#mk 2011

Johnny: “See ya, Doc!” Andrius then continues to where Raiden and the rest went, Varian following at his side as Johnny went to find Sonya. “Now let’s see where this Sonya went off to.”

We now shift to Sonya’s point of view, where we see her trying to guide the rest of her squadron to the island.

Walkie Talkie: “...triangulating your signal for evac but… General Blade… there is no island… not on our radar… and not on any of our maps.”

Sonya: “What are you talking about, soldier? I’m literally standing on the island! Just lock on to my wrist comm!”

Walkie Talkie: “...understood General… What is your current status? As the soldier on the walkie talkie ends their query, Kano walks up to the lonely Special Forces General.

Kano: “Alive at the moment. But not for long if I have anything to say about it.” The Australian grins wickedly as his mechanical eye shines, glimmering in the moonlight.

Sonya: “Kano…” Sonya spits with all of the venom she could muster in her voice.

Kano: “That's my name! Don’t wear it out, love.” His grin remains as he approaches Sonya. “Ever wonder what was below this cliff? All of the walking around, trying to keep in touch with your mates, that thought’s had to cross your mind.”

Sonya: “I’d rather not.” She mumbles.

Kano: “Oh, come on, Sonya! It’ll be fun!” Johnny then walks up on the two.

Johnny: “I think she’s made it clear that she wants you to leave her alone, Tin Head.”

Sonya: “Johnny? What the hell are you doing here?” Before Johnny can respond, Kano speaks.

Kano: “Well, well, well! If it isn’t Mr. Hollywood himself! Come to rescue a damsel in distress, pretty boy?” The Black Dragon boss taunts.

Johnny: “Oh, so you’ve heard of me? Then you know the beat down that you’re about to get then?”

Kano: “I’ve seen about one or two of ‘em. One that Justus showed me because you stole his face for the main villain, and some that Kabal’s shown me to show how bad it was.” He laughs, remembering Kabal’s rants. “But the quality of your films and stunts doesn’t matter to me, I’ll still kick your ass.”

Johnny: “You want to see real stunts, I’ll show you real stunts.” Johnny then rushes towards Kano, aiming to uppercut the Aussie right in his cybernetic eye, but right as Johnny’s fist gets close to Kano’s face, the cyborg ducks, grabbing Johnny and tossing him off of the ledge.

Sonya: “Johnny!” Sonya yells, worried for the actor, based on how far up they were, not to mention the spikey rocks that littered the cliff.

Kano: “So, you do care about ‘em, isn’t that nice. A little too late though, don’t ya think.”

Sonya: “Johnny’s not dead, Kano! Even if he is, you’ll be joining him soon enough!” Sonya shouts, now being more done with Kano than she already was, and wanting to put an end to him once and for all, defeating him. While she wanted to do nothing more than to throw Kano off the cliff as he had done to Johnny, as she looked over the ledge she saw Johnny hanging from a cliff, which also trying to fight off Justus, a turned Vaternian who was one of Kano’s lackeys as a member of the Black Dragon. 

Seeing this, Sonya decided against throwing Kano off the cliff, not wanting to throw Justus his boss. Tired of Johnny doing everything to get away from the vampire’s grasp, Justus just grabs the actor and flies off with him. 

Once above the cliff, Johnny manages to get somewhat free, tossing Justus to the ground where Sonya was, Johnny landing on him. Johnny gets off, ready to fight the bloodsucker that had tried to abduct him.

But before Johnny or Sonya can blink, they see a flash of black and red before Johnny gets a neck full of what feels like icicles pricking into his veins. Sonya can barely see Johnny for Justus’ large black wings that were flayed out.

Sonya: “Get off of him you freak!” Sonya warns, pulling out one of her pistols, causing one of Justus’ eyes to shift, moving one of his wings slightly to better see.

Justus: “You know that’s not going to work on me right? Silver bullets or regular bullets.”

Sonya: “Are you stupid or something? All I need is to hit you with one silver bullet and you’re done for.”

Justus: “Unless you have a whole silversmith’s shop in those bullets, they're not going to do anything. You see, thanks to Shang Tsung, I don’t have to worry about typical vampire weaknesses. Except for the stake through the heart thing though, as that’s something that would kill most typical people.”

Sonya: “Huh, I see.” Sonya nods, eyeing the cliff that she knew had spikes. Having his fill of Johnny and knowing what Sonya was thinking, goes after Sonya. “Didn’t you drink enough of Johnny’s blood?”

Justus: “There’s rarely ever enough blood to fully satisfy a vampire. Plus, Johnny’s blood’s a bit too rich for me.”

Sonya: “Oh, I can imagine.” She chuckles, before fighting off Justus herself. Right before Sonya can deliver a finishing blow, Justus flies away, carrying Kano with him. “Damn it!” Sonya yells, chasing Justus, but this makes Justus fly faster, Sonya not being able to keep up, Johnny following behind her. Sonya and Johnny slow down a bit but still head in the direction that they’d seen Justus fly.

After walking for a bit, Johnny and Sonya come to a dead end, being met with a wall of rock, the two looking up to see that this rock went way up, the tip going up into the clouds.

Johnny: “Do you have any equipment? So that we could climb?”

Sonya: “Not on me, no.” Sonya replies as she shakes her head, letting out a frustrated sigh. “It’s best if we stay down here. We don’t know exactly where Justus flew off to, so as much as I hate to say it, we’re going to have to wait until they come to us.”

Johnny: “Yeah, you’re right. We should maybe look around. I don’t trust this island, and I don’t want to go to bed until I know what’s on this island.”

Sonya: “Wouldn’t expect you to come up with that plan.”

Johnny: “Yeah, well, my mom was a cop, so I kind of know a thing or two. You did not fuck around with her.”

Sonya: “Sounds like a nice lady. Let’s start looking around where the palace is. If there’s something suspicious, it’s either in the forest, or around The Shang’s humble abode.” Sonya brings up Johnny nodding as they walk towards the buildings of the island, a large and elegant palace being seen a good distance away from the other buildings that they could see.

As the two are making their way past some of the buildings, they hear a commotion coming from one of the buildings that they’d just passed, causing them to hurry into that building.

When Sonya and Johnny enter this building, they see Jax breaking out of the cell that the Shangs had imprisoned him in. Speaking of the Shangs, unfortunately for Jax, Johnny and Sonya, Megan and Shang Tsung happened to walk in after the two Americans, having heard the commotion as well.

Megan: “Looks like the soldier finally found a way out of his cell. Unfortunately for him and his little friends here, he was a little too loud.” Megan interrogates, restraining the three Earthrealmers with her ghostly white energy, the mist flowing right out of her hands.

Jax: “What the hell!? I knew you two were spooky as well as your island, but this is something else!”

Shang Tsung: “If you like my wife’s magic, then how about I show you a taste of mine.” The sorcerer smirks, pointing his hand in the direction that he could sense someone crouched down, who Shang Tsung had managed to sense sneak in behind him and Megan. Shang Tsung then uses his magic to siphon some of the intruder's soul, Shang Tsung’s magic pulling the intruder closer to him thanks to the pull of the sorcerer’s ability. The intruder is revealed to be Kenshi Takahashi.

Kenshi: “Please… stop… I… I can’t see…” The swordsman croaks out with the bit of energy that he had left.

Shang Tsung: “Since you asked so nicely.” Shang Tsung mutters, letting go of Kenshi with his magic, allowing Kenshi to breathe again, though weakly. The sorcerer then siphons Kenshi’s soul to Megan, where the soul changes from a green flame-like orb, to a white ball, which Megan turns into her mist-like energy, pouring his energy into Kenshi’s agape mouth, giving him the piece of his soul back.

Kenshi: “Thank you.” The black dragon swordsman lets out in relief, being able to breathe again. “I don’t mean to push the issue, but may I have my vision back?”

Shang Tsung: “I’m afraid that’s irreversible, Kenshi.” The sorcerer lets out, unleashing burning skulls at Jax, burning his shirt off. Not wanting to get burned, Megan releases her magic, causing Kintaro to approach to restrain Jax, Megan having held Jax long enough for the giant, multi-armed tiger to show up. Before Kintaro can get his paws on Jax and put him in a stronger cell, Jax manages to knock out the giant cat and goes to rescue Johnny and Sonya.

Megan: “Ah, ah, ah! Not so fast, Jax. How about you chill out, and then we can talk things over.” Megan says with discipline in her voice. Megan uses her magic to create one of her soul orbs, cold mist coming from the ball. Megan then drops the ball with an underhand motion, landing in between Megan and Jax, where the Lin Kuei Cryomancer appears.

Jax: “Who the hell are you? One of her undead minions or something?”

Bi-Han: “I am neither undead, nor a minion. While I don’t like fighting on others’ behalf, my clan and the Shangs do share an alliance. It looks like you are the enemy.”

Jax: “If that’s how you want to see things, Frosty. I for one just want to get off of this island and back to my squadron once and for all!”

Bi-Han: “And with my help you may leave. Just make sure not to squirm, Major, and you can reunite with your squadron in no time. Quick and painlessly.”

Jax: “Wait, what!? What did you do to my squadron, sorcerers! You better be speakin’ now or I swear I’ll-”

Megan: “Next time one of your soldiers reaches out to someone outside of the island, make sure it’s private, Major.”

Sonya: “Wait, how did you?”

Shang Tsung: “Do you forget who this island belongs to? We have eyes and ears all over the island who may have picked up on your conversation other than Mr. Cage?” The Earthrealmers then narrow their eyes.

Jax & Sonya: “That damn Black Dragon…”

Sonya: “It had to have been Justus. When Kano threw Johnny off of the cliff, Justus was immediately on him, as if he was waiting down there, and Kano did arrive seemingly out of nowhere. There could’ve been more members around, but those were the two that I saw…”

Johnny: “So, is that why you’re here, Takahashi? To eavesdrop on boss’ orders?”

Kenshi: “With all of the noise that Jax made in his escape, I couldn’t help but be curious. I’ve realized now that when I saw Megan and Tsung enter I should have minded my business, but I guess it’s a little late for that. Kano’s not going to be pleased…”

Jax: “Then join us, uh, Takahashi was it that Cage said? Join the good side!”

Sonya: “We know you probably have your reasons for joining him, but I mean you saw, er, felt what happened when you snuck in here. You got attacked by a supposed ally. Whether or not the sorcerer knew it was you or not doesn’t matter. Kano and the sorcerers are only in things for themselves, and you know that.” But before anyone else can say a word, Shang Tsung and Megan yell out to the Cryomancer.

Megan and Shang Tsung: “Bi-Han! Now!” This command kicks the Lin Kuei Grandmaster into action, causing the room to drop by a few degrees. Out of desperation, Jax defeats Bi-Han rather easily, too easily for the Cryomancer’s liking, causing him to storm off back to his room.

Jax: “I’m done with y’all’s games! Let Sonya and Cage go!” The army major demands. Megan and Shang Tsung think on Jax’s words for a moment.

Megan: “Only because I’m worried about Takahashi’s condition, I will let your friends go. While he lost his battle against Cage, he still has two matches in our tournament. Jax has two more opponents to face, Blade has one more opponent to face, and Cage is good until the finals, him having won all three of his matches.” Megan announces, releasing her magic from Johnny and Sonya.

Johnny: “Wait, so you count off screen fights for tournament points?”

Shang Tsung: “Of course. As we’ve stated, we have eyes and ears everywhere Mr. Cage. It is our island after all.”

Jax: “So, we’ve noticed. You said that I had two opponents left, so I take it you two are my opponents?”

Megan: “Don’t be stupid, Major. You’ll get the chance to do that once you’ve won your matches.”

Johnny: “Yeah, they said that during the opening speech.”

Sonya: “He wasn’t there for the opening speech, Cage. He’s been here the whole time!”

Shang Tsung: “If you would like to continue your chat, you may leave. We have other business to attend to. We will attend to the three of you when the time calls for it.” Shang Tsung sneers as he and Megan exit the building, Megan carrying Kenshi in front of her with her energy.

(Megan and Shang Tsung’s pov)

Megan and Shang Tsung then walk off in the direction of the guest houses, Megan wanting to have Kenshi checked out by Andrius before he fights his two remaining opponents, not wanting Kenshi to literally fight blind. While Megan and her husband, Shang Tsung, would often have kombatants do horrible things to each other, as this wasn’t in the middle of a match, Megan wanted to at least get him checked out.

Shang Tsung doesn’t object to this and goes along with his wife, making sure she’s safe with all of the people from all across the realms being on their island.

Speaking of people across the realms being here, as Megan and Shang Tsung are on their way to the guest buildings, the couple comes across Kitana and Jade. Friends of Megan’s since childhood, all three ending up working for Shao Kahn since his invasion on Edenia decades ago. While Kitana and Jade stayed with Shao Kahn, working for him more directly, Shao being Kitana’s “stepdad” and Kitana not wanting to disappoint him, not wanting to face his wrath if she could avoid it and Jade started out as a sort of bodyguard for the Khan, being moved to being Kitana’s bodyguard once Rain and Floyd joins. Megan was one of Shao Kahn’s mercenaries, taking care of anyone that Shao Kahn saw as an issue or threat. This was until Shang Tsung visited one day, wanting to try and  strike a deal with the Kahn, but when Shang Tsung got there, he ended up proposing two deals. The one he went there to make, and for Megan to work for him instead of Shao. Megan and Shang Tsung begin their relationship soon after, and that’s how we end up where we are today.

Kitana: “Megan! It is good to see you. I’d have thought that you and Tsung would’ve been in bed by now, so it’s a welcome surprise to see you here.”

Megan: “It is our island, Kitana. We thought we’d do some rounds of the island to make sure nothing was suspicious before we rested for the night.”

Shang Tsung: “That was until there was a commotion in our dungeons. One of our prisoners made a jailbreak, and this young man was caught in my crossfire.”

Jade: “What did you do with the prisoner?

Megan: “He unfortunately got away, but we’ll get him and his friends later.”

Kitana: “Who was it that escaped? The Earthrealmers?” Megan nods.

Jade: “We can take care of them for you. Jax and Sonya, right? Along with the actor?”

Shang Tsung: “Cage is off limits until the next set of matches.”

Jade: “Right, because he won his matches today.”

Kitana: “We can still go after the other two, yes? Sonya needs one more fight and Jax, if the noises from the dungeons were any indication, still has two left.”

Megan: “Correct.” Megan then thinks for a moment. “I think Skarlet should be his final opponent for his first round. That way we can test Jax’s might and Kano can test Skarlet's. If Jax wins he’s free to go, and what happens if Skarlet wins or loses will be up to Kano.”

Shang Tsung: “If one of us sees her we should probably let her know.”

Jade: “Will do.” Jade and Kitana nod before going in the direction that Megan and Shang Tsung came from as the couple continued on to where Andrius was staying.

Kenshi: “Are we in your mansion?”

Megan: “Close. We’re in the guest quarters. A separate building away from our home.”

Shang Tsung: “We’ve come to see if Andrius in his expertise could do anything about your ocular condition.”

Kenshi: “I believe I saw him at the tournament. When I could see. He’s the guy with the plague doctor mask, yes?”

Shang Tsung: “Correct.” Shang Tsung nods as Megan knocks gently but firmly on Andrius’ door, not wanting to awaken any of their guests.

Andrius: “Good evening, Mrs. Shang. Mr. Shang… is there something that you need? Raiden is in the room across from me if you need to speak to him.”

Shang Tsung: “Actually, Doctor Nils, we need your expertise.”

Megan: “You see, Tsung was dealing with an unruly guest, and this young man, Mr. Takahashi was caught in the crossfire. Blinding him.” Andrius then looks over to where Kenshi was floating, approaching the swordsman.

Andrius: “His eyes look fine. They don’t look burned or anything, so I take it, it was your soul magic, sorcerer?”

Shang Tsung: “Correct.”

Andrius: “I’ll see what I can do. While his eyeballs don’t have any signs of injury, soul magic is a tricky thing, especially with such an important area being the unfortunate target. I may at least be able to ease the pain.” The doctor assesses before pausing in his observations, seeing Raiden and Fujin having walked up behind the sorcerer couple.

Raiden: “And just what are you two doing here.”

Shang Tsung: “You tell me, Raiden, this is our island.”

Fujin: “Brother, now is not the time for squabbling.” Fujin interjects, pointing to where Andrius was still observing Kenshi’s wound, gently touching the scar that littered his eyelids.

Megan: “He was spying on me and Tsung as we were dealing with another kombatant. As we were dealing with this unruly kombatant, Kenshi got caught in the crossfire.”

Raiden: “You expect us to believe that? While we did hear a commotion outside, I doubt this man’s optical injury was a mere accident.”

Andrius: “Believe them or not, Lord Raiden, he is still injured, and needs attention as soon as possible before the injury spreads. You and Fujin out of anyone should know how dangerous soul magic can be.”

Fujin: “Andrius is correct, brother. While I’m cautious of the Shangs myself, the point is that Takahashi was still affected by soul magic and needs to be treated.” Raiden then thinks a moment before reluctantly nodding.

Raiden: “You may drop the Earthrealmer off. Once he is properly situated, the two of you may exit to go about your “duties” of the island.”

Megan: “Thank you, Raiden.”

Andrius: “Follow me, Mrs. Shang. Tsung, not another step.” Andrius beckons, spitting at the sorcerer. “Feel free to put him on the furthest bed near the window.” He instructs Megan, walking into the room and placing the swordsman gently onto the bed before leaving to reunite with her husband.

Megan: “When will we hear back about his injury?” Megan asks curiously.

Andrius: “I’ll send Marshmallow to you with a note tomorrow night. I should have his eyes properly assessed and dealt with by then.” The doctor confirms, the white raven on his shoulder cawing.

Megan: “That works.” She nods.

Shang Tsung: “We will be taking our leave now. You three may rest easy until dawn.” He announces as the couple departs from the Sky Temple group’s guest house.

(Sonya and Jax route)

We now come back to where we see Johnny and Sonya helping to walk an injured out of the dungeons.

Jax: “Y’all two know that I can walk just fine, right?”

Johnny: “After all you just encountered? Breaking out of a cell? Beating cats and popsicles? Getting your shirt burned clean off?”

Sonya: “I have to admit that it was a lot to go through. Especially given the timeframe of it all.” Jax sighs as Sonya and Johnny let go of the army major.

Jax: “I’m fine. Thank you for your concern.” Before Johnny or Sonya can say anything else, they hear a set of footsteps approaching.

Jade and Kitana: “By decree of the Shangs, you three are under arrest!”

Jax: “I don’t think so. I just came from those dungeons, and I don’t intend on going back anytime soon.”

Kitana: “What about you, Blade? Or how about Cage? Since he doesn’t have any more matches until his next round?”

Johnny: “Nuh uh. I don’t care how beautiful you two are, I am not going in a cell! Especially one as dingy and questionable as the one that Jax just left from.”

Jade: “Then that just leaves you.” The jade-clad woman sneers, looking at the special forces general. “Did you want to handle this one, Kitana? While I handle Briggs?”

Kitana: “It would be my pleasure. After us, you’ll only need one last opponent. One that I’m sure you will encounter in time.” Kitana replies, taking out her fans, Jade taking out her pole staff. Despite Jax’s weakness, he manages to defeat Jade, just as Sonya is able to defeat Kitana.

Sonya: “Let the Shangs know that we’re done here.”

Jade: “And where will you go? You have no way of getting off this island, your squadrons being at the bottom of the ocean by now.”

Jax: “If I know our crew, I’m sure they’ve got someone on the way.”

Kitana: “Assuming that they make it here.”

Jax: “One can only hope.” Jax thinks out loud as Kitana and Jade head back from the direction that they’d come.

(Back to Megan and Shang Tsung’s pov)

Megan and Shang Tsung are walking back to where they had left Jax, Johnny and Sonya, eager to see if Kitana and Jade had gotten to them and what the results were.

On the way there, the couple happen to run into Skarlet, just the blood red clad edenian who they were looking for.

Megan: “Skarlet! We’ve been looking for you! Are you alright?”

Skarlet: “I am marvelous. What is it that has you two looking for me?”

Shang Tsung: “I’ve heard from Shao that you have been studying blood magic, yes? How would you like to quench your thirst by finishing off an opponent for us? Justus already has.”

Skarlet: “That depends. Who is this opponent exactly?” The future blood mage questions, turning to look at Shang Tsung.

Megan: “Major Jackson Briggs. He has only one match left for his first round, Jax having won his first two. We have already sunken down his and General Blade’s squadrons, so whether he wins or loses doesn’t truly matter as long as no one else comes to try and save him.” Megan explains.

Skarlet: “I believe I’ve heard his name being tossed around. When would you like to go after him?”

Shang Tsung: “Preferably as soon as possible. Jade and Kitana should have already faced him, so Jax should be ready for one last fight before his second round.”

Skarlet: “Understood.” Skarlet bows, the three heading to where Megan and Shang Tsung had last seen Jax, Johnny, and Sonya

(Back to Jax and Sonya’s pov)

Johnny: “How are you two holding up?” Johnny asks after Jax and Sonya’s fight with Jade and Kitana.

Jax: “We’re holdin’ on. How about you, Sonya?”

Sonya: “I’m fine. Let’s just try to find a way off of this freaky island.” Jax and Johnny nod, the movie star helping Jax and Sonya up. The three then hear a whirring sound.

Johnny: “What the hell is that noise? Don’t tell me Shang Tsung has something else up his sleeves.”

Jax: “No. That doesn’t sound like any of Shang's tricks. If anything, it sounds like some sort of helicopter.”

Sonya: “Wait, helicopter? Did our squadrons manage to send help before being attacked?” The three ponder hopefully. The noise gets louder and louder as it approaches, when the three Earthrealmers see a giant black helicopter coming closer to the island. Once the helicopter is close enough for it to start lowering itself to the island, it is struck down by a flaming skull that looked exactly like the one that had struck Jax not too long ago. Sure enough, when Jax, Sonya and Johnny look to the direction that the flaming skull had come from, they see Shang Tsung, with Megan and Skarlet standing on each side of the sorcerer.

Sonya: “No! Ugh! Damn you sorcerers!” Sonya yells in frustration, now being pissed off with the Shangs.

Jax: “You just now gettin’ fed up with them? I’ve had to deal with them for weeks.” He reminds Sonya.

Sonya: “That’s why I’m fed up with them! Because of what they’ve done to you, them dealing with Kano, the tournament, and just the island as a whole! I swear I can’t get a damn break…” The general breaths.

Johnny: “Yeah. Heh, sometimes I get the feeling like there’s cameras everywhere. Like there’s eyes all around this already weird island, causing you to have the feeling that you're being watched. At first I thought it was just my nerves, combined with just the vibes of the island, causing my horror movie senses to go off as it were, and that the feeling would go away, but the feeling just grows everywhere I go.” Johnny elaborates on Sonya’s point.

Megan: “How perceptive, Earthrealmer. As this is our island, me and Tsung naturally have eyes and ears everywhere, as Jax and Sonya know at this point. As they should also know, yet keep insisting on trying to fight against, you three are not leaving this island. Not unless you die, or win the tournament.”

Shang Tsung: “Which brings us to why we are here in front of you. Cage and Blade have finished their fights, so they are safe until our next round. Jax, fortunately or unfortunately, still has one fight remaining. As you could presume, your final fight will be Skarlet.” The sorcerer gestures to the red-cladded Edenian beside him. Skalret steps forward, ready for her battle with Jax.

Skarlet: “Oh how I’ve waited to enter this tournament! Shao Kahn has always held me back, stating that he wanted to give the others a chance. Once Megan left to work with Shang Tsung, I thought that it would finally be my chance, but he still insisted on focusing on the others. Now, at one of the most important tournaments to date, I finally get my chance. My chance to finally revel in the blood of realmers that I didn’t even know existed!”

Jax: “Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but you won’t be getting your chance this time either. I’d prefer it if my blood and the blood of my friends and realm were in our bodies, thank you.”

Skarlet: “I will get my fill, Earthrealmer! I will prove to Shao Kahn that he was wrong for holding me back for so long!” Despite Skarlet’s speech, she loses to Jax, giving Jax the wins that he needed to move on to the next round to hopefully leave the island once and for all. This loss gets to Skarlet, who turns back to where Megan and Shang Tsung currently were.

Jax: “Not today, crazy lady.” Jax remarks, not helping Skarlet’s mood.

Megan: “It’s alright, Skarlet, you still have two more fights. As long as you win those, Shao doesn’t have to know a thing.”

Skarlet: “Thank you, Megan.” She nods before walking off to her room.

Shang Tsung: “Jax on the other hand, has officially completed his matches for this round. You three will now be safe until the next round. I trust to see you three in one piece once the time comes.” The sorcerer confirms. Before anyone can say anything, Megan and Shang Tsung walk away, heading to their quarters as well, the couple finally ready to settle in for the night and get some peace and quiet before the fights resume the following day.