial rite."

Liu could not fight Raiden on this; he could barely move after using so much power. Liu Kang had always known he had hidden potential when it came to fighting, but after seeing Kung Lao fall against Kahn's might, Liu felt a surge of power grow within him, fueled by the desires of Raiden, Noob Saibot, and several other warriors hoping for Shao Kahn's defeat. Oddly enough, Liu Kang even felt this hope come faintly from Kung Lao, and even from Shao Kahn himself... Whatever the case, Liu Kang would have to ask Raiden about it later.

As Liu Kang pondered this, Raiden, tightly holding Liu in his arms, flew hastily through the crumbling corridors of the tower, searching for an exit and hoping Kung Lao escaped in time... It was Kung Lao's choice to pretend to die, to escape the demands of saving the world and lead a peaceful life; Raiden needed to respect his wishes. He would let Kung Lao reveal himself in due time.

Liu Kang looked desperately for signs of Johnny Cage, Sonya Blade, or Noob Saibot, who all followed the monks and God to help fight any warriors blocking them from reaching Shao Kahn. Though Noob was originally working for Kahn, Liu could tell that Noob wanted Kahn defeated and the war to end, so he had some trust in the Shadow Demon. Seconds later, a black mist encircled him and Raiden. Liu recognized this as Noob's signature for his teleportation abilities and felt good knowing that at least Noob Saibot had not been killed while defending the entrance to Shao Kahn's Pit. Once again, Raiden knew more about what Noob's intentions, and was not happy to see him. He sensed a familiar essence in Noob and it worried Raiden about who Noob Saibot may have been working for. Raiden heard Noob Saibot teleport after him when Raiden confronted Shao Kahn personally. Noob watched him try to reason with Kahn before they fought, even mention Reiko having an influence, so he made sure not to say anything incriminating. Shao Kahn's truth and origin would remain Raiden's burden to bear.

Sonya and Johnny Cage emerged from the collapsing structure first. Johnny, struggling to remain on his feet, took in all the horror he saw as he stared at the gruesome war at its peak. The earth was stained with the blood of hundreds of slaughtered warriors, turning the ground into a dark red sludge that oozed with every step Johnny took. He could not see faces in the crowd... All he saw were anger-filled bodies throwing themselves into the chaos and reveling in the destruction. Johnny could not stop staring at the carnage out of pure fear... Not of the images of the war before him, but fear of the sick enjoyment he felt for what he saw. Joining the fray for the sole purpose of satisfying this interest drowned his pain and lulled him into a trance, thinking of seeking the one warrior he met that understood his growing anger and darkness... Noob Saibot.

"Are you okay over there? Do you see anyone who needs help?" Johnny's trance was broken as he looked at Sonya behind him. He tried to respond with a witty catchphrase, but instead let out a moan of anguish. He experienced tremendous pain since Liu Kang won the fight, but now his legs collapsed beneath him. With the realms separating, he became vulnerable to death and felt the full affects of the laceration on his spine from fighting the Centaurians alone, and was completely paralyzed. He died during that battle, but his soul was blocked from entering the Netherealm when Earth and Outworld merged and was forced to return to his body, completely healed and indestructible. With the realms separating, his time had run out and his soul would be judged a second time. His eyes searched wildly for Noob Saibot, who Johnny believed understood the darkness he had to embrace to make it through life. Noob Saibot belonged in the Netherealm as much as Johnny Cage, and Johnny needed guidance to know how to survive in the next life.

Sonya ran to his side as he fell, and from the look in her eyes - the faintest glimmer of a deep respect and friendship - it became clear to Johnny that she would not leave him and would ruin any chance he had at being found by Noob. Johnny ignored the pain enough to plead, "Sonya, help the others... I just need to rest a bit, I'm fine. Just find Nightwolf and get yourself healed."

Sonya looked sternly at Johnny and said, "John Carlton," to subtly remind him that she knew everything about his life, "if there's one thing I can honestly say about you, it's that your acting blows. Now I'm helping you up and you're going to take it like a man."

"Jesus Christ, bitch, leave me behind! It's my curtain call here, m-my final performance, and I won't have you ruin your chance to get out of here alive just so that you could take care of me. Go, now!"

"Johnny, I'm a soldier first and your friend second, and if there's anything I've learned, it's never leave a man behind. The only reason I'm not there with Liu is because he's still with Raiden, and you need more help than either of them. For fuck's sake, you already died alone out there, and I refuse to let you die again in this fuckin' Hellhole. I'm taking you back to Earth and that's that!"

The ever-stubborn lieutenant picked up and carried the film star on her back. Without enough power to carry the disabled Cage and fly them to safety, Sonya used her Nejin technique to boost her physical strength and stamina to plough through Shao Kahn's minions. Not wanting to feel completely useless, Johnny funneled his shadow abilities to Sonya, enshrouding her in green shadows and propelling her forward into the onslaught. This would increase her strength and speed, and offer protection from oncoming attacks.

The rest of the Earthrealm warriors fought outside of the tower, holding out with all their might and struggling to survive against the Extermination Squads. Nightwolf could only heal their wounds so many times and his Raiden transformation no longer fooled and frightened their enemies. They were thankful that Sindel, Kitana, and Jade were able to lure away Shang Tsung and his personal army, otherwise they all would have been overcome by his sorcery. Sindel herself faced Shang Tsung, demonstrating her Goddess-like powers through paralyzing the great sorcerer with her deafening screams and resisting his life-stealing spells. Kitana proved herself as Sindel's daughter by subduing her opponents with every wave of energy that her steel fans emitted. She led her own small army of men still loyal to the fallen Edenian kingdom, and willing to fight to save Earthrealm and someday restore the fallen Edenia to its former glory. Jade had been preoccupied for some time with Reptile, who had become invisible during their bout, but even through his tricks, she overcame her former partner and gave him enough head trauma to damage his psyche for years to come.

This was the only time where one would think Reptile was in two places at once, for another being mimicked him on the battlefield to lure another opponent. He knew the script, knew the directions, and knew that he would eventually be ambushed by Khameleon. He would play the role of Reptile until the Raptor was captured by Sindel's men and when it would be too late for Khameleon to reveal the truth of their species.

The unexpected threat posed by Sektor and Cyrax was incredible and the duo alone dealt a devastating blow to Outworld's forces. Ermac fought against Sektor himself, the enigmatic ninja enjoying the challenge of facing a warrior with such destructive capabilities and pushing Ermac's souls to a degree they rarely channeled, while Cyrax dispatched cocky Outworlders who did not understand the danger of Earthrealm technology. Ironically, only Sektor logically considered Outworld a threat to the Lin Kuei and his pursuit of Sub-Zero, while Cyrax was forced to obey the new objective programmed into him by his former target.

Sub-Zero, slowly losing his ability to freeze from overuse, came face to face with several blood-thirsty Tarkata. "HUMAN," shouted a bold creature, "you covered in blood and smell of Baraka! Was smart, cunning, brave, noblest of us! You die slow from us!" Sub-Zero was unfortunate enough to be covered in Baraka's blood after witnessing his demise at the hands, or rather hat, of Kung Lao, but in any case, these instinctive creatures had an insatiable bloodlust fueled by revenge. Scorpion interrupted by harpooning a spear into a weakened Tarkata's head and setting it ablaze. Sub-Zero jumped back as the ninja pulled his spear and ripped off its head, swinging it like a fiery flail and smashing it against the head of a Centaur warrior, exploding and killing the creature. Sub-Zero, though thankful for the assistance, kept his distance from Scorpion, since the Hell-spawned ninja was very chaotic and changed sides in the heat of battle often enough.

Mavado directed orders to his men, leading the Red Dragon as a focused unit to attack the numerous Tarkata and Centaurians. Only few of them had been spared from Shao Kahn's magic, but those who survived the Extermination Squads fought with a determination unexpected from a group of mobsters and bandits without magical powers or mystical family ties. Hsu Hao's bionic heart could effectively kill Centaurians, a tremendous advantage for the Red Dragon warrior, making him an asset to the group and to Earthrealm. He pushed his body to its full potential to battle on.

The rest of Earth's fighters grew weary as their battles dragged on. There was only so much they could do against an army of inhuman monsters and they were all reaching their breaking points. Just a little bit longer, they all thought, just needed to hold out a little more to get a signal from Liu Kang or Raiden...

A tremor violently shook the ground as Kahn's screams echoed in the night. The spiraling energy on top of the tower had expanded and was now filling the sky with Earthrealm's souls. Every fighter felt comfort knowing Shao Kahn lost and that Earth's spirits were saved, and from this, felt rejuvenated to continue their fight. They were rewarded with Raiden, holding the tired Liu in his arms, soaring as fast as he could in mortal form, screaming, "GETTOTHEPORTAL!"

The kombatants saw the once open wasteland now as a massive section of an American city, covered in a blue haze and with a gigantic border of energy that shrank as more souls went through. The sight of home was enough motivation for Jax and Nightwolf; "Nightwolf man, I need you to cover me with the biggest shield you can make. I need to send some mother fuckers to Hell." With a quick chant and a wave of his hands, Nightwolf created a reflective shield to surround them both, and Jax used his remaining power to grow into a giant. He fell to his knees and smashed his great, metal arms into the ground, crushing hundreds of Tarkata and Centaurians and leaving a direct path to the portal. Their enemies could hardly fight with their projectiles useless against this duo, but one well-placed Centaurian kick to Nightwolf's head was more than enough to drop the shield and leave Jax more vulnerable. He only had time to brush away dozens more with his hands before shrinking back to his normal size; the damage he sustained was minimal, but he used what little energy he had left to carry the badly hurt Nightwolf and dash through the new path he made. He felt a powerful wind gust almost throw him off balance, but he ignored it, since he needed to help Nightwolf; had he paid more attention, he would have seen three people pass him at once.

Kabal, the fastest human alive, ran towards freedom, carrying Smoke and Stryker on his back. Because Smoke could alter his mass to become as light as air, Kabal was able to carry both heroes with little difficulty, despite the fatigue he had from all the fighting. He braced himself for Smoke to develop enough energy to teleport them through the portal, but their destinies would now diverge, as a well-placed enemy blast launched the three kombatants into the air, separating them. At the intense speed they travelled, all three were sent in different directions, with only Kabal flying painfully through the portal to Earthrealm, ironically, the first to be saved.

Raiden, flying above the heads of the Extermination Squad, dodged blades and blasts and rushed to get Liu Kang, who had lost consciousness, to the safety of the other side. The portal would only allow Earth's inhabitants to pass through so there was no danger from the Extermination Squads pursuing them, and none of their enemies were close enough to block it thanks to Jax's intervention, so Raiden saw no threat from the Squads. He felt his power increase as he neared the portal, and within moments, was on the other side, catching a brief glimpse of Kabal encircling the portal in hopes of seeing Smoke and Stryker. Raiden could sense the warrior's pain, and as a sign of support, laid Liu Kang onto the ground and threw lightning at various Tarkata, using every ounce of his slow-building power to keep a clear path. He tried to walk and teleport through but this portal's energy blocked him from entering Outworld again. He was unable to pass through now that he was on the other side, so this was all Raiden could do. Not long after this, Jax made it through and laid Nightwolf next to Liu Kang and bandaged their wounds. Kabal recognized Jax and regretfully chose to flee the area; it would do neither him, nor Smoke and Stryker any good if Kabal was arrested for his association with the Black Dragon clan.

Kurtis Stryker awoke on the ground, repeatedly stepped on by Tarkata as they made their way to kill the fleeing humans. Stryker grabbed his machine gun and fired wildly into the air, surprising several Tarkata and killing even more. He got to his feet quickly and scanned the crowd for the cyborg's trademark smoke bellowing from his body, but he sadly saw none. He turned his attention to surviving and escaping, but judged that the blast sent him too far away from the rapidly shrinking portal. He knew he had no chance to make it in time, but made the rational decision to search for any indication that either Smoke or Kabal were alive and still fighting somewhere in Outworld. When he saw two humans kicking and spinning into a crowd of Centaurians, Stryker joined the fray and lobbed a grenade into their direction. From the confusion following the small explosion, Stryker jumped on the back of a four-legged behemoth and strapped explosives to its head. As the Centaurian screamed, Stryker jumped away and signaled at the young kombatants to run away. Kai and Jarek shielded their eyes as the Centaur warrior disintegrated and more grenades around them went off and killed surrounding Tarkata and injured Centaurians. Jarek fell to his back and created a shockwave that forced the Centaurians off balance, giving Kai a chance to summon fireballs from the ground. The fireballs forced the Centaurians to rear up onto their hind legs, giving Stryker ample opportunity to spray the monsters with bullets at their weak undersides. As Kai helped Jarek off the ground, Jarek, noticing Stryker was still firing, called to him, "Yo pal, we're gettin' outta here, come on with us."

"Two of my buddies are still fighting out here, go on without me." Stryker had already made his decision, so he continued his search and left them. Jarek grabbed and held Kai in his arms, and using his mentor Kano's skills, cannonballed his way towards the portal and crossed through, noticed only by Raiden. Jarek quickly saw Jax treat Liu and Nightwolf, and decided it was time to leave. "Hey, look man, I gotta run," he told Kai. "Good luck with the whole 'warrior-monk' deal. If you ever need a safe spot to hide out or whatever, find the Black Dragon and tell `em Jarek sent ya."

"Thank you, Jarek," replied Kai, "I will not forget you and hopefully the next time we meet won't be with horsemen chasing us." They saluted each other and Jarek ran off before Jax could turn around and recognize him. Kai then went to Jax and asked if there was anything he could do to help.

Sub-Zero remained surrounded by Centaurians, unable to match them in strength and with his freezing ability useless against them. Desperate to get away, he resorted to using his brother's legendary Polar Blast technique, a massive ice blast that froze everything within a one kilometer radius for a short time. Sub-Zero concentrated the power to ensure it only hit and froze the Centaurians immediately surrounding him. Since these creatures showed remarkable resilience to his mastery of the cold, he had to invest more power than he ever had before to make sure they froze completely. Scorpion continued to attack the non-frozen ones to lure them away from Sub-Zero and allow him to slide away. As Sub-Zero turned his head to see how the ninja faired, Scorpion exploded into ashes and fire. His soul was forcibly removed from the Netherealm by Shao Kahn, and with Kahn's power fading, the path to the Netherealm was no longer blocked by the merging realms; Scorpion had to return to his lair in Hell while in the heat of battle. In any case, Sub-Zero needed to escape, and continued sliding under his opponents until he neared the portal, freezing a few Tarkata to help several other Chosen Warriors get to the portal to Earth, including a handful of Red Dragon members.

As Mavado and Hsu Hao led the Red Dragon clan to the rapidly shrinking portal that most of Earth's forces were using, another portal broke off from the bigger one, leading to Australia. As they approached that portal, Mavado halted Hsu Hao and pointed out Sonya Blade approaching. ``I saw Major Jackson Briggs of the Special Forces enter that pathway, and heading our way is a struggling Lieutenant Sonya Blade... Both of them have been vital in capturing the traitorous Black Dragons, so perhaps it is time one of us infiltrate their ranks... Wouldn't you agree?"

Hsu Hao nodded with understanding. He charged his cannon and attacked any opponents that neared Sonya and Johnny Cage. Mavado smiled, and crossed through the portal. To better appear as a defender of justice, Hsu Hao made sure to help any humans cross by attacking surrounding enemies. This was a great help to Kenshi, who had failed in his quest to find Shang Tsung, and since he had not mastered the gifts of his ancestor kings yet, struggled to keep the enemies at bay as he entered the same portal used by the Red Dragon, moments before it closed. Despite his selfish reasons, Hsu Hao saved many lives, an act of kindness he would never repeat.

Sonya, growing more exhausted with every step she took, and without enough power to use her Nejin boost again, continued towards the portal with Johnny Cage on her back. Johnny used every ounce of his shadow skills to fuel Sonya's stamina and delved deep into the darkest pits of his soul to extract the very limits of his demonic powers. For only a few seconds, the shadows and aura surrounding the two fighters changed from a bright green to a blood red, and Sonya felt a boost of terrible power flow through her veins as she tore through enemy lines and devastated all who crossed her path. She traveled so quickly and easily, she almost collided with the thundering Raiden and the few remaining Chosen Warriors who stayed alive throughout the whole war with Outworld, including Hsu Hao. When she made it to the other side, she quickly placed Johnny Cage on the ground near Jax, feeling unusually disgusted and sad for herself. The red aura remained around Johnny, growing larger as he howled with a rage never thought possible from the actor.

Jax could not awaken Nightwolf for help so he turned to Raiden for guidance. Raiden continued throwing lightning at the Kahn's militia, using more energy than he was gaining from the separation of the realms. He did not want to fight with anything less than his full power, but in the mortal realms, Raiden had his limits. As he saw the last few humans run through, followed closely by Sub-Zero, he turned his attention to Johnny Cage and his exuding demonic power.

Sub-Zero crossed through the portal, only to hear a mechanical voice shout ``SUB-ZERO!'' The voice was unfamiliar but he turned around and saw a purple Lin Kuei cyborg jumping above the Tarkata and Centaurian warriors. It only took a moment for Sub-Zero to realize that this cyborg had smoke coming from his body. "SMOKE!" Sub-Zero called to his closest friend. He held back tears of guilt at the thought that Smoke had sacrificed himself to lure Sektor away and paid the price with his humanity. Now it was Sub-Zero's turn to save his friend and bring him home.

Like the other two cyborgs, Smoke's programming was set to destroy Sub-Zero, but since his transformation had failed to repress his soul, he was not a slave to the machines within him. He launched his grapple harpoon at Sub-Zero, and with luck, Sub-Zero caught it in midair and used his icy grip to hold it for all his life was worth. Smoke would normally pull others towards himself, but concentrated on being pulled to make it to the portal. To make this much easier, Smoke modified his mass to become extremely light so that he would not drag on the ground.

While the other warriors tried to calm Johnny and revive Nightwolf, Sub-Zero continued to hold the spear. The portal rapidly shrank, and he could feel the intense pull of the harpoon... He was already tired with the fighting so to make sure he remained completely focused and unflinching, Sub-Zero willed his own arms and his legs to freeze to keep their grip and to keep them from buckling under the strain. "SMOKE," he shouted at the top of his lungs, "HURRY UP!"

Smoke could not move any faster and did not have enough energy to teleport through the portal, but still hoped against all odds that he would make it through, since the portal was already very small. He got closer and closer, nearing his friend and nearing absolute freedom from Outworld, but the last he saw of his home realm was the horrified, sad look Sub-Zero had on his face. The last thing any of the Earth warriors heard before the portal closed was Smoke calling out to Sub-Zero one last time over the sounds of the murderous Extermination Squads following close behind.

Sub-Zero stood paralyzed in front of where the portal once was, still clutching Smoke's spearhead. frozen in his grip. A single tear shed from hisa160;unscarred eye and froze as it rolled down his cheek. His arms and legs were covered in ice from how much strain he was under to hold onto the spear tightly. Cage's screams had finally subsided and his aura reduced in size, so more attention was given to Sub-Zero.

Kai, Sonya and Jax walked up to the former assassin, but before they could say anything, Sub-Zero lifted his heavy, frozen legs and stomped each of them onto the ground to remove the covering ice. He shrugged the rest of the ice off his arms, still clutching Smoke's spearhead,. He then brushed passed them to find Raiden, who was still transfixed on the red-glowing Johnny Cage.

Cage was growing delirious with fear and anger. He rarely used his full powers, only unleashing them accidentally in the second tournament, but this had become too much for him. His brief encounter with Noob, their silent understanding, was enough to trigger something in Johnny Cage and he needed to release all of it. The rage he had built for decades was finally coming out, and as the energy dissipated, he felt okay... He took one look at everyone standing around him and thought with satisfaction that he died with dignity, amongst friends, and as a human. He closed his eyes and waited for his sentence...

Raiden and the others were somber as they studied their poor friend's body. Liu Kang was still not awake, and Nightwolf was only now beginning to regain consciousness, not aware of what had transpired. Sonya held strong, but even she had cried a little. Another entry for her journal, or possibly her report to her superiors if they were still alive. Hsu Hao himself played the part of the grieving stranger well by reciting a prayer to honour passing souls. This did not go unnoticed by Sonya and Jax.

As both these agents asked Hsu Hao who he was, Kai asked Raiden what happened to this man who died. "That man," replied Raiden, "needed to set himself free of the original sin his family harboured over millennia. His family origins resided in the Netherealm, and only in death was he able to learn that his lineage did not change who he was. He may not have lived as a man to emulate, but he died a hero, and that in itself speaks volumes of the real Johnny Cage."

All of them looked at Raiden, then at Johnny's body with wonder. As each of them opened their mouths to ask Raiden more, he waved his hand and stated, "you'll all understand in due time, friends..." He trailed off and picked up Liu Kang's exhausted body, "but I'll have to answer those questions another day. We've all experienced great losses, and now we must help rebuild the world, and I must leave before the humans wake up and see me. I will contact you shortly so that we can all figure out what to do in a world where a160;people now know there are other worlds to explore." With those words, Raiden flew into the air with Liu Kang's body. He would be treated well in the Heavens and resume his training, but amongst Gods and heroes of legend. Raiden would first have to wake him up, then deal with the Elder Gods about how they need to be more involved when rules are bent and...

"Can you hear me, Raiden?"

Raiden stopped in mid-flight, lingering in the bright, cloud-like tunnel that lead to the Heavens. A voice came into his head, one he had never heard before. "Yes," he thought, "I hear you."

"Good," continued the mysterious voice, "because you need to listen to me. I've not been paying much attention for the past few years of my life, but I finally understand all. It was destiny for me to find out the truth about my life this way. A kaleidoscope of images and stories had to converge before this moment, and I wanted you to know I will become a key player once everything is straightened out."

Raiden was puzzled by this being, and had to ask, "who are you? What are you trying to tell me and why?"

"Like you, I can't help but be a little vague, even going so far as to say I don't understand it all myself, but it's safe to say I know what I was, I know who I am, and I know who I will become."

"And what will you become?"

"Your saviour... And that of the whole universe. The pieces of the puzzle just need to be nudged into the right places. For now, I will continue my own internal journey, and when I finish it, I will bring with me a New Dawn."

Raiden began to worry about this; the voice sounded like a fanatic, and no good could come from it, "maybe I can help you learn more about your true potential-"

"Nothing personal Raiden, but I've seen the help you offer, the lies you've spread, and the damage you've done with your kindness. Just ask the Scrivener... But that is enough from me. I will contact you in the future when I'm needed. Take care... Grandfather."