Through the Eye of the Tortured

Chapter 1: We will have Fun

Kano had spent much of his life fighting for money and power, but his years serving Shao Kahn left him soft and secure, used to being a warlord without needing to get his hands dirty. He was skilled when he needed to talk his way out of any situation and gain favours, but Mavado would not hear a word from his lips. Kano had joined the Deadly Alliance, unaware that his old enemy was also a part of this group. Mavado also joined them for acquiring power, but his price was simple - the chance to fight and kill Kano. In exchange for Kenshi's blood- soaked blindfold, Mavado was paid in full.

Kano fought like the cut-throat madman he was, but the faster, younger, disciplined Mavado, silently taunting him with Kabal's hookswords, gained the upper-hand. Kano could not focus, could not see beyond those weapons that belonged to his old friend... Mentally, he was already defeated, blinded by rage and careless with his technique. A deep kick into his chest led to Kano falling out of the arena in Quan Chi's Inner Sanctum chamber, into the deadly laser web below. As the searing hot beams cut through his body, Kano's mind flooded with memories... His adoptive parents holding him as a child in Tokyo, his friends in high school in Melbourne, the first time he met No Face and Tasia, who led him to join the Black Dragon, the horrible fight he had with Jax that cost him his eye, the first time he challenged Mavado, and his first encounter with Sonya and Daniel Blade and the rivalry that sparked between the three of them... Those would be his last notions of happiness.

The faces faded and he found himself falling down a tunnel of fire and brimstone, with snake-like monstrosities writhing and flicking their tongues as the new arrival fell before them. Screams of torment rang in his ears as he fell into the abyss and landed on the hard ground. His bones, or at least the equivalent to bones for a spirit, broke on impact, leaving Kano in terrible pain and unable to move. The loud slam of his body caught the attention of the other souls, but they did not help him; to get by in the Netherealm, one needed to do so on their own. Power for the fittest, eternal struggle for the rest.

Kano, surprisingly, picked himself off the ground, still in tremendous pain, but at least whole and capable of walking again. He took the time to look at himself in a reflective pool of mercury... He was naked, his skin burned in the pattern of the lasers that cut through his living body, and his mechanical eye was replaced by rotted flesh and a diseased, blind eye.

"The first recovery is quick, to account for the need to walk in line, but it is the only mercy you shall receive here."

Kano looked for where the voice came from, but he realized it was in his mind... Perhaps they were instructions all new arrivals received, and he was compelled to pay attention.

"You will remain in a suspended spiritual state for as long as it takes to determine your worth to the Netherealm. You will be unable to harm anyone while you await judgement. It will take some time before you can see and hear everything in the realm; however, everyone can see you."

Those last words sparked some fear in Kano. How many souls had he sent to the Netherealm over the years? How many would remember him? Would the ones he could not see bother him? He had so many questions, and for the first time since childhood, felt out of his element... He eventually saw, what appeared to be, multiple spirits waiting in single file, and proceeded to stand behind them.

The more he stood in the realm, the more he began to see, as if a layer of fog surrounding every object was slowly lifting... He saw metallic obelisks with protruding spikes covered with skeletons, and chains dangling with victims begging for freedom, volcanoes constantly erupting sulfur and lava, massive serpents stalking in the hot magma and snatching random passers in their gigantic jaws. Occasionally a random Demon would be grabbed, but quickly break out of the creature's hold. The sky was red and black with fire and smoke. It was not just sights Kano noticed slowly, but sounds. There were screams of beings tortured all around him, but among them were laughs, howls, discussions in languages he did not recognize, and most disturbing of all, low moans from a voice he had not heard in over ten years... The voice was that of a woman, and she growled his name as he walked in line. He looked up with his good eye and saw a naked Shokan suspended in the air by chained hooks attached to her limbs, but connected to nothing. Struggling left her skin partially torn, and a gaping hole in her chest revealed a damaged heart and ribcage, a reminder of her own death. The only part that seemed unnatural from this was her smiling and giggling as Kano neared her. Kano had not seen Sheeva since he watched Shao Kahn impale her. He smirked as her life faded from her face then; he smirked now looking at the broken image of her former self after years of bondage.

"Ha ha ha," she cackled, "a familiar face that isn't a warped Shokan's! How are you, Kano?"

Kano remained hard and cautious as he neared her. "Sheeva, you old cunt, I was feeling vogeled up til now, but it's nice to see your pretty face. You brightened up my day." Sheeva cocked her head to the side and stared.

"Oh, your days will only get better here, Kano, I can assure you! You want to know why?" Her eyes glowed red with intensity, and she flailed her arms wildly, hoping to grab Kano. "Because once I am free of these chains, I will rejoice in ripping you to pieces again, and again, and again! Can you imagine it? We will have FUN!"

Kano shrugged his shoulders, already annoyed with the Shokan. He would not allow himself to be broken by the likes of any horrors he saw here. "Sheeva, you always were a crazy, psychotic, 6-legged dingo bitch. I hope those chains wrap around your throat so that I don't have to hear you cry like a bloody whore for eternity."

Sheeva wriggled in the chains, her movements growing more frantic and her voice becoming more guttural "Ha ha ha ha ha, Kano, Kano, Kano... You just don't understand how this realm works, do you?" As she struggled more savagely, chained hooks appeared out of thin air and latched into the helpless Shokan. The hooks dug deeper into her flesh to keep her suspended, and more grew from each link to contain Sheeva more easily. Her green blood dripped at Kano's feet. "I will not rest until I am free of these bindings, Kano! The Netherealm knows this! I will rip you into so many tiny pieces, you won't regenerate for months! I will bathe in your blood!"

"Ha, then bring it, bitch! I'll see you after I deal with these judges and skull-fuck your brains out. If they're anything like yours truly, I'm going to coast on by here and you'll be on chains as I parade you around like the god-damnned mongrel you are."

A smile crept across Sheeva's face upon hearing this. She took in a deep breath, and started mumbling something Kano could not hear above the rattling chains as she moved, but she started screaming as several more bindings hooked into her skin, "MORE HOOKS, MORE BLOOD!"

Kano stepped back and prepared himself for whatever Sheeva was doing. When every inch of her skin was hooked, she threw herself backwards and lunged into Kano's direction. The chains and hooks held her for years because she could not bear the pain; today the pain was not important. The hooks ripped off her flesh and skin, but she was free to roam the Netherealm and free to have her revenge on Kano. Kano cannonballed into her, but it was useless; he simply bounced off like a balloon. Until he was judged, he could not fight, and Sheeva took full advantage of his predicament. She grabbed and threw Kano to the ground, and kept him pinned down while she pummelled him, screaming a Kuatan dialect. As every blow landed, Sheeva tapped into the Netherealm's essence, and her body healed and changed. Kano was blinded by the blood oozing from her wounds, and felt weak with pain and anguish, unable to fight back. It wasn't until a large, black, four-armed Demon grabbed Sheeva and held her back that Kano was able to stand. He knew better than to thank the Demon; it was more likely the creature wanted its own chance to throttle his helpless soul.

Sheeva screamed wildly, threatening the Demon with torture it could never dream of, until it let out a low growl and spoke in Kuatan, particularly Sheeva's dialect. She calmed herself and the Demon let her out of his four great arms. Her transformation was complete: Her torn skin and exposed muscles bulged and hardened, becoming scaly green armour, her hair grew down her back, a small Dragon-like tail appeared, the hole in her chest closed, and her hands and feet grew slender claws, mimicking viper fangs. Chains materialized around her torso and forearms, creating armour suitable for a Demon. The large Demon walked closer to Kano, his tiger-like head smelling the air around him. The Demon had a beige mane around his head, neck, and shoulders, and his body's fur was black and smelled of smoke. As the creature moved, ash and embers fell to the ground, and his footsteps scorched the barren earth.

"You stink of humanity, Kano," scoffed the Demon as he studied, and eventually picked Kano off the ground. His giant hands burned Kano's skin, creating a hissing sound as he clenched and held onto the squirming human. "A long time ago, as I chained you to my lord's arena, I suggested you and the woman be killed. Seeing you here now, I'm thankful the emperor thought against it."

Kano's memory was not as good as this being's. He remembered the events well enough, including being chained near Sonya, and shortly afterwards, watching this large being lead a team of Tarkata to find and capture Raiden while he was in a vulnerable, mortal form. However, Kintaro's name escaped him.

"Maybe if you were executed, I would be the new arrival here, and you would be teaching Sheeva patience. Oh yes, she and I will eventually make you regret your existence, but it is not yet time. Where is the joy in attacking a helpless opponent? And besides, once the Judges see you, you'll be so broken, you'll make Sheeva look sane in comparison."

"You were nothing but Shao Kahn's pet cat, Shokan. I ain't afraid of no Judges and the next time I see you, I'm turnin' you into kitty litter."

Kintaro was not impressed with Kano's bravado and kicked him into a nearby pillar. Some skeletons shattered while others moaned with dusty voices for help. "We'll see about that, human. Now come along, Sheeva, it is time to learn and master your new powers and take your rightful place amongst the Demons. You have been in chains for far too long."