A/N: Sorry it took a while to update. I’ll try not to do that again.

Outworld - Outside Shao Kahn’s Fortress

All was quiet as Sheeva scanned the area with her red eyes. She had been standing just near the edge of the forest since the middle of the afternoon, guarding the fortress which stood a quarter mile away behind her.

‘I better hear about something interesting this time when I get off duty,’ the female Shokan thought to herself.

Everyday has been the same to her for the past few weeks. The Outworld Forces have been working on taking over the village of Lin Chang, one of the last two free places in Outworld… the other being the city of Lei Chen. Although many realms were captured, the Forces were only trying to secure those realms and merge them with Outworld as there were still some with rebellions fighting against them.

Sheeva wondered when they were going to try to take over another realm.

As she continued to watch over the area, she began to hear footsteps not too far from her. Just to be cautious, Sheeva slowing reached to her sides, using all four of her hands to grab the hilts of her Shokan Blades.

“There’s no need to have your hands on those,” a deep voice said from behind her.

Sheeva whirled herself around upon hearing the voice, keeping her hands on her blades. She then got a look at the person behind her, now recognizing fellow Shokan, Kintaro.

Sheeva stared at him. “In a place like this, one should always be cautious,” she said.

Kintaro only nodded. “I’m here with some news.”

Sheeva removed her hands from the hilt of the blades as she continued to stare at Kintaro. He had been working for Shao Kahn for almost as long as she has, and only recently did they start to work with each other under the Emperor’s orders. Although they were both Shokan, they were of different species. Sheeva’s species was more of a dragon while Kintaro’s was more of a tiger.

While Sheeva was working within The Blood Tournament, Kintaro had duties elsewhere, his reason for his absence during that time.

“Go on,” Sheeva encouraged after some silence.

“The village of Lin Chang has been finally captured,” Kintaro informed her. “And even better… within the next few days, we’ll be invading Earth.”

A grin played on Sheeva’s face. “It’s about time! We’ve been waiting for this moment for months.”

Kintaro nodded. “For now, however, we both have an assignment from the Emperor and Empress… you and I are to leave for Lin Chang and officially secure it. Of course… there is one catch…”

“And that is…?”

“… Motaro will be coming along with us. He should be here any minute.”

A small growl escaped Sheeva. It was only bad enough that the Shokans and Motaro’s race, the Centaurians, were enemies for as long as they could remember… but when Shao Kahn placed her and Kintaro as their bodyguards, Motaro was placed with them as well. Basically, whatever assignment she and Kintaro had, Motaro was always with them.

“I’ll never understand why Shao Kahn has us working with him. Does he not know our history?”

“As much as I don’t understand this decision either,” Kintaro began to say. “The only thing we can do is make the best of it. If we continue to make a fuss about it, it will eventually catch on around the Forces. That will only make us look bad, and it will only prove that Motaro and his race are indeed superior.”

“I understand,” Sheeva said. “But I still suspect that Shao Kahn still favors Motaro’s race over ours.”

That’s when the two heard heavy footsteps near by coming towards. Knowing who was coming, they fell silent.

Soon enough, Motaro came into their view. He continued walking, his four horse-like legs heavily pounding the ground under his weight.

“I can assume you two are ready for the assignment,” Motaro said while not looking at them. “Let’s get this over with.”

By then, he was ahead of them. As he wasn’t looking, Sheeva and Kintaro exchanged glances for a moment. Then, they reluctantly followed their enemy into the forest.

The cool air around him was welcoming to him for once as he trained on a hilltop looking over the wastelands. The sound of the wind was all he heard as his eyes were closed.

Only a few days ago did he escape from the Netherealm. He had been sent there after an encounter with the Emperor of Outworld. He lost power upon his ‘death,’ but was able to regain more during his stay in the realm.

He had trained endlessly there, at least until the day he finally escaped when he happened to have passed by a portal that was just beginning to close. Since then, he’s been here in the Wastelands.

His looks have changed due to his stay in the Netherealm. With his white hair, darker skin, and his violet gi, most would think that he is now using his full power. However, only by looks, he would only be known as Shin Akuma. He still possesses power thanks to his time in the Netherealm… but his rightful energies were now in the hands of Shao Kahn.

Shin Akuma was not one to fight others just to get something from them. However, when it involved his own energies, the ones that made him powerful above many, it was a different story.

As he continued to train on the hilltop, Shin Akuma suddenly heard footsteps in the distance. Believing to be a challenger, the demon quickly opened his eyes, revealing their glowing red color. He then sensed a power that was quite familiar to him.

Shin Akuma scanned his surroundings before he spotted a small figure at the bottom of the hill. The figure was surrounded by a purple aura.

The demon grinned. ‘The Satsui No Hadou,’ he thought with delight. ‘Someone has embraced it’s power.’

He already knew that it wasn’t his brother Gouken’s student, Ryu, as he was much larger in stature last he checked. Same with his other student, Ken.

If that’s the case, then who was this?

Still possessing the ability to teleport, Shin Akuma quickly maneuvered himself down the hill, and got himself behind the figure. Standing about ten yards away, he was now able to get a better look at this person.

To his surprise, the figure was a young woman. Her short hair was a raven color, her skin a deathly pale, and the iris of her eyes a blood red. As she walked forward, she seemed to be in a bit of a daze as the purple aura around her small body continued to glow.

It was no matter how this girl was able to unlock the Satsui No Hadou. Shin Akuma grinned to himself as he realized that he has use for this girl…

All he had to do was train her for a little while…

Present - Outworld Wastelands

From a distance, Shin Akuma watched his student train. With his arms folded, he noted the determination and the intensity in her eyes as she focused on her inner energies.

For a while after he found her, Shin Akuma noted that the young woman seemed a bit familiar to him. Soon enough though, he realized that this was the schoolgirl Sakura, the one who idolized Ryu ever since the first World Warriors Tournament. It was the same tournament in which Ryu left the large scar on the chest of the Muay Thai fighter Sagat.

With her new form, Shin Akuma gave her the name Dark Sakura.

Standing countless yards from a tree, Dark Sakura stood where she was with her hands in front of her. With her eyes closed, the purple aura that had always surrounded her seemed to glow even more with each passing minute.

The power of the Satsui No Hadou is unequal…

Dark Sakura began moving her hands in a slow, circular motion. Her red eyes seemed to glow slightly.

It is not our fists that kill those who cross our path… it is their sins that are responsible for their demise…

A blue aura begins to develop between her hands. Her movements moved faster, causing the energy ball to grow larger in size.

One should only focus on the fight… nothing more and nothing less…

Dark Sakura pulled her arms back to her right side. The wind picked up a bit and the blue energy grew even bigger to the point that it was covering her hands.

To show mercy is to show proof of your imperfection.

Then, with a loud shriek, she pushed her hands forward, letting go of the large ball of energy, which was now a beam-like projectile. A deafening roar from the energy was heard for miles.

Perfection equals obliteration.

The projectile hit the closest tree from her with enough force to turn it into nothing more than dust. Then, nothing more than just the wind was heard.

A grin came over Shin Akuma’s face. His student had done well. There was only one test left before she was ready… to see if she can perfect The Raging Demon maneuver.

Only then will he be able to use her for his plans to retain his energies…

The tiny city was mostly quiet as the citizens preferred to remain in their homes by the early evening. Guards walked along the street, looking over everything to be sure that the city stayed safe. Lei Chen was mostly made of small houses in which the citizens lived. The largest building was a castle, occupied by it’s King and the Lei Chen army.

For the last few months, this was where Siegfried Schtauffen stayed. A native of the realm of Keisei, he had nowhere else to go and no way of escaping Outworld as all the portals were either locked or destroyed.

Looking out the castle’s window, which overlooked the city, Siegfried thought back on how he got here. It felt like only yesterday when he suddenly found himself beneath the rubble of a destroyed building. The last thing he remembered beforehand was being at The Palace, the lodge he stayed at while attending Outworld’s Blood Tournament.

Siegfried knew that the curse he had been suffering from for sometime was the reason he found himself in the rubble. After getting himself out, he had the feeling that something big had happened during his blackout. This was judging by the blood red sky that had covered Outworld’s normal purple color (the sky returned to this color since).

Not knowing what else to do, Siegfried had wandered around for a bit. Soon, he found himself back at the tournament grounds. It was here when he saw a horrifying sight… the rubble that was once The Palace, the blood staining on the rocks, trees, and the ground… and the countless, decaying corpses that laid at his feet.

Siegfried had wondered, because of his curse, if he had been the cause of all of this.

For weeks, he wandered Outworld, not knowing what his own fate was at that point. That was, until the day he arrived at the walled city, where he has been since. When he arrived, he was quite surprised to find that the people of the city became tense by his presence…

“A quiet night,” a voice suddenly said, bringing Siegfried’s mind back to the present. “Quite a surprise during this time of crisis.”

Siegfried nodded, realizing that the person in his presence was right. “I believe that the people of Lei Chen may finally take a peaceful rest tonight.”

“Let us hope that,” the man replied. As he spoke, Siegfried noted the echo that followed in the man’s voice. The younger man turned his head so that he faced the one who he became allies with not long after coming to this city… the enigma Ermac.

It was Ermac who welcomed Siegfried to stay in Lei Chen. His welcome calmed the citizens of the city and they too allowed Siegfried in. That same day, Siegfried got to know Ermac, from how he was created from thousands of souls fused into one body, how he once served Shao Kahn, and how he is now atoning for his past sins by helping the people of Lei Chen protect the city from the Outworld Forces.

It was also through Ermac that Siegfried was able to find out what happened that fateful day on the tournament grounds. He found out how Shao Kahn had used the tournament to lure the participants into a trap, how many souls were taken that day to rebuild his growing army… and how he was now taking over every realm in the universe. This has since left Siegfried wondering about his home realm’s fate.

At one point, he also wondered about the fate of Kitana and her realm.

There was one question at the time that Siegfried had to ask. “Why have you let me into the city?” he questioned at the time.

Ermac had immediately replied with confidence in his voice. “We sense your good spirit. We can trust you enough for you to stay here as long as you like.”

With that, along with six months of no blackouts on top of that, Siegfried realized that the curse Soul Edge placed upon him was finally lifted. Siegfried was unsure of what happened to the essence of the curse, but he always had the feeling that it had something to do with the day Shao Kahn fought the two ‘demons’ he managed to defeat. Whether Soul Edge managed to get a hold of Shao Kahn or disappeared altogether, the Keisei native wasn’t sure.

Since then, Siegfried stayed in Lei Chen. He made the decision to help the city in their fight against the Outworld Forces, believing it to be a way to atone for his own atrocities while under the curse.

It was a major thing he and Ermac shared in common. The two sympathized with each other, as they had been both used like puppets by those who controlled them. They both agreed to stick together in the fight against the Outworld Forces. Ermac himself made a promise to Siegfried to help him find a way back to Keisei once the war was over.

As the two looked over the city through the castle window, Ermac paced himself a bit before speaking. “Although all is quiet now, anything could happen at any moment. The last thing we need is to let our guards down at the wrong time.”

Siegfried nodded in agreement. “Especially with the Tarkatan Hordes trying to help the regular Outworld Force guards with taking over the city.”

“It is only because Lei Chen is the only free city left in Outworld,” Ermac reminded him. He then turned his head to him. “When the Tarkatans strike again, our advice is to slay the one named Baraka. He is not only the General, but he is also the strongest. Tarkatans may look the same to you, but Baraka is not hard to miss… he is the biggest in muscle mass of them all…”

From there, the two talked about additional battle plans for another short while before Siegfried decided to retire for the night. His room, provided by the king, was small and contained only a bed, nightstand, and a candle for light. Siegfried was fine with this, having been thankful for even being able to stay in the city in the first place.

That night, Siegfried was only able to get a few hours of sleep before the sounds of clashing weapons and battle cries reached his ears. As though it was out of instinct, he quickly got himself out of bed, only having time to slip his feet into his metal boots. He then grabbed the hilt of his large sword before bolting out the door.

Siegfried went straight to the battle near the entrance of the city. He passed the panicking citizens, who began their evacuation to the castle as they had always been ordered to. He soon reached the scene, immediately cutting up any enemy who got in his way.

A while past and Siegfried eventually lost count of how many enemies he had slain. Unknown to him, the leader of the Tarkatan Hordes, Baraka, fought his own battle nearby. He was able to kill off his own enemy before retracing his blades back into his forearms. As he turned his head, he spotted both Siegfried and Ermac battling not too far away.

“I knew we’d find them eventually,” a female voice said next to him. Baraka didn’t even have to look to know that it was Mileena who stood next to him. Briefly, he felt her smooth hand brush up his arm before resting on his shoulder.

Mileena then continued. “So… shall we take care of them?”

Baraka raised his arms up a bit, letting his blades quickly extend out of his arms. “I’ve been waiting quite a while to take them down, again.”

He then began running forward. Mileena quickly took out her twin sais, both stained with blood, and followed Baraka.

Both Ermac and Siegfried finished off their last opponents. When they prepared themselves for their next targets, they spotted Baraka and Mileena coming after them. Soon, all four began their face off with Ermac fighting Baraka, and Siegfried fighting Mileena.

Using his axe, Ermac was able to block Baraka’s rapid blade attacks. At one point, the two leaned their weapons against one another in an attempt to overpower the other.

“Give it up, traitor,” Baraka barked. “Lei Chen is the only freed city left in Outworld. You are better off joining with the Emperor if you want to live.”

“You may end up having the chance to conquer the city,” Ermac replied. “But we will never serve Shao Kahn again.” With that, Ermac managed to overpower Baraka by pushing him back. He then jumped forward, attacking Baraka while getting the chance to be on offense.

Meanwhile, Mileena found herself jumping away from Siegfried’s attacks, since her weapons were much smaller than his. She hoped to eventually find a way to get passed the sword and attack him hand to hand.

At one point, Mileena backed herself away before staring at Siegfried. “Why don’t put that toy of yours down and play,” she suggested while speaking in her most seductive voice. Siegfried’s only reply was another swing from his sword, forcing Mileena to once again duck away from the large weapon.

The battle between the four only lasted a short while before Baraka realized that he and the Tarkatan Hordes were being outnumbered by Ermac and the Lei Chen Army. This angered Baraka as he preferred to stay behind until every single one of his enemies were dead. However, under orders of Shao Kahn, he was to retreat when the number of his forces dwindled.

With that, Baraka ordered a retreat. The others hordes followed his demand, pulling away from battle and began heading back away from the city.

Baraka turned his attention to Ermac. “This isn’t over yet, enigma! This is only the beginning!” With that, he began following his hordes with Mileena not too far from him.

The Lei Chen Army watched the hordes disappear into a nearby forest. This had happened on more than one occasion. Either Lei Chen managed to defeat a group of the Outworld Forces, or those who remained ended up retreating.

Once everything was calm, Ermac was the first to speak. “We fear that the city may eventually fall if these onslaughts continue.”

He knew that Baraka’s words to him were definitely true… this wasn’t over yet…

‘Raikou… waga… Shukun…’

These words were chanted slowly by a large group dressed fully in black. Down on their knees with their arms stretched out, they bent themselves down at the waist, bowing down until their faces reached the ground. Then, they would rise themselves back up before repeating their movements again.

In the middle of them was a bit of space serving as an aisle. A single person walked this aisle as he moved towards the front of the group to a single stoned altar. With his glowing blue eyes, he scanned as the figures bowing before him.

The figures… members of the newly built Brotherhood of Shadow, were bowing to their leader, Noob.

It took Noob many months to get to this point. For nearly a year, he has been trying to rebuild the fallen Brotherhood of Shadow, a clan he has been working with for as long as he’s been in the Netherealm.

As the wraith walked towards the altar, he recalled the last eight months in his mind;

While in the realm of Outworld, he found Smoke, the gray cyborg who once served the Lin Kuei, a clan from Earthrealm. Noob was able to activate Smoke, setting up his program so that Smoke would only serve the Netherealm wraith.

Not only was Smoke a useful ally, but he would also be a template for a future army of cyborg demons. They were to be part of the newly built Brotherhood of Shadow.

Noob was just going forth with his plan, but only one person stood in his way… Ashrah. She had once served as an assassin for the Brotherhood and was wanted for treason. All members of the Brotherhood were ordered to kill her on sight.

Ashrah herself wanted to eradicate Noob. Not only was he a Brotherhood, but he was ‘corrupted’ enough to the point that if Ashrah defeated him in battle, then she would be freed from the Netherealm.

The two had battled and although Ashrah did defeat him, she did not kill him. However, it was enough for her to get herself out of the forbidden realm.

Her sword, the artifact responsible for her ascension, had been left behind. As a way to get back at her, Noob used his magic to corrupt the sword. With that, whenever he used the sword against anyone he fights, they would be tainted with evil. Eventually, they would tainted enough to serve the Netherealm wraith.

Noob went to Outworld afterwards, taking Smoke with him. Smoke’s nano-technology always seemed to go haywire whenever they were in the Netherealm for too long. In Outworld, Noob had hoped to find a way to fix that ‘problem,’ all the while creating his cyborg demons.

At the same time, a tournament was taking place. It had involved an artifact that apparently had ‘all the power in the world.’ Noob wanted to use the medallion not only to rebuild the Brotherhood, but also to gain new power. However, that never came to be as he lost the tournament.

During that time, he also made an alliance with Sektor, the leader of the Tekunin clan. Sektor himself was looking to make his clan stronger. Noob was interesting in his technology and hoped to use it to make his own plans beyond what he imagined. The two had formed an alliance throughout the tournament. The two had built machines of their own. They had even tried to capture a couple of victims for testing, but they ended up escaping from their grasps.

Of course, Noob and Sektor had a few thorns on their sides throughout the time. Ashrah happened to have arrived in Outworld. For a while, she worked alone, and Noob believed that he would easily get her out of the way in a short time.

Then, she made an alliance with someone Noob himself had not seen since his arrival in the Netherealm. It was his own brother, Sub-Zero.

Sub-Zero had become much stronger. Not only that, but he was now the leader of the Lin Kuei clan. Joining with the two was Matrik, a former member of the Tekunin, and a thorn in Sektor’s side.

With the three of them working together, they became quite a challenge for Noob and Sektor. During that time, they also developed a machine that gave them the power to fuse together, making themselves a force to be reckoned with.

The three had managed to capture Smoke, freeing him from Noob’s control. From there, his plans slowly began to crumble.

After the tournament ended, Noob fought Sub-Zero in a battle. Noob lost his grip on the sword that had freed Ashrah. And at one point, Sektor left Noob behind after taking care of Matrik. Noob guessed that Sektor may have found out about his later plans to betray the red cyborg and manipulate his programming into serving him. The wraith had not seen him since.

Noob never had the chance to kill off Sub-Zero or Ashrah. He also never had the chance to reclaim Smoke. Instead, he escaped back into the Netherealm to renew his plan to rebuild the Brotherhood.

During the last six months, Noob collected various demons around the Netherealm. Ashrah’s sword had given him some new power abilities, which including turning mindless Netherealm demon into his servant.

Noob has since lost count of how many he has recruited into his newly built clan. And although this wasn’t what he had envisioned, at least now the Brotherhood of Shadow had returned.

After walking passed many of the new members, he soon reached the altar. Two of it’s members stood on either side of the altar. Noob noted that one of them was holding a scythe. The seven foot handle curved slightly as it climbed up. The base that held the four foot curved blade consisted of six, blue jewels, three on each side, that glittered slightly. The entire weapon, besides the jewels, was of a jet black color, including the shiny blade itself.

The two members stepped forward until they were a few feet away from Noob. They then got down on their knees and bowed to him for a moment. Then, the two stood themselves up. The first returned back to the altar. The other, the one holding the scythe, stepped towards Noob. He then extended his arms with the weapon in his hands.

“We, the Brotherhood, present this to you, my lord,” he said. “It a gift that represents our loyalty to you.”

Noob reached his arms out and took the scythe into his hands. The weight of the weapon was nothing to him, but he could imagine that it would be quite heavy for a normal human.

The servant returned back next to the altar as Noob turned his attention to all the other clan members. “Rise!” he demanded.

The Brotherhood of Shadow did as they were told, getting themselves on their feet. Noob waited until all of them were still.

“Our clan is now in full session,” the wraith announced. “In a few days, we shall enter Earthrealm. There, we will head to Artika and take care of the Lin Kuei clan. They are one of many who stand in our way, and it is with my great intention to get them out of the way first.”

Noob moved his head a bit to get a better look at the newly formed clan. All had their heads bowed down underneath their hooded cloaks, but the dark demon knew that they were listening.

“When we arrive at the headquarters,” Noob continued. “We shall eradicate everyone there.”

Noob then planted the end of the scythe into the ground. He held the long handle with his right hand. With his left, he formed a fist next to him.

He then continued, but his voice a bit lowered. “And I’ll finally see to it that Sub-Zero will meet his demise.”

Outside the windows of the main throne room, a battle could be heard. The clashing of swords and the battle cries of soldiers seemed to become louder as they brought themselves closer to the Edenian Castle.

Jade stood a few feet from the window, but the only thing she saw involving the battle was the rising dust from the ground outside. She tightened her grip on her Bo staff in a bit of frustration. As General of the Edenian Army, she wanted to be out there, fighting alongside her comrades.

But also as the bodyguard of the royal Edenian family, she remained in the castle within the sleeping quarters of the Queen.

Jade, along with three others of the army, stood protectively in front of the two members of the royal family… Queen Sindel and Princess Kitana. Both Sindel and Kitana had their own respective weapons in their hands, ready to battle against their foes. Jade and the guards knew that the two could take care of themselves, but as the only two living members of the royal family, the guards could not afford to lose their current Queen and Princess.

As Jade continued to stay on her guard, she suddenly heard a faint, whistle sound coming from outside. She turned her head in time to see a handful of arrows speeding into the room. Everyone jumped out of the way, and they managed to avoid being wounded.

“That was too close,” one guard said after everyone recovered.

“It was, indeed,” agreed Sindel as her grip on her Kwan Do tightened.

“Keep on high alert,” suggested Kitana. “Anything could-”

Before the Princess could finish her sentence, the door to the sleeping quarters was busted opened, much to everyone’s surprise. The now-broken door hung from it’s hinges as four Tarkatans entered the room.

“Damn!” Jade cried out. “How did they get passed the other guards?”

“They’ve must’ve snuck in,” guessed another guard.

The Tarkatans growled before jumping towards the group. Jade and the three guards immediately attacked while Kitana and Sindel were only a few feet behind them. They stood in their own fighting stances, ready to attack any of the Tarkatans who come near them.

Jade easily took down the mutant who went after her, knocking him out cold with her staff. She then looked around to see two of the three fellow guards get the upper hand in their own battle. However, the third, after a bit of struggle, was stabbed through the chest by the Tarkatan’s blades.

“Garan!” one guard yelled out before using his blood stained sword to decapitate the last remaining Tarkatan. Jade watched as the head rolled back out of the room. The headless body stumbled back a bit before falling to the floor.

The guard who did the killing immediately bent down to his ally to check on him. After a few seconds, he shook his head grimly. “Garan’s dead…”

Jade frowned a bit as she looked down at Garan’s lifeless body. She had only known the young man for a short time as he served the Edenian Knights for only a few weeks.

As she moved her head, something caught the corner of Jade’s eye. Quickly, she looked towards the window and saw someone coming up to them from behind Sindel and Kitana.

Quickly, the Edenian General took out her razor-rang. “Look out!” she yelled before throwing it. Sindel and Kitana heard the call in time and ducked out of the way of the weapon’s path. However, the intruder saw the flying object in time and, with a sadistic grin, caught it with their hands.

Jade showed no reaction upon realizing that her own weapon ended up proving useless. However, upon recognizing the intruder, her teeth clenched.

“Tanya,” she growled. The hatred that Jade had for the former Edenian Ambassador’s daughter grew even more than ever. Tanya earned Jade’s loathing the day the yellow-clad woman betrayed Edenia by letting in a fallen Elder God and his minions into the realm, therefore wreaking havoc. This, along with countless other crimes, made her a wanted criminal.

This was the first time Jade has seen Tanya since the Blood Tournament.

Tanya sneered upon hearing Jade say her name. “The one and only. So glad you and I are able to meet again.”

“You have a lot of nerve returning to Edenia,” Jade said. “You will die much sooner if you stay here long enough.”

“Perhaps,” Tanya replied. “… but then again, with the Emperor’s new found power, I don’t think that’ll be happening.”

Before Jade could comprehend what was just said, Tanya quickly threw the razor-rang back at her. The green-clad General attempted to raise her staff up to block it, unsure if her own speed would block the flying weapon in time. However, Jade suddenly found herself being pushed sideways, stumbling a few feet before hitting the wall.

“Roman!” Kitana cried out.

Jade never heard the weapon slice through her fellow guard’s neck during the moment when she hit the wall. As she turned her head back to the scene, she saw Roman’s head on the ground. His body stumbled a bit, just like the Tarkatan’s, before falling to the floor.

Another frown appeared on the General’s face, realizing that Roman sacrificed his own life to save hers.

That was when Jade heard two battle cries before the sound of clashing weapons were heard. Jade turned her attention to the noise, and she saw Kitana fighting Tanya with her fan blades. Tanya herself fought with her two Kobu Jutsu weapons.

Jade looked over to where Sindel is, where the last remaining guard was keeping watch right next to her.

“Zarek, get the Queen out of here!” she demanded to him.

“What about the situation here?” Zarek asked with concern.

“Kitana and I will take care of her. We’ll catch up as soon as we’re done here.”

Hearing the new orders, Sindel stepped forward. “I’m not leaving unless my daughter comes with me.”

“My Queen,” Jade began to answer. “It’s best if the both of you were separated. In that case, it would be better for our enemies to only find one of you than both at once.”

Sindel only replied with a nod, understanding Jade’s decision. With that, she reluctantly followed Zarek out of the room.

Just before Jade could join in the ensuing battle, Tanya managed to execute a roundhouse kick at Kitana’s side. The kick was enough to send the Princess flying sideways before crashing into the ground.

Tanya began to move towards Kitana, but Jade quickly kicked her away. Tanya stumbled a bit before regaining her balance.

Without any words, the two began to battle. However, it would only end up being a brief battle.

Neither Jade nor Kitana ever spotted a second intruder coming into the room. Jade was focused on taking down Tanya, never knowing that the intruder came from behind her. It was only after she received a blow to the side of her head did she realize that someone else was there.

The attack was enough to knock the General to the floor. She tried to get herself back up, but darkness fought her down. Jade tried to fight back, but the darkness ended up winning as she slipping into unconsciousness…

Present - Edenia Hillsides

“Jade? Jade?” a male voice said. “Are you all right?”

Jade blinked a few times as a hand waved in front of her face. When the hand moved away, she found herself staring towards the pathway which lead to a group of trees. The trees themselves hid the pathway quite well from the rest of Edenia…

… or what was left of it.

Without turning to the person speaking to her, Jade replied. “Yeah… I’m fine.”

“Good,” the gentleman said. “I’m glad to know that you weren’t thinking about-” He then stopped himself before he could finish.

Jade turned to him then, her eyes laying on Zarek. She then sighed a little. “You know I still feel guilty for what happened.”

“I know,” Zarek replied. “There’s nothing we can do about it. All we can do now is hope for the best.”

Jade replied with a nod. “You do the same. I know you blame yourself for what happened that day too.”

Zarek sighed a little before changing the subject. “Are you on guard duty now?”

Jade nodded. “Should start right about now. Let’s head out.”

With that, the two began walking down the path and towards the woods.

In her mind, Jade thought about what happened after being rendered unconscious… both Tanya and the second intruder, who she later found out was Reptile, attacked Kitana. Jade believed that Kitana tried all she could to fight back, but the two overpowered her.

Zarek ended up having the same thing happen involving Sindel, only it was Tanya and Reptile’s fellow ally, Rain, and some demonic minions of the Outworld Forces. As far as everyone knew, both Sindel and Kitana were still alive. However, both were captured and were now being held prisoner.

Six months ago after Jade left Outworld, Edenia rejoiced when word of Shao Kahn’s death spread throughout the realm. With his death, Edenia enjoyed peace for the first time since anyone could remember.

However, the peace would only last for two months. Jade guessed that the news of the Emperor’s ‘demise’ was used so that no one in the realm would be prepared for what would end up being a take-over.

Jade has heard of many other realms being captured. The people of those realms were either killed or enslaved. When the realms were taken over completely, they would merge with Outworld.

The Edenian General refused to see her realm captured again. Joining with the surviving knights and citizens, she formed the Edenian Freedom Fighters. Their purpose was to fight back against anyone who contributed with threatening Edenia.

Jade had two goals in mind as the leader. She would see to it that the realm of Edenia would be freed from it’s current tyranny. The other… to find a way to free Kitana and Sindel from their captors.

‘If only our portals weren’t destroyed,’ Jade thought a bit grimly. At this point, she had no other way of accessing any other realms, let alone Outworld.

As she and Zarek entered the woods, they suddenly heard the sounds of battle taking place not too far from them. Without saying a word, the two of them began heading into the direction where the sounds came from.

Soon, they reached the edge of the woods and saw their fellow knights fighting against a small group of Tarkatans. Some of the fighters were already dead, their broken bodies lying on the green grass as the others continued on.

Quickly, Jade and Zarek jumped into the battle. However, before Jade could pick someone to fight, a familiar female stepped in front of her path. Jade growled, recognizing her foe Tanya.

“You!” Jade yelled out.

A grin came over Tanya’s face. “So glad you could join in. Shall I cut you up now, or just torture you… slowly.”

Jade quickly got herself in a fighting stance, ready for battle. It was then that she heard a hiss-like voice from her left.

“Well, if it isssn’t the all-great General.” The green-clad woman didn’t have to guess that it was Reptile who stood a few feet away from her. “Now I think will finally be the time to burn that pretty skin off of your bones.”

“Now, don’t rush just yet,” another voice said from Jade’s left. The Edenian General turned her head this time, her eyes laying on Rain.

Although Rain was absent during the Blood Tournament, Jade knew that he was quite a powerful warrior in his own right. Like Tanya, he was an Edenian who became corrupted some time during the first takeover of their realm.

“Nice for you to join, Rain,” Jade spat.

“That’ll be Prince Rain to you,” the black and purple clad warrior. “Because when Edenia is finally in our control, I will soon rule this realm.”

“Over my dead body,” the green clad woman growled. It was at that moment that a knight attacked Rain and the two began their own fight. Seconds later, the same happened with Reptile, leaving Jade alone with Tanya.

“And soon, my dear, your dead body will lay before my feet,” Tanya said with a hint of delight in her voice.

Without saying any more, Jade launched forward, ready to fight her enemy. In the back of her mind, Jade had the feeling that this wouldn’t be the last time she would battle Tanya…