Mortal Kombat: Betrayal: Part 1

Prologue

    Shao Khan was very pleased with the performance of his new cyberninja toys, or as pleased as Kitana had ever seen him with anyone or thing, besides perhaps her on rare occasions.  She had never been very supportive of this venture, not from the very day that her father allowed the two deflect metal men, Cyrax and Sektor, to not only remain in Outworld but continue their work with not only his protection, but his blessing.  Since then they had some modest success, admittedly only with her father’s prodding though. 
    At first they had only failed experiments to show, after he made a point by having a few of the Cyberninja the pair had originally brought from Earthrealm thrown into a volcano as the price of their failures Cyrax and Sektor had become more productive.  Recently after the successful "automation" of some of his common soldiers Shao Khan had offered up some of his own elite guard, the self-named Khan’s Guard to undergo the process.  Afterwards he had sent them to eliminate a dissident commander and his forces of one of the conquered realms.  To her chagrin, even Kitana had to admit they had been brutally and coldly effective.  Rooting out every single solider with even a hint of disloyalty about them.  They turned a garrison that had been ten thousand strong into a loyal core of four thousand that would kill or die before appearing disloyal in just three months.  Three very bloody and probably terrifying months for the soldiers deemed loyal.  With his ever-growing paranoia it was no wonder he had forced one of his assassins, Karmine, to recently undergo the process. 
    "Before" He had told her "Karmine was only a liability not yet in bloom.  Now the only blooming I want for is the blood blooming from her victims’ bodies."  The fact that they had, by their own admission, used a processed that persevered her skill and cunning but made sure to kill her body and soul seemed to not bother him in the least.  But every time Kitana looked at one all she could see was a walking corpse.  The knowledge and ability of a dead man stuck into a machine body, while the body and soul were discarded into whatever waiting hands would take them.  It was the most deplorable thing she had ever seen, no wonder they had been chased out of Earthrealm.  They had been a curse there and were all the worse for being allowed to take root in Outworld.  Her father chuckled light heartedly.  Self-satisfied with what he saw as the dividends of a good investment.  If only she could be so blinded by arrogance.  She was not though.  She looked once more at the red patterned Sektor and he looked back.  He had always been different from his creations.  However small it was, there was arrogance and a malign spark only a soul could create in his eyes.  His plans were far too large to be limited to mere service to her father and Kitana did not imagine she would like to find out what they fully were.  Perhaps the tournament would bring some answers.
    "Father," she said, her voice carrying through the large throne room, which was almost empty apart from the high seat of Shao Khan himself. "if I may be excused, there are still some minor detailed of the upcoming Tournament for Earthrealm which, although minor, must be seen to."
    "Yes if course," he said absently, gesturing for her to leave without looking in her direction. He was focused on delighting in his new toys.  She stood and with her Lieutenant, Jade, close behind her left the chamber and Shao Khans presence.
    The clans of the Grey Eyed descendants of Cailleach had never been overly found of cities.  On their world of barren mountains, grass covered plains, and thick dark forests, most of them preferred to stay in small villages, or lead the nomadic life style.  Especially in those days before history when the very dangerous predators of Had’ra’den were still a great threat to them.  Before her time some of the Clans had lived in the cities that the Enenra had built, but many of those cities had been destroyed or abandoned, or lost as they crumbled back into the mountains they were carved from by the time Cyan had been born.  From what she remembered her elders saying when she was a child, many of them had been abandoned before their time a well.  Only recently did she learn that some of the great stone cities the Enenra had built had not fallen because of their war with the clans, though in their own tragic way the Grey Eyed clans and the Enenra had brought that destruction on each other.  She gazed up at one of those cities now.  Or what remained of it, half collapsed as it was.  She knew of about two such ruins scattered across Had'ra'den.  The Grey smokes had built them long before her people came to the realm, if John Travis, last of the breed her people had warred with, was it be believed, and she thought it was.  Now there was this one. 
    Her people had never been very fond of cities, not most of them.  Some of them remembered the stories the elders of their elder’s elder’s had heard from those who lived in such cities.  That thought gave her pause.  Her people were long lived, not as long as the Edenian by any means but much longer lived than say the Tarkatan or the humans of most realms.  Still it had been many generations since anyone had scene one of these cities in their prime, and a few more still before any of her people would see it again.  She returned her thoughts to the matter at hand.  The city’s reconstruction.  Her people would never be found of like fixed stone cities like this, solid, colorless, dead colossus, but this realm deserved one bastion that would stand out as a display to all other realms, a place to show case their people, their art, their culture, and their power to all who might come.  Maybe one day it could be a great hub like the capitol of Outworld or Stratajz port cities or Corvol Realm trade empires or the once great cities of Edenia.  First it had to be rebuilt, and given a livelier, Grey Eyed touch.  Although she accepted the Travis line she was by no means a great lover or admirer of Enenra of any breed, or their sense of aesthetics.  Even she had to admit though.  From a distance the ancient city had a silent and stoic beauty to it, a sad and lonely beauty even. 
    A conclave would be gathering at the city to decided how they would go about repairing and repopulating it and making it a home for their people.  Most of the clans were reluctant to actually live in the cities on a permanent basis, but with prompting form Amadek volunteers from the various clans had come forward, and many had agreed to try and camp near it regularly to help with the work.  None of hers would be living in it of course but, the other clans provided most generously.
    "Beautiful aren't they.  It would have been wonderful to see them at their height."
    "Yes" Cyan agreed, "they would have been."  She turned to look at Amadek. Even among her own people their leader had a particular talent for appearing and disappearing as he chose. "I didn't expect you until later."
    "And you shouldn't have.  I come early because I have something to discuss with you.  Recently I was present with an interesting offer."

Chapter 1: Departure

    "Hard to believe it's that time again huh?"
    "You say that like you were at the last one?" Shean said.
    "We'll my mom was."  Korean grinned and his friend did to and rolled his eyes in mild amusement.
    "I wasn’t talking about the Last Tournament for Earthrealm."
    Shean's smile faded.  "Yea, it is hard to believe."  Korren looked around at all the new blood.  He actually felt like an old man almost.  There were some warriors he knew that would be joining them of course, but many of those who would be fighting for Earthrealm he didn't, and only a select few were at the open tournament.  Fewer from his clan were competing than he would have like to see as well.  Only one other Lin Kuie were coming along as competitor for the tournament.  The lowest number in many generations.  Apart from Lu Kang no one from the last Earthrealm Tournament would be fighting in this next one.  And apart from himself, Shean, and one or two others none of the survivors of the Open Tournament would be competing in this one.  "We will probably be going soon.  I'm going to go say goodbye."
    Korren stood up.  "I'll do the same I think."  His whole family was going to this one, that is accept for his little sister.  His mother had given birth to her not to long after the Open Tournament and would be leaving her with Counselor Silene and her second daughter.  Shean had more than a few siblings, in the seven years that he had known them they had already had another son.  Which brought them up to five children and he always expected them to announce that they were expecting another child every time he returned to the village after a mission or a trip to Had'ra'den.  Since she was Edenian and John was an enenra they would be able to for some time but Shean quietly suspected that they were waiting until the children they already had were out of their household before having anymore.  They visited the Travis family home and Shean said goodbye to his mother and younger siblings while Korren said his short goodbye to his little sister, then they went to join the rest of the Lin Kuie party which was gathering to join the larger Earthrealm party for Outworld. Only about three Lin Kuie would actually be competing, though several others would he going to observe.  Terra was one of those going as an observer.  He was glad she was coming.  He had been spending a lot of time with her lately and not only because she was a way for him to learn about Had'ra'den and the Grey Eyed clans his mother hailed from, but also he was getting to like the girl.  Now it was Shean's turn to tease him about having a girl, even if it wasn't anything official yet.
    They crossed into South Korea first.  Then, in Soul's Incheon International Airport they met up with Takeshi Takeda and his father, Kenshi Takeda, along with Lu Kang, a mysterious young women named Li Mei and another Shaolin named Kai.  Together they all took the long flight to Hawaii where they met up with the rest of the Kombatents for Earthrealm and went to a small, out of the way cove on a secluded part of one of the less populated islands to await their pickup.
    As he sat on top of a cool rock in the shade of a tree, a mild wind blowing and what looked like rain rolling in, Korren knew something was off.  He knew exactly what.
    "Your sisters not here."  Shean just pointed straight up.  He looked and there was nothing but tree branches.  "There's nothing there."
    "Well there was." He knew that voice. He looked the other direction to see a pare of knees, and a parent of thighs? And a waist and a chest and a head with a very familiar face.
    "Do you always have to do that?"
    "No."  He decided just to leave that question alone.  He had never gotten an answer he liked in all the times he had asked that.
    "I thought you would be with the other Americans?"
    "What, just because I have my dad's accent you think I'm American?"
    "Well where do you live?"
    "Canada."
    "Why."
    "Because its quite and they gave me citizenship."
    "Fare I guess."
    "You forget I'm a contractor.  It's okay for you Lin Kuie to go hide in your mountain but I got to make my own mountains.  If you tick off the Black Dragons, it's tough luck for them.  If I tick them off its going to be very tough luck for me of I am not very careful."
    "What, afraid they'll cut you."  He understood that explaining a few dead bodies might be hard, but they're weren't very many things in Earthrealm someone like Len needed to fear of she didn't get cocky he never saw her do that in a fighting.  She shot him a glance with a hit of something accusing in her eyes for a moment.  He returned his gaze to the rolling water.  He knew that we'll enough, he could lose his friends, his family, but he didn't fear that.  His friends and family were some of the deadliest people alive.  So where Lens for that matter, he doubted she had ever lost anything that needed her to be so dramatic.  Still, she could be chilling when she wanted to be, whether it was all show or not, he wondered if that was an enenra thing.
    Abruptly, in the hazy morning, he saw something out the horizon.  Very slowly it got larger and large until he saw it was, or at least looked like it was, an old Chinese junk, a very large one.
    "Is that our ride?"       
    "What else would it be?" Said Jacqui Briggs as she grabbed her bags and got to her feet.  Once the vessel had pulled up closer it tossed over a line and it was tied off on a large outcropping of rock.  Their luggage was loaded into the ship first and then lines were tossed down or a rope ladder let out and they scaled up the side of the ship and onto the deck.

    When they were all on board the vessel’s crew slowly pushed its away from the island and out to sea, gently rocking in the almost still waters.  It slowly pushed on and into a fog bank that seemed odd.  Unsurprisingly when they exited they were under a different sky and in different waters, Outworld water.  After about an hour a tiny peck of land appeared on the horizon just ahead of them.  Inching it's way closer to the island until those three islands were. No longer small but quite large for Islands, the biggest one must have been six or seven kilometers long, though he could not tell how deep.  The rising volcanic mountain on the opposite shore meant it must have been wide enough though. It had a natural harbor in it but with proper docs and facilities instead of just a tree to moor to one and large rock.  Soon The ship had been moored properly the captain let them disembark with their luggage.  The island may have been hosting the Tournament for Earthrealm but by the looks of these docs, which had certainly been there for decades, the island must have had a population and before it was elected for the honor, which begged the question why?  Why so far out from anywhere.  He knew little of Outworlds Geography admittedly but he knew most of its islands were crowded relatively close to the coast of the mainland, and he did recognize the first of the stars in the orangeing sky as being specific to the western hemisphere of Earthrealm, where the only islands were well insight of land, which they certainly were not.  They must have been pretty far out.  A thin man with salt and pepper hair was waiting to show them to their camp.  With a submissive gesture he beckoned for them to follow and the Earthrealmers did.  He led them past a great Outworld fortress with high, imposing wall and tall battlements.  Then through the village around the fortress and past the enclosed arena where the combat would be held.  Finally, they reached their camp.  It was set up like a small village itself, with small white walled buildings with red tiled roofs in an oriental style.  As their guide left them Korren and the others couldn't help but be pleasantly surprised and how they were being put up.  His mother and father as well as a few others did not seem as impressed.
    "What wrong?"  He asked his mother.
    "Look closely at all of this."  He looked more closely at the small little houses, and the gate, and the polished stone that led to a central fire pit, and smaller ones scattered around their camp.  Then it hit him.  The style of it all, the architecture, the layout.  It was very Edenian.  The most famous conquest of Outworld.  Shao Khan was sending a subtle message to Earthrealm that they are next.  "Go and get settled in.  Shao Khan is putting on some kind party later and we've decided to attend. We'll be gathering everyone up in a few hours.”  He nodded and went to secure one of the lodgings for himself.
    "Hey Korren, these cabins are pretty big, want to bunk up?" Shean suggested.
    "Sur-" He noticed Terra behind him, "-a sorry.  Already got a bunk mate."
    "O..."  Korren walked passed him to Terra.
    "Hey, these cabins are pretty big so I don't think we’re all meant to have our own, want to bunk up?”
    “Sure, these things are big enough for three though, ask Shean if he wants to join."  He had just blown off his friend for her, it would only be a slap in the face if he turned around and asked him to join them.  "I think he already has partners.  Why don't we ask someone else?”
    "If you need a third wheel I don't mind."  He looked at the dark skinned woman, Jaqui Briggs, American military.  He thought Len might have mentioned her before but he hadn't met her and she was fairly new in the circle of defenders of the realm nut he was going to have to get to know her anyway so this was a way.
    "Great, I don't know if we've met properly.  I'm Park Korren."
    "Son of Sub Zero and Shadow.  I've read your file.  If you got two of planet Earth best killers as parents, then you deserve to be here."  I don't think I've met you.  Jaqui."  She stretched out her hand to Terra, who accepted after only a moment hesitation.
    "Terra's my name.  I'm not actually fighting, just here to observe and see what these tournaments are like."
    "Didn't make the cut?"
    "Didn't even try, I'm just here to watch."  Probably the biggest reason she wasn't fighting was that she couldn't as she wasn't actually an Earthrealmer.  Had'ra'den was still her home and a far as the Elder Gods were concerned she was little more than an interloper in Earthrealm.  It was strange that a realm could hire mercenaries to fight in its defense, yet she could not freely do so just because she wanted to help.  That, however, was probably why Shean and council woman Silene were some of the few people he knew that actually put a lot of stock in them.