Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“I will have my throne!” Shao Kahn shouted in rage, pounding his chest, as Kotal Kahn got into a fighting stance.

“Outworld rejected your pointless wars!” Kotal Kahn yelled back, glaring at the previous ruler.

“Empires must expand or DIE!” Shao Kahn returned, anger coursing through his veins. How could General Kotal become Kahn? He was just Kahn minutes ago!

Kotal Kahn roars in rage and charges. Both Kahn's collide and grapple with each other. Initially Kotal gets the advantage and pushes Shao backwards, but Shao shifts his body and switches positions. Now it is Shao who pushes Kotal toward a cage housing an Outworld beast. He slams Kotal against the cage bars as the beast roars and tries to attack the closest person - in this case, Kotal.

Kotal tries to push back but Shao Kahn is relentless. He presses Kotal's face against the bars, and the beast remains inches away from mauling Kotal, restrained only because it's jaw is too big to get past the iron bars. In desperation, Kotal bites down hard on Shao's hand, stunning him long enough for Kotal to throw him away.

With some momentum back in his corner, Kotal charges Shao again and grapples him. Shao tries to throw him down a pit, but Kotal avoids it and lands on his feet. The two Kahns face one another down, and Kotal points a finger at Shao while the latter summons his warhammer.

“Your conquests served you alone, not Outworld's People!” Kotal Kahn accused, crossing his arms in a salute to his people.

They fight. The battle is long and hard, as both Kotal Kahn and Shao Kahn are evenly matched in strength, skill and magical ability. But in the end, Shao Kahn's fury cannot match Kotal Kahn's determination and pursuit of justice, and it is the New Emperor of Outworld that defeats the Old Emperor.

“You are Kahn no more,” Kotal Kahn says to the defeated tyrant, before grabbing his blade.

Before Kotal can finish his opponent though, a plague of insects swarms into the Koliseum. Kotal looks into the sky and realizes at once who it is.

“D'Vorah,” Kotal Kahn says, preparing his eyes.

The insects swarm around Kotal, forcing him to shield his face. Across the Koliseum, the insects have swarmed every other kombatant as well, incapacitating all of them. As Shao Kahn rises to his knees, a sand portal opens behind him. He turns to find the Kytinn herself emerging from the portal.

“Shao Kahn! To me!” D’Vorah shouted to the barely standing emperor.

Without hesitation, Shao Kahn runs into the portal. Skarlet, Kano, the younger Erron Black, Baraka and Kollector all follow right after him. D’Vorah pauses, looking at the new Emperor of Outworld, before hissing angrily. However…

Then a shot rings out, striking D’Vorah right through her jaw, causing her to collapse quickly, crawling back through the portal as fast as possible, looking in the direction of the shot as she leaves.

“I have not known stranger days,” Kotal tells himself, looking at the carnage. Outworld Champions from the past have returned, Kollector has disappeared, and D’Vorah has returned. What a mess. He turns to see Raiden approach him, alongside Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Kitana and Jade. 

“Kotal Kahn. I am Raiden, Protector of Earthrealm.” Raiden introduces himself, but Kotal raises a hand in response.

“I know you,” Kotal Kahn replied, with disdain on his face.

“We are acquainted in your era?” Raiden asked, assuming the worst.

“We were allies who became enemies,” Kotal Kahn continued, crossing his arms to show his apparent anger towards the thunder god.

“I am surprised, given our shared antipathy toward Shao Kahn,” Raiden replied, confused as to how the relationship between him and Kotal could be as awful as implied.

“Everything changed after your defeat of Shinnok,” Kotal started, as Liu kang arrived nearby.

“Shinnok's defeated?” Liu Kang asked, both surprised and relieved at the prospect.

Kotal Kahn sighed, as he continued, “Our realms joined to fight him. But in victory, you were hardened. To protect Earthrealm, you lashed out at all realms you deemed threats.”

Raiden looks down on this revelation. “That... cannot be.” How could he be so idiotic? What happened to him?

“My Raiden wears Shinnok's amulet as a symbol of his fury,” Kotal finished, remembering the red lightning surrounding his version of the god of thunder.

“Be assured, Kotal Kahn, I am not that Raiden. We have common cause. Both in solving this temporal crisis and in defeating Shao Kahn,” Raiden pleaded for peace with Kotal Kahn, who nodded in response.

“Agreed.”

“Liu Kang, Kung Lao and I will return to Earthrealm and learn what temporal anomalies have occurred there. We must better understand the phenomenon we are experiencing,” Raiden gestured to his allies.

“I will have my scouts track Shao Kahn. I will ask what member of yours was able to shoot down that Kytinn abomination,” Kotal Kahn asked, as Raiden raised an eyebrow.

“I had assumed that was one of your troops,” Raiden answered, confusing the both of them, before a pair of footsteps became apparent.

“Yeah, that’d be me,” a new voice arrived, putting both sides on edge. As they look over, they see a large gate being lifted up by two disembodied hands, and out comes a, what could best be described as, an amalgamation in special forces gear.

“Hey! Names Deimos, and I’m the one that decided to shoot the bug woman, which I’m really hoping I won’t regret,” ‘Deimos,’ explained, gesturing to the rifle on his back.

“Deimos. I am Lord Raiden, God of thunder, and protector of earthrealm. This is Kotal Kahn, emperor of Outworld. These are my allies, Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Jade, and Princess Kitana. Might I ask, who exactly are you?” Raiden asked, giving a bit of exposition to the confused grunt.

“Well, I’m a…I guess a vigilante sort of? I-uh, I’m from a place called Nevada, which might best be described as, ‘hell has been burnt over,’ and I…well actually that’s about it. There isn’t terribly much about me,” Deimos explained, shrugging near the end.

“In any case, the ‘bug woman’ you shot is D’Vorah, an enemy of Outworld as a whole. I appreciate the support,” Kotal Responded, bowing slightly, as Deimos raised his hands in response.

“No, no! Please do not bow! I don’t deserve it at all, with how much I’ve done,” Deimos said, slightly confessing to the crimes he committed.

“In any case, we welcome your aid. It seems a temporal anomaly has displaced many of our world’s people, from the past to the future. If my assumption is correct, it has also misplaced those outside our world, due to your presence,” Raiden explains, as Deimos attempts to follow, but confusion evident on his face.

“He’s basically saying some of us from the past are now in the future, and that you’re not in your world anymore,” Kung Lao simplifies, as Deimos nods. Despite this distressing news, Deimos seems relieved.

“Well, if I’m not in my world, I don’t exactly have any allies, so I’ll be glad to help. You guys seem like the good ones,” Deimos says, holding out his hand, causing Raiden to place his hand out. A handshake ensued. “Woah, got a shock there.”

“Not surprising. You just shook hands with the god of thunder,” Kung Lao explained, as Deimos face went into slight shock.

“Wait, God? Well, I really hope I don’t get on your bad side now,” Deimos responded, chuckling slightly at the thought. Meanwhile, Kitana and Liu Kang were beside themselves.

“So, this is goodbye,” Liu Kang says, a slight tear in his eye.

“Only goodbye for now. I can't leave while Shao Kahn threatens Outworld. I must seek justice for what he did to my family and to all Edenia,” Kitana explained, also showing remorse at the thought. They were safe, but just for how long?

“I will come back for you-- to aid you, Princess,” Liu Kang replied.

He bows his head to her. Kitana smiles in response and throws her arms around his neck in a hug. Liu Kang almost reciprocates, but settles for clenching his fist in triumph. As she lets go, he bows once again and walks back toward Raiden and Kung Lao with a huge smirk on his face. Sensing what might happen, Deimos rushes over towards the lord of thunder. Raiden lifts his hand to the sky and teleports himself and the Shaolin monks back to Earthrealm with a flash of lightning.

“I swear to God, I'm losing it. Can't someone - anyone - explain to me what the hell is going on?!” Johnny Cage angrily says, gesturing to his past self, sitting in a whirlie chair.

“Right? I've been in the future for a whole hour and I haven't seen one jetpack. Not one!” Past Johnny complains, as Johnny closes his eyes and purses his lips together, trying to keep his anger in check. Raiden walks into the command center alongside Cassie Cage.

“So it is true. I walked a darker path,” Raiden says, downtrodden at even the thought.

“After Shinnok went down, you became a different person. Red lightning, black clothes. Authoritarian attitude adjustment,” Cassie said, trying to add some humor to the dark variation of Raiden that she knew minutes ago.

“Yeah, about that; what happened to ‘Dark’ you, hmm?” Johnny asked, pointing towards Raiden, before pointing to himself and his younger self. “How Come you're an only child and I've got an evil twin?” Leading to Past Johnny spreading his arms out in agitation.

“As an immortal, I exist outside the normal laws of time. That could explain why I am affected differently,” Raiden theorizes. He didn’t want to see his dark variant, and he hoped his thought was correct.

In another part of the command center, Jax offers Sonya a cup of coffee.

“Thanks,” Sonya said, taking a sip.

“Weird, isn't it? Not being in charge,” Jax asks, as Sonya raises an eyebrow in response.

“That's what's weird?” Sonya asks, unsure if Jax is joking.

“That, and having daughters our age,” Jax continued, as Sonya rolled her eyes, before they looked over at Cassie speaking with Raiden.

“Look at her. How do I have a kid…” Sonya asks, before looking behind Cassie, seeing the younger Johnny is checking his fingernails, “...With him?”

“Huh. At least she's not an actress,” Jax offers, as Sonya rolls her eyes again, scoffing. Both Johnnys start to walk past Sonya and Jax as they are speaking, with Johnny clearly not wanting to hear anything from his younger self.

“C'mon, at least think about it. We each get points off the gross. Coming this summer... Johnny Cage AND Johnny Cage! In ‘Timequake’!'' Past Johnny offers, while Johnny is still trying his best to ignore him.

As they walk out of the command center, Jacqui walks in with Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Deimos. Deimos walks around, circling as he takes in the look of the base, as they walk up to Raiden and Cassie, who are now next to the holographic table projector seen earlier.

“This is much more what I’m accustomed to,” Deimos says, a slight smirk. He knew how to operate at least half of these machines…he thinks anyway.

“Any thoughts on what to do next?” Cassie asks the god of thunder, who still looks at himself in disappointment.

“For months, I have been receiving vague premonitions of the future. But none of them foretold this. I must confer with the Elder Gods,” Raiden reasons, as he turns to his accomplices. “Liu Kang, Kung Lao, please assist the special forces while I’m gone,” Raiden asks, receiving a bow from the mentioned, before he turns to Deimos. “Deimos, please assist in any way you can,” Raiden asks, signs of uncertainty in his voice.

“Don’t worry Ra- uh, lord Raiden. I am more than capable of taking care of myself,” Deimos replies, as he shakily bows. ‘I’m not used to this level of respect being given to other people. Just copy red handband gu-shoot I already forgot their names!’

“Follow me,” Jacqui Briggs orders, as the monks and Deimos follow. That’s what he’s more used to.

“So, Liu kang, you’re the martial arts master I’m told you are, right?” Jacqui asks on the way, as Liu kang nods in response.

“Probably a higher title than I deserve, but I suppose that is true,” Liu Kang responds.

“You’re way too humble Liu Kang,” Kung Lao replies, as Liu Kang shoulders him.

‘Okay, red headband is L Kang. Got it,’ Deimos thinks, as Jacqui continues asking, before sitting down at a monitor.

“Deimos, what do you specialize in,” Jacqui asks the gray skinned vigilante.

“Ehm…Weaponry in general? I’m damn good with any rifle and explosives. I’m also kind of a techie,” Deimos mentally went through his list of skills, finding them much shorter than he expected. ‘Damn, I need to get a hobby while I’m here.’

“Well, we have plenty of that for sure. Any explicit favorites?” Jacqui asks, still using the monitor.

“G36 Rifles, MG-42, and M203. I can fire any of those at any time. I once fired an MG-42 from my hip. Hurt like hell, but damn it was fun,” Deimos mentioned, looking back fondly on some memories, before an alert came up on the monitor, and Jacqui’s eyes widened.

“Cass, you need to see this!” Jacqui shouts towards her Commander. Steeling herself, Cassie Cage walks over to Jacqui, who points to an alert on the nearby computer screen. “Sat feeds show a Netherrealm incursion at the Wu Shi Academy,”

“Netherrealm? Taking out Shinnok's Temple was supposed to stop them,” Cassie says, pissed at the fact her mom basically died for nothing.

“It's gotta be the time anomaly,” Jacqui theorizes, as Liu Kang looks towards his fellow monk.

“We must help our Shaolin masters,” Liu Kang says, as Kung Lao nods in agreement.

“Why would the Netherrealm want to bust up your alma mater, Liu Kang?” Jax asks, having no knowledge of Wu Shi.

“The Dragon Grotto. It's underneath the Academy. Earthrealm's Jinsei energy bubbles up in its springs,” Liu Kang explains, as Kung Lao nods in agreement, and Deimos unknowingly also nods, before catching himself.

“That's no good. We've seen firsthand what happens when the Netherrealm screws with Earthrealm's life force,” Cassie responds, remembering her stupidly hard fight with Shinnok.

“They will not reach the Grotto. It is protected by powerful magic. The deadliest traps,” Kung Lao starts, before looking back at Liu Kang. “I am sure our counterparts from your era are already dealing with them,” Kung Lao answers, as Jacqui cringes at the words and looks to Cassie.

“Kung Lao, Liu Kang... you might wanna sit down,” Cassie starts, as the Shaolin monks frown at her statement and glance at one another.

Out in the old Cyber lin-kuei facility, operation has continued. Kronika has revived this terrible idea and its masterminds, including the Cyber Lin-kuei’s grandmaster, Sektor.

“Status Report,” LK-9T9, also known as Sektor, ordered from his yellow colored alternate.

“Production has increased, and seems to be stabilizing,” LK-4D4, also known as Cyrax, responded, as Sektor nodded.

“Kronika’s upgrades have been successfully implemented?” Sektor asked, receiving a nod from Cyrax.

“Improvements have resulted in majorly increased control and proficiency in combat capabilities,” Cyrax explained, as Sektor nodded.

“And she has been given administrator privileges?” Sektor asked, as Cyrax nodded in response.

“Frost has proven to be an invaluable asset with her vast improvements, and knowledge of Lin-kuei history and teachings under Kuai liang. Incidentally, C-LK-52O has been started into prototype testing,” Cyrax responded.

“And C-LK-7T2?” Sektor asked, as Cyrax paused for a moment.

“C-LK-7T2 has shown immense progress in combat, but no improvement on cognitive function,” Cyrax continued. “Project Triborg still requires more resources. Combat Capabilities are estimated to take an increased time due to the total abilities of the machine.”

“Continue Unit 4D4,” Sektor dismissed Cyrax, who wandered off, joining a white cloaked woman as they left the room.

Outside this room however, in an old storage room, a large blue portal appears, pushing and distorting surrounding boxes and machinery, as a being stepped through.

“Intriguing. Scanners indicate we’re off Petrichor V, outside range of any of our satellites entirely,” the being said from inside its smooth chrome helmet, before raising its wrist, and summoning a holographic screen. 

“Oh how very interesting. I’m in completely uncharted territory,” The being said, before closing its screen, and raising its right hand. Suddenly, a ball of fire, with strands of wires wrapping around it appeared. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to explore, would it?

“Any progress on finding the location of Shao Kahn?” Kotal asks his subordinates, who disappointingly shake their heads.

“No my Kahn. It would seem that wherever D’vorah took him and his allies, they’re in the far reaches of outworld, or very well hidden,” One mentioned.

“Or not even in outworld,” Another theorized, as Kotal sighed. Of course D’vorah wouldn’t make it easy, much less would Shao Kahn with so few allies.

If there was one thing Kotal respected about Shao, it was that he wasn’t an idiot, at least not in the tactical sense. He can get furious and belligerent, yes, but whenever it came to his life or his empire, he was an incredible strategist. Kotal knew that Shao was limited, and Shao knew that as well, so he wasn’t going to come out and challenge Kotal’s empire until he had an army of his own.

“Kotal Kahn, permission to speak?” A Captain asked, Kotal raised his hand to allow. “We also have no sign of Shao Kahn, however, something strange was found,” The captain revealed, peaking the interest of Kotal, Kitana, and Jade, sitting right beside him.

“Explain Captain,” Kotal ordered, as the Captain nodded.

“On one of my unit’s Patrol routes through the Living forest, they stumbled upon a strange patch of farmland. It seems to grow an earthrealm plant known as Maize, commonly referred to as ‘Corn,’’' The Captain started, as Kotal slightly rolled his eyes. What importance was this? “The strange thing is that this patch is implanted directly in the center of the Living forest, and the grass and soil is not native to Outworld. Its size is also incredible, almost stretching towards the left most side of the forest. Such farmland has not been registered, nor has it been seen prior to now. Also, this land is peculiarly shaped, similarly to a maze.”

Now that was interesting. It’s unlikely that D’vorah or Shao would ever hide or pretend to be a farmer. Shao’s pride wouldn’t let him be such a ‘lowly’ class in life. Perhaps it’s similar to Deimos, and simply part of the temporal anomaly.

“Has any identification been found in the surrounding area?” Jade asked, taking the words out of Kotal’s mouth, one of Kotal’s favorite things about her.

“Yes, a plain wood sign was placed meters outside the entrance to the maze,” The captain said, as Kotal motioned for him to continue. The Captain sighed, before continuing, “The words on the sign were, ‘Zardy’s Maze,’ my Kahn.”

As the hourglass churned with sands of time, Kronika watched into the hourglass, as her hands continued to cast and turn, continually casting her spell to reset time.

“ The past variants of Lui Kang and Kung Lao are arriving at the Wu Shi academy. Geras is still collecting the essence of earthrealm ,” Kronika mentioned to her subordinates in the room, which includes Revenant Liu Kang and Revenant Kung Lao.

“ Scorpion and Jade are still there, aren’t they? ” Revenant Kung Lao asked, as Kronika turned her head.

“ Your past variants are more than powerful enough to keep Scorpion and jade at bay, no matter what power I give them. You two must arrive as assistance to Geras. No matter what, you cannot kill them however. Time would shift too far ,” Kronika informed, as both Revenants nodded their heads.

“ We’ll keep them out of the Gera’s sight ,” Revenant Lui Kang said, as Kronika waved her hand, sending them towards the dragon grotto.

However, outside of that room, in Shinnok’s temple, wind started picking up. Old leaves and dust started catching fire, and the heat in the room raised immensely. Demons that were residing in the room noticed the change, but before they could report it…they were set ablaze by Deep red fire.

A Blazing red and black portal, looking almost like water, appeared on the stained glass of Shinnok. Out stepped a gray and cracked skinned woman, garbed in Royal red and gold, with her white and light gray hair blowing past her small horns, as she floated down onto the netherrealm bricked floor.

“Hmm…immense dark energy…must be in an underworld,” the woman stated, before her eyes widened. “Temporal energy too? Odd,” the woman thought out loud, before stepping on the blackened bricks, out of the temple.

“Titan energy? Interesting. What would a titan want with an underworld?” The woman said again, as she walked on the black bricks, as the room changed to its monochromatic helix pattern. “Undead energy…not very surprising,” the woman said to herself, before finding the immense sized gate. 

“Hex of Visibility,” The woman chanted, before all of a sudden, she couldn’t be seen by any eye. The netherrealm couldn’t know it, but they’re being investigated by a being that would make gods have a whimper by her name alone.

Supreme Calamitas, the Brimstone witch, hides in the Netherrealm.

Chapter Text

“I die in the Koliseum? You on a rooftop, fighting Lord Raiden? Our future, Liu Kang... it is insane!” Kung Lao mentions, as they continue walking down the brick path.

“Obsessing over it will not change it,” Lui Kang replies, slightly shutting his friend up.

“Neither will accepting our destiny as evil undead warlords,” Kung Lao spitefully responds.

“To be fair, at least that’s a fun outcome. It could be a lot worse,” Deimos mentions behind them, leading to the two looking back in confusion. “Could be trapped in purgatory, just saying.”

“Either way, I'm not. But we can't change a future we don't fully understand. Lord Raiden will guide us,” Lui Kang continues. 

“Can we trust him? It appears he got us both killed,” Kung Lao responds, as Deimos puts a hand on his shoulder.

“No one intends to kill a friend,” Deimos says, as Lui kang nods.

The three men stop walking at these words. Kung Lao almost says more, but glances behind Liu Kang instead, towards the staircase leading to the Academy that they have reached. Halfway up the stairs, the bloody remains of a slain monk can be seen. The men ascend the staircase to the corpse. As Lui Kang and Kung Lao take the grisly sight in, they look forward and proceed through the broken open doors of the Academy itself.

The courtyard of the Academy presents an even more disturbing visual, dozens of monks lie dead on the ground.

“So many Shaolin... They died defending our sacred Ground,” Lui Kang says with regret, before a determined look overtakes his face. “The Netherrealm will pay!”

“Preach dude,” Deimos mentions, shaking off some blood off his boot. ‘Wonder if those robes would look good on me. I’m already bald…’

“There. The ground is disturbed,” Kung Lao points out a staircase, as the three descend.

The three have reached an underground corridor with only minor debris being any indication of intruders. Before them is a circular shaped entrance, with three large swinging axes - wide enough to cover the whole entrance - slicing back and forth. Kang and Lao pause in their tracks to examine the deadly obstacle.

“Whoever came here knew how to disarm these traps,” Lui Kang mentions, as Deimos looks with widened eyes.

“Do you know how? The monks never taught me,” Kung Lao asks, as Lui Kang looks back at him.

“Don’t look at me. I know how to avoid axes in combat, not traps,” Deimos mentions.

“Watch for the pattern... and pick your moment,” Lui Kang finishes, before he breaks into a run and dives straight into a gap left between the swinging axes. He clears them in the nick of time and rolls to his feet on the other side, glancing back with a smile to Kung Lao. 

Lao smiles back and slowly removes his bladed hat, before suddenly throwing it into the side of the corridor.

The hat jams between the corridor side and one of the swinging axes, pinning it in place. This in turn causes cogs turning the entire mechanism to clog up, preventing the other axes from swinging. Kung Lao nonchalantly walks through the corridor, with Deimos following, pausing only to remove his hat from the ruined trap and put it back on his head.

“Easy enough. What's next?” Kung Lao says with a smirk, as Lui Kang rolls his eyes.

They walk into what appears to be a giant arena. The entire ground is littered with more dead monks, but also with spear traps and a giant spiked wrecking ball that is attached to the ceiling. There are several pathways exiting from this area.

“Everything. Poison gas, shooting spears, flame jets…” Lui Kang lists off the potential traps that the shaolin have stored, as Kung Lao and Deimos listen in slight horror.

“How about we avoid those?” Kung Lao and Deimos say at the same time, as they look at each other and smirk.

“I think we’ll be good friends,” Deimos mentions, as they shake hands.

As he speaks, all of the pathways are blocked off by metal bars that slam into place.

“I did not do that,” Kung Lao mentions, thinking his hat trick from earlier might’ve done something bad. Suddenly, a metal kunai on a chain slams into a pole right next to Kung Lao. He looks at it in shock, and then at the person who threw it.

“I did,” A voice from the darkness speaks, as all look towards the owner.

With a quick tug, the kunai is pulled back into the hand of its owner - the ninja specter known as Scorpion. It is clear that this Scorpion is not the Hanzo Hasashi of the modern era, but the vengeance driven hellspawn of the past.

“Scorpion. Of course YOU survived the time merger,” Lui Kang says, getting into a fighting stance.

“You will not stop Kronika from restoring my family and clan,” Scorpion points accusingly.

“Uhh, might a brief explanation on the yellow hell ninja?” Deimos asks, he also pulls out his dagger.

“Scorpion is a specter from hell that was raised by the Sorcerer Quan Chi. The only thing that drives him is getting vengeance on the person that killed his family, and clan,” Kung Lao summarizes. “He specializes in fire and blades.”

‘Wait…fire and blades eh?’ Deimos thinks, before smirking. “If the hell ninja doesn’t kill us, the traps certainly will. See if you two can stop them,” Deimos tells the monks.

“Are you sure?” Kung Lao asks, receiving a battle ready nod from Deimos, leading the monks to split up to stop the traps.

“You’re not ready to even face a shirai ryu, let alone its grandmaster,” Scorpion says to his new opponent, who readies a handgun.

“I’ve fought hoards alone and with allies and friends. I can take a solo battle with another fire demon,” Deimos replies, as Scorpion erupts into fire, disappearing. Quickly, Deimos realizes it’s a teleport of some sort, and quickly turns around.

A Kunai inches from his face is dodged, and his instinct makes him grab the chain attached to the kunai, and tug at it hard. Scorpion becomes unbalanced, but doesn’t fall over. He quickly regains his footing, and retrieves his kunai and chain. However, it feels lighter than normal.

“Missing something?” Deimos asks, as Scorpion looks up to see Deimos twirling the Kunai expertly between his fingers, before looking at the kunai, and reading something off. “Might I ask who Satoshi is?”

This only ends up enraging the spector, who yells as he goes in for a kick to the gut, hell fire following him as his speed becomes unrivaled. 

Despite this, Deimos’ total instinct recognizes the slight mistake and slight boon that bringing up the spector’s dead son has brought. Pulling out a grenade, he throws the explosive device upwards before ducking, leading to the explosion blasting the top of Scorpion’s head and armor, causing the specter to once again struggle to his feet.

“Heh, ka-boom,” Deimos cheers, as he looks back at the Hell ninja, his head heavily damaged. However, he still has a fight left in him. “Just like Nevada,” Deimos says to himself, rolling his eyes.

“You’re not incompetent as I expected. I respect your ingenuity,” the Spector compliments, as Deimos raises an eyebrow. Not often he receives a compliment from an opponent.

“Don’t say that yet, we’ve barely started,” Deimos replies, as Scorpion nods.

“Indeed,” Scorpion responds, before sending another flaming kick towards the grunt, who this time wasn’t able to dodge, and gets sent flying back into the wall. He jumps up from the injury quickly.

“Shouldn’t have taken my eyes off my opponent. Sanford would be so disappointed,” Deimos mentions, slightly smirking at the fact his friend would’ve absolutely grilled him.

“As he should be. Show me that fighting spirit I saw seconds ago!” Scorpion yells at him, and for a second, Deimos felt like he was with Hank again.

‘I’ll make sure you aren’t afraid of me getting hurt again,’ Deimos thinks, before bringing his fists up to his chest. “Don't back down, and I won’t either.”

The two mutually nod in agreement, and the fight truly begins.

Scorpion brings out his katana, completely with a blazing edge, leading Deimos to quickly take out his dagger. Not the greatest weapon, but the only thing he has to remotely block that kind of blade.

The blades clash, and despite the size difference, Deimos’ dagger is able to hold against the flaming katana, before Scorpion kicks Deimos leg, sending him to the ground. Deimos rolls to the left, before backtracking to the right, tricking scorpion into slicing to the left, allowing Deimos’ to kick Scorpion in a similar manner, causing both to fall to the ground, and Deimos to get a leg up as he takes the katana from the ninja, and throwing it towards Lui Kang.

“Keep that away!” Deimos shouts, as Lui Kang kicks the katana up to his chest, and grabs it, nodding as he does so. Meanwhile, Scorpion raises back up, shaking his head to get his mind straight. “Sorry to keep taking your stuff, but disarming an opponent is a better way to end a fight.”

“You’re not trying to kill me?” Scorpion asks, confusion in his voice as he once again readies himself.

“Not unless you force me to,” Deimos says, tipping his hat. “I’ve killed too many in my lifetime.”

“Your mercy will not help you here,” Scorpion says, before pulling out his own dagger.

‘Dagger duel!’ Deimos thought, before the daggers clashed. Scorpion punches deimos, knocking his hat off, before Deimos resets himself and begins dodging more efficiently. The two circle each other, slashing and stabbing while dodging the other’s attacks.

Deimos is able to surprise Scorpion by throwing his dagger sideways towards Scorpion which grazes his hood. For a few seconds afterward, Deimos continues to dodge, before he holds his hand up, and the Dagger flies back, slicing Scorpion’s shoulder and debilitating his left arm.

“Took me way too damn long to learn how to do that,” Deimos says, before kicking Scorpion to the ground, and stomping twice in the gut, knocking him down for this battle, and leaving Deimos to walk away.

“You fight like a soldier,” Scorpion says, with a little bit of life left, causing Deimos to look back.

“One I didn’t choose to be,” Deimos mentions.

“Tell me your name, warrior,” Scorpion asks.

“Name is Deimos, hallelujah,” Deimos answers. There is one thing that Deimos has kept over his lifetime, it’s his respect and politeness.

At least, that’s what he’ll tell himself.

‘Personification of Terror…how quaint,’ Scorpion thinks, before his lights finally go out.

“Well, traps?” Deimos asks his monk friends.

“The locks have been changed, neither of us have an idea on what to do!” Kung Lao angrily says, leading to Deimos pulling out a mask.

“Well, I’m not going out due to poison gas, that’s for sure,” Deimos says, putting on a gas mask, as the green air starts to fill the room.

Scorpion struggles back to his feet, clutching his side. He looks around and sees a cloud of poison gas swelling at his feet. Before it affects him, he teleports away in a tornado of hellfire. The gas spreads quickly to the monks, but before they can act a steel cage slams down from the ceiling, imprisoning them.

It doesn't take long for the gas to reach their lungs. Liu Kang and Kung Lao begin coughing and fall to their knees. Deimos is about to take it off and suffer the consequences, just so they can breathe a little while longer and maybe start a cycle, but before they fall unconscious from the deadly fumes, the traps around the room start to reset and the gas is blown out of the arena through the other entrances.

“It's stopped…” Kung Lao mentions as Deimos takes off his mask. He coughs for a few moments, but regains his composure. He and Liu Kang manage to stand up again. “Why?”

The cage holding them in rises back up to the ceiling. One of the pathways also opens up as well, and Scorpion walks back into the arena, but this time he has company - the revenant Jade.

“ Our plans require that you live ,” Jade mentions, as the trio look on in fear.

“Jade? What happened to you?” Lui Kang asks, as Jade scoffs.

“ An untimely death. Like yours, due to Raiden's incompetence ,” Jade answers his question, as Deimos whistles.

“Damn, is everything Raiden’s fault?” Deimos jokes, as Kung Lao slightly chuckles, and Lui Kang rolls his eyes.

“You cannot turn us against him. We know about our deaths. They were caused by our mistakes,” Lui Kang reassures himself.

“ You have been deceived, Liu Kang. The truth is... Raiden murdered you ,” Jade dramatically revealed. Kung Lao strikes at Scorpion, and the two wander off in their fight elsewhere. Lui Kang is about to strike, before Deimos stops him.

“Go help Kung Lao. I’ll take Lava Empress green here,” Deimos says, not completely empty of fight juice yet.

“But you-” Liu Kang is about to object, before Deimos pinches his cheek.

“Listening?” Deimos asks, as Lui Kang nods. “Look, you and Kung Lao know more about this place then I do, and you know where you need to go to stop this, Jinsei, from being stolen or whatever. I can distract Jade here long enough, and you two can take Scorpion down easily, which gives you more time to get down there, alright?” Deimos explains, and Lui kang nods, before walking back to Kung Lao and joining him, entering with a bicycle kick against the ninja.

“ You fared well against Scorpion. Unfortunate your beginner’s luck cannot save you here ,” Jade says, attempting to aggravate the grunt, who merely laughs it off. 

“I’ve been fighting longer than you’ve been alive, green girl,” Deimos said, feeling like a character in an epic. “Beginner’s luck would only apply to you here.”

Quickly, Deimos realized exactly what Jade’s gimmick was, which was the extendo-staff as he liked to of it, because it bounced as a cylinder and ended with him getting knocked in the forehead by a much longer staff.

‘Damn, the things Sanford could do with that,’ Deimos thought, before taking out a lighter and quickly firing his handgun from his hip. Jade dodged all the shots, however that wasn’t the goal. As Deimos continued firing shots, he also lit a cigarette of his, placing it in his mouth, as one does. Jade eventually got tired of dodging, and lunged straight at Deimos, who took the cigarette out of his mouth, and blew a large amount of smoke right into Jade’s face, causing her to gag, and allowing Deimos to kick her down, and shoot her in both legs.

Unfortunately, it wasn't where vital, so Jade got back off her feet, and hooked her staff around Deimos’ leg, headbutting him as he went down to make his impact even more powerful.

However, that headbut connection startled Jade afterwards. There was something familiar about him. There was something similar between him and her, yet not. It was almost like…

“ Are you a revenant? ” Jade asked. There was that similar absence of life essence in Deimos as she had felt in Kitana and Lui Kang when they became revenants.

“W…What does that even mean?” Deimos asked, rubbing the back of his head in pain. You don’t just pose a question to someone in the middle of a battle like this. He quickly grabbed his dagger, but found Jade simply standing there and waiting, her head tilted and hands at her side, not even grabbing her weapon. If not for the glowing eyes and lava skin, Deimos would’ve said it looked adorable.

“ You have the same life energy as a revenant ,” Jade pondered, still leaving Deimos in the dark.

“Again, completely lost here,” Deimos responded, but Jade didn’t seem to even realize.

“ You have a total absence of life energy ,” Jade continued, and Deimos’ brain started to work a bit harder than normal.

“Are you asking if I’m undead or something?” Deimos asked, and Jade nodded. “Oh, then…sorta yes?” Deimos raised a flat hand, as Jade raised an eyebrow. “Long story, but essentially I got killed. However, 2Bdamned was able to bring me back from purgatory, but not restore life, as you guys say it,” Deimos explained.

“ So you are dead, yet not? ” Jade asked, even more intrigued than before.

“Something like that. Wait, shit! I forgot!” Deimos said, before stomping the ground, leading to a massive column the ground erupting from below jade, slamming her into the ceiling, attracting the attention of the monks and Spector. “...that I could do that. Damn that’s cool.” Jade falls to the ground with a plap, taken out by the surprise attack.

Lui Kang refocuses his battle back to Scorpion, leading to the Grandmaster being knocked out by a flaming punch to the stomach. “Your flame is out, Scorpion.”

“Good riddance. Anyways, how do you forget that you can manipulate the earth!?” Kung Lao asks, slightly pissed at the fact that Deimos has been going easy on his opponents so far.

“I’ve only recently got that ability. Long story. I’m just not an expert at this, stone-bending or something,” Deimos mentions, shiefing his dagger. “So, where to next?”

Lui Kang motions towards a staircase, leading the trio down into a darkened cavern-like area. Ahead of them, the blue light of the Jinsei reflects off the rocky ceiling of the pathway.

“The Dragon Grotto is through there,” Lui Kang mentions, as Deimos reloads a clip.

“What if the next revenants we have to fight are... us?” Kung Lao asks, a slight worry in his voice.

“Then we fight them, Kung Lao,” Lui Kang says, as both nod.

“I’ll fight them too if you want,” Deimos replies, receiving a nod from the monks, as he nods in return. Together, the trio lift the barred door upwards, allowing them passage to the Grotto.

“Elder Gods. I have come to seek counsel. The realms are in crisis,” Raiden shouts, and as one, the forms of the Elder Gods light up with a turquoise hue. They all speak to Raiden at the same time, saying exactly the same sentence.

“ The crisis is grave indeed, Raiden. Every being will be erased in a temporal Armageddon, even we Elder Gods. Already our power weakens ,” They speak.

Though the Elder Gods speak as one, Raiden looks to one of them in particular; a woman whose hair appears to be plant roots and who has floating rocks hovering at the back of her head.

“It is not just time that has been breached. Allies and potential enemies from other worlds have also arrived. One being named Deimos has joined us on our quest,” Raiden mentions, and for a second, Cetrion halters. “I will fight, Cetrion. But how?” Raiden asks, as Cetrion looks directly at him.

“ You must find Kronika's Keep and gain control of her hourglass. Only then will time's momentum be restored ,” Cetrion explains, as Raiden nods.

“It will be done,” Raiden agrees as he turns to leave, but pauses for a moment and hangs his head in contemplation. Cetrion quickly picks up on this.

“ Speak your mind, Raiden ,” Cetrion orders, as Raiden looks back towards the elder god.

“Since this time merger, I have learned about my future. That my champions fall. That I become a tyrant. If Kronika is defeated, will I be consigned to this grim fate?” Raiden asks, worry in his voice of what he might become.

“ The restoration of time will not predetermine your destiny ,” Cetrion starts, before she points directly at Raiden. “ That is for you to shape .”

Raiden takes in these words, a sad expression on his face, and bows his head, lost in thought.

‘Allies and Enemies from other worlds? That wasn’t in Mother’s vision ,’ Cetrion thought alone. What a mystery.

The trio are still walking down the pathway to the Dragon Grotto. They come across another barred door, but this one has a human shaped hole in the middle of it.

There is no other damage to the door, indicating that whatever forced its way through erased what was in its way. The Shaolin monks proceed past the door, and Liu Kang quickly holds up a hand to Kung Lao, getting him to pause.

Inside the Dragon Grotto, the human-like construct seen at Kronika's side is standing over a pool of Jinsei. He is taking samples of the Earthrealm life force, which are stored in a strange device hovering above the pool.

“Is there any point to us asking you to put those back?” Lui Kang asks, as Deimos chuckles slightly at the nonchalance.

“They said you'd come,” The being said, barely glancing at the entering combatants.

“Who said?” Kung Lao asks, before a voice from the side attracts the trio’s attention.

“ Who do you think, Kung Lao ?” A voice eerily similar to Kung Lao asks. The trio look over, to see 2 pairs of glowing orange eyes similar to Jades in the dark pathway.

They turn to spot what they had been fearing - the revenant Liu Kang and Kung Lao - walking down another passageway towards them.

“ Welcome to your future. Courtesy of Raiden ,” Revenant Lui Kang says, spite and anger in his tone.

“Our future may be tragic, but it's not Lord Raiden's fault. You've both been warped by Shinnok's evil,” Lui Kang responds, as Deimos hides behind the monks.

“ Shao Kahn snapped my neck in the arena ,” Revenant Kung Lao says, leading the young Kung Lao to grasp his throat in shock. “ Raiden saw it coming... and did nothing !”

“ I would have defeated Shao Kahn, but Raiden wanted the glory. His lightning cut me down ,” Revenant Lui Kang continues, before Deimos cocks a rifle.

“And who told you that?” Deimos asks, revealing himself by jumping from behind the monks, M42 in hand.

“ We don’t need to be told that, we have experienced it !” Revenant Kung Lao yelled in response.

“I don't believe you at all!” Kung Lao responds, as the revenants reach their younger counterparts.

“ One day Raiden will betray you. Then you will believe ,” Revenant Lui Kang replies, as Deimos raises an eyebrow.

“Everyone always says you gotta see it to believe it,” Deimos starts, as the revenants and monks look at him. “Have you ever thought that you need to believe it to see it?” Deimos finishes, before punching the ground with his off-hand, a spike of stone erupting from beneath the Revenant Kung Lao, cutting and breaking through his clothes but barely denting his obsidian like skin. 

“I’ve dealt with enough like you, who think they’re doing the right thing because it’s fueled by simple vengeance or sheer malicious intent, and all of them have the same outcome,” Deimos continues, stomping the ground, causing another column of stone to erect under Revenant Liu Kang, however the Monk dodges it, now knowing Deimos’ power. “Lui Kang, Kung Lao, stop the thief over there. I’ll hold these guys off.”

“Okay, now I have to object. You cannot be thinking of taking on two evil versions of us at the same time, right?” Kung Lao asks, both impressed and terrified of Deimos’ bravado.

“I agree with Kung Lao. I’m not doubting your abilities Deimos, but there is a major difference between a one on one and an unbalanced fight,” Lui Kang says, before Deimos raises his hands, his rifle now on the ground.

“Too bad, you’re over there now,” Deimos says as he claps his hands. A large flat wall-like pillar erupts from the ground, separating Deimos and the monks, and then shoves the monks towards the being near the Jinsei. “I’m not taking no for an answer.”

“ This isn’t a fight you’re involved in !” Revenant Lui Kang angrily shouts, rage evident as he wasn’t meant to fight this cross-faced earthbender. This fight would be easy! He wanted a challenge!

“I became involved whenever I came here. Isn’t that not the rules of this place or something?” Deimos snarkily replies, before Revenant Liu Kang launches towards Deimos. However, Deimos, finally remembering exactly what he learned in purgatory, covers his hand in his magical stone, and punches the air where Revenant Lui Kang was approaching. A large gust of wind is shot from Deimos’ fist, destabilizing Revenant Lui Kang’s kick, knocking him to the ground, and allowing Deimos to unsheath his dagger. He goes for the shoulder, but a slice to his cheek redirects his attention.

“ Neat trick, but I know exactly what you’re about now ,” Revenant Kung Lao mentions, allowing his Revenant brother to get back on his feet quickly.

“You just find anger in anything, don’t you,” Deimos asked, hoping he can reduce the combat. “Is that just this, ‘Shinnok,’ or ‘Quan chi’s’ influence, or are all of you revenants just total idiots?”

Neither responded, as Revenant Kung Lao seemingly jumped into the ground, and Revenant Lui Kang simply started a barrage of attacks, all his fists and kicks leaving flames behind. Deimos dodges the barrage, and quickly searches left and right for any appearance of the razor-boy that is Kung Lao.

“Just martial arts? No weapons or anything?” Deimos asks the undead monk, who angrily goes to side kick him straight in the gut. Deimos is able to grab the entirety of his leg, but Lui kang is prepared, jumping straight into a spin to drag Deimos to the ground. However, Deimos hands remain on the Revenant’s leg, much to his shock. “Look ma, no arms!”

Deimos picks the monk up by his leg, slamming him straight into the stone brick floor. The monk quickly twists and jumps back into a fighting stance, but not before Deimos punches him in the face with a stone-covered fist, hurling him back into a wall, causing a concussion. The monk gets back on his feet, but clearly disoriented.

Deimos, seeing the lesser threat of Revenant Liu Kang, decides to keep his eyes open for Revenant Kung Lao. However, even with his extensive knowledge, mainly out of spite of teleportation, he didn’t anticipate Kung Lao appearing right above him, with the monk kicking straight down into Deimos’ head, sending him down to the ground.

“ Look ma, no head! ” Kung Lao quips, before throwing his razor hat directly towards Deimos’ neck. Deimos looks up just in time to see the hat on its way, and quickly pulls out his knife and puts it up in defense, leading the hat to bounce off the blade, chipping both the hat and the knife. The hat returns to the revenant, who grabs it expertly, even if he is a bit peeved.

“Your ma is disappointed,” Deimos returns, a slight smirk, before Kung Lao lunges at him, throwing his hat in advance. Deimos dodges the hat, before stomping the ground again, another stone pillar jumping out of the ground, blocking the monk’s advance. The hat boomerangs back behind Deimos, getting a slash on the grunt’s head. Deimos grunts in anguish, before looking back in the monk’s direction, blocking his sudden downward strike, and sending him backwards, before pulling out a pistol and shooting towards the shoulder. Kung Lao dodges to the right, barely missing the bullet, giving Deimos an idea.

Looking behind the Razor boy, he notices Lui Kang coming to his senses, and seemingly fixing his vision. Noticing the positions of the two monks, he decides to move to the right, shooting to the right of Kung Lao to make him dodge left. “What do ya call two monks who can’t move their arms?”

“ I won’t dignify that with a response, ” Lui Kang responds, and starts another charge towards deimos. Deimos smirks as he pulls out another revolver, shooting both of their shoulder positions perfectly to go right through Kung Lao's shoulders and directly into Lui Kang’s.

“Good, cause I didn’t have a response either,” Deimos responds, as the two monks fall to the ground in pain. Deimos wanders over to the two, and stomps their heads, concussing them both even further. “Get Monked.”

Deimos looks over, removing the stone wall he created minutes ago, as he starts listening in to the construct’s monologue.

“You Shaolin monks exceed your reputation. I respect your spirit, but Kronika's will must be done,” The construct starts, as Liu Kang and Kung Lao once again get into a fighting stance and lunge at Geras together. This time, Geras holds his hand out, which glows with magic energy. The monks are suddenly frozen in mid-air as Geras stops time entirely. He retrieves the Jinsei vials from them without further issue.

‘Ugh, stupid time powers. I hate them so much. Stupid fucking purgatory, making me die over and over,’ Deimos mentally complains about his once prison, but deciding not to intervene yet.

As Geras turns around, Kronika teleports into the Dragon Grotto with a swirling of sand magic. Geras hands the Jinsei vials to her, then looks back at the monks, as Deimos hides behind a nearby sculpture.

‘Who’s the bald robot lady?’ Deimos asks himself, mentally chuckling at the titan’s appearance.

“It's dangerous to let them live,” Geras mentions, concern in his voice, as the monks have proven themselves as very formidable opponents.

“ If they die, their revenant selves will cease to exist ,” Kronika says, as Deimos mentally connects the dots. “We need them to defend the Keep.”

‘So she’s the big bad? Dumb looking, that’s for sure. At least the auditor looked threatening before he got his fire and halo aura, even if he was also bald,’ Deimos mentally remembered the person he would not hesitate to push his fingers into their eyes. She floats over to Liu Kang and looks him in the eyes.

“ Yet again, Liu Kang, you've chosen the wrong destiny ,” Kronika says, somberly glaring at the monk, as Deimos gets pissed. As he sees them turn and a portal appears, Deimos concentrates, jumping off the ground, and landing on both feet, leading 2 thin pillars erupt out from beneath the floating woman’s arms, striking her elbows and knocking the vials out of her arms. The construct looks back, only to get two bullets straight through the eyes.

“Hey ya geniuses! You really think the monk boys came here alone?” Deimos says, as he rushes towards the time goddess, grabbing the vials, and punching geras in the process, knocking Lui Kang and Kung Lao out of their paused form, causing them to fall to the ground. “A Trio is a lot more dangerous than a duo!”

“What happened?” Lui Kang asked, as he and Kung Lao got off the ground.

“Segmentation over there hit the pause button on both of you, the bald goddess came in, and I got the vials back by playing dirty. Let’s go!” Deimos answers, as the monks and the grunt run off. Surprisingly, the construct and titan didn’t follow.

“Who was that?” Geras asks, expecting Kronika to know who this third party member was.

“ That should not have happened. Never has three of them shown here, much less has an unknown character even appeared. No matter. Gather the remaining Jinsei. It’ll simply require more time ,” Kronika finishes, as Geras grabs only a few vials, much less than required, and the two return through the portal, as the spector and revenants remaining also envelop into sand, returning to the keep.

The Trio returns to the Special forces base, both shocked and excited at the fact that they had actually emerged victorious.

Raiden teleports in, finding Liu Kang and Kung Lao sparring with each other, with Deimos practicing his stone bending abilities. They stop as soon as they see Raiden and walk toward him.

“Lord Raiden, what did the Elder Gods say?” Lui Kang asks, with hope on his face.

“We must find Kronika. Wrest the control of history from her. If we succeed, our destiny can change,” Raiden answers, as they start walking toward the base.

“Did the elder gods have anything about me Rai-...Lord Raiden?” Deimos asked, stuttering before the use of a title for the god of thunder.

“It seemed they were just as confused as us. Rest assured Deimos, we will find a way to return you to your realm,” Raiden answers, as Deimos nods.

‘Yeah…cause I want that…’ Deimos thought in the back of his head.

“Wait, so what we were told is true? You were... involved...in our deaths?” Kung Lao asked, as concern and fear appeared on all their faces.

“Way to kill the mood dude,” Deimos whispers to the monk, who becomes embarrassed.

“Yes. Had the timeline continued, my decisions would have led to your deaths. But the Elder Gods assure me that such a future is not inevitable. This is but one of many possible timelines,” Raiden explains, as Deimos’ looks on, clearly pretending to know what he’s talking about.

“That is a lot to take on faith,” Kung Lao mentions, as Liu Kang slaps him lightly in the stomach at these words.

“Rest assured, Kung Lao. I am aware now of what may come. I will not bring harm to either of you. You have my vow,” Raiden says, before he bows towards both the monks, who all come to a halt.

“Thank you, Lord Raiden,” Lui Kang replies, as Liu Kang and Kung Lao clasp their hands and bow to him, though Kung Lao still remains suspicious.

‘Fucking hell, I hate that I’ve heard that before so many times,’ Deimos thinks to himself, not wanting to ruin this nice moment between students and master.

“We must find Kronika's Keep and strike it, as hard and as fast as we can muster, before all is lost,” Raiden explains, as the trio nod in response.

We cut to the interior of Kronika's Keep. The Keeper of Time floats over to three of her minions - the revenant Kitana, Shao Kahn... and a familiar looking red-coloured cyborg - Sektor.

“ I now have the energy, albeit less than I wanted to resculpt the Sands of Time. The Netherrealm's undead army will protect the Keep as I work ,” Kronika explains, as Kitana nods. Kronika then motions towards the Ex-Outworld leader. “ Shao Kahn, when will you deliver the Outworld army? ”

“Soon. It will be mine once Kotal is killed,” Shao Kahn snears, as Kronika looks less than pleased. “It is unlikely for any of Kotal’s army to find our fortress. We’ll be prepared for a full assault soon.”

“ And what is your progress, Sektor? ” Kronika asks, gleaming towards the red cyborg, who addresses her.

“The Cyber Lin Kuei factory is modified to your specifications. Production exceeds projections. Alternate Projects are nearly complete,” Sektor explains, as Kronika smirks, before dismissing them to their duties.

Kronika however, stayed behind, before opening a magical window to the special forces based, all directed on Deimos.

“ Who are you Deimos…and why are you here only now… ” Kronika asks herself, watching the grunt expertly twirl a gun at seemingly mach 2.

We head inside that magical window, leading into the Special Forces command center. Raiden is speaking with Cassie over the holographic command table.

“What have you learned about Kronika's effect on Earthrealm?” Raiden asks Commander Cage, who grunts in anger.

“We're tracking sites around the globe with major temporal anomalies. Picture's still fuzzy…” Cassie answers, and while she's talking, the older Johnny Cage, sitting with the younger Sonya, looks over at her.

“Our kid's something, isn't she?” Johnny asks Sonya, pride in his voice, as Sonya looks over, a bit sad.

“Umm... Cage, I'm not ‘your’ Sonya,” Sonya explains, as Johnny immediately looks abashed and embarrassed at this reminder.

“Sorry. Too easy to forget,” Johnny says, trying his best to keep a smile on his face, as he steps away, Cassie continues talking.

“We've prioritized info that correlates attacks from the Netherrealm with time anomalies,” Cassie explains further, before Deimos appears beside her.

“Why’re you focusing mostly on the Netherrealm?” Deimos asks, as Cassie looks a little shocked at his silent approach.

“The Netherrealm is, at least for now, our most powerful opponent, aside from Kronika herself. The revenant forms of our best allies aren’t to be taken lightly, even if they’re not as clear minded as their human counterparts, not the mention that the netherrealm army is the only mass army currently against us,” Cassie explains, as Deimos and Raiden follow along.

“Helpful. But we have more to worry about than the Netherrealm,” Raiden mentions, as Cassie nods.

“Yeah, we do. Grandmaster Sub-Zero reports heavy losses to his Lin Kuei clan. The time merge has resurrected his old enemy, Sektor,” Cassie explains, as Raiden looks up right at her.

“Sektor? Was he not the Grandmaster who years ago enslaved the Lin Kuei?” Raiden asks, anger in his voice.

“That's him,” Cassie mentions, as she generates a holographic image of Sektor in his robotic form.

“He's reactivating and upgrading the same factory he built to convert the Lin Kuei into cyber killing machines,” Cassie explained, as Deimos ticks.

“It’s always killing machines. First Mag Agents, now cyborgs, fucking great,” Deimos thinks out loud, as both the commander and the god look at him. “Don’t worry about it right now. Doubt any Mag agents will show up.”

“About Sektor, it’s Undoubtedly to construct new and more powerful Cyber Lin Kuei. Kronika may seek to co-opt them. What of Sub-Zero?” Raiden asks, as Cassie smirks.

“Already on his way to shut down the factory. Grand Master Hasashi is going with him,” Cassie explains, gleefully watching the face of raiden contort into confusion.

“Grandmaster Hasashi? Hanzo Hasashi!?”