The camera pans down past the flag to show an open hangar. In the
interior, a squadron of forty soldiers stand at ease. At the front
of the ranks are Cassie Cage and Jacqui Briggs. Cassie’s father
Johnny is in front of the squad, casually leaning against some
crates.
The soldiers all snap to attention and salute as a lone figure
enters the hangar. Johnny stands up and takes off his sunglasses,
smiling as General Sonya Blade walks up to the squad. She stops in
front of Cassie and returns the salute.
SONYA: As you were.
In perfect synchronization, the squadron all stand at ease.
SONYA: For twenty-five years, the Special Forces have been
Earthrealm’s sword and shield. We’ve pushed back Shao Kahn,
defeated Shinnok. Yet none of our victories have come without
cost.
A flicker of sadness passes across Jacqui’s face.
SONYA: Recently, Commander Jackson Briggs was honourably
discharged. His wounds – both physical and psychological – left
him no longer fit to serve.
Jacqui continues to look downcast. Sonya looks in her direction.
SONYA: We honour Jacqui’s father, and we honour his sacrifice by
doing what he would do; tirelessly defend Earthrealm.
After a pause, she looks over to Cassie.
SONYA: Sergeant Cage, step forward.
Cassie does so.
SONYA: Your leadership and war-fighting ability have earned you
promotion to Commander.
Cassie beams with delight.
SONYA: But there are no family favours here. By Special Forces
tradition, you still have to pass one last test.
CASSIE: I need to kick the CO’s ass, ma’am. Your ass, ma’am.
SONYA: Alright then, Sergeant – let’s see if you can take me.
They fight. Even in her advanced age, Sonya remains a formidable
opponent, with years of experience in close quarter kombat and
the weaponry to match. But Cassie proves that she is more than
up to the challenge and takes the fight to her mother. It’s not
long before Sonya is knocked down to the ground.
With the fight over, Cassie salutes over General Blade.
CASSIE: Commander Cage, reporting for duty.
Cassie helps her mother back to her feet. Johnny walks over as
Sonya returns the salute.
SONYA: Congratulations – Commander.
She steps aside as Johnny throws his arms around his daughter
in a loving embrace, returned eagerly by Cassie. The scene
then cuts to the outside of the hanger. A couple of soldiers
are putting suppliers into a nearby helicopter.
CASSIE: C’mon Dad, you really have to go?
JOHNNY: Well, you’ve got your duty, Commander, I got mine.
Sonya smiles, putting a hand on Johnny’s shoulder.
SONYA: Starring in another Ninja Mine sequel isn’t what I’d call
duty.
He takes her other hand lovingly.
JOHNNY: I need to provide for you in the manner to which you’ve
become accustomed.
They draw close and start kissing.
CASSIE: Geez, guys, I’m right here.
Cassie’s words fall on deaf ears, but a moment later a crash of
thunder – on a hot summer’s day, no less – grabs all of their
attention. Raiden teleports in front of them and strides forward.
RAIDEN: General Blade, Cassandra Cage.
CASSIE: What is it, Raiden?
RAIDEN: The Netherrealm.
The scene cuts to the interior of the Special Forces command
centre. Raiden, Sonya, Johnny and Cassie are all inside, walking
over to a holographic table.
CASSIE: We should open a dialogue. Maybe there’s an explanation.
Liu Kang and Kitana were friends once.
RAIDEN: They are irreparably polluted by Shinnok’s evil. They are
no longer the champions we once knew. We must strike them
preemptively.
SONYA: It’s about time we brought the fight to them. What’s the
target?
She presses a button on the holoscreen. The table interface
displays an image of several Netherrealm structures. One is a
tower that reaches into the sky, and below it is what appears to
be a church of sorts.
RAIDEN: Buried deep between Liu Kang and Kitana’s castle is the
cathedral of Shinnok – the seat of their power. Destroy it and
their undead army will fall, removing its threat to Earthrealm.
CASSIE: Aren’t your powers weaker in the Netherrealm?
RAIDEN: Yes, but I will have sufficient strength to occupy the
undead army.
SONYA: That’ll buy us enough time to infiltrate the cathedral.
Destroy it from the inside.
CASSIE: We get pinned down in there, there’s no way out.
RAIDEN: To ensure Earthrealm’s survival, we must all be willing
to sacrifice.
Johnny grunts in disgust.
JOHNNY: Y’know, it’s been two years too much of your grim,
gritty makeover droning on about sacrifice. You don’t have a
family to lose.
RAIDEN: I know loss, Johnny Cage.
SONYA: Raiden’s right, Johnny. We’re not ready for another war.
We’ve got to take out Netherrealm’s army now, before Liu Kang
can bring it here.
Johnny looks unconvinced, but Sonya, Cassie and Raiden look over
the plans regardless.
The scene cuts to the Netherrealm. A storm of red lightning is
striking the nearby landscape, with a dark grey cloud hovering
on the ground. Out of the cloud comes Raiden, and a squadron of
fully armed and armoured S-F soldiers jog past him. Cassie,
Jacqui and Sonya all follow as well.
The camera lingers on Cassie as she pauses to take in the dark,
foreboding atmosphere of what is also known as Hell. She rejoins
her fellow soldiers atop a hillside overlooking the cathedral of
Shinnok. The camera pans down to the vast army of oni –
Netherrealm demons – that surround the temple. They are
innumerable in number and their howls echo across the landscape.
Using the hillside as cover, the Special Forces creep towards the
temple. An eerie silence permeates the air as they try to keep as
silent as possible. Cassie kneels down for a moment to check a
rangefinder on her holographic tablet. The oni army flashes in red
directly in front of their current location.
CASSIE: We’re in position. Hope Raiden’s planned one hell of a
diversion.
The camera cuts to Raiden, striding forth out of a cloud of dust.
Shinnok’s amulet pulsates with magic and he takes it from his
chestplate into his hand. Directly in front of him, the oni army
realises he is there and make their way towards him.
RAIDEN: Withdraw, or feel the wrath of Earthrealm’s protector!
The oni pay no attention to his words, so Raiden lifts his hand
into the air. Shinnok’s amulet sparks even brighter as Raiden is
surrounded from all sides. He makes no effort to move, and the
first three oni to step too close are blasted by the amulet’s
magic. They are all disintegrated on the spot.
The blasts continue, and many more oni are blasted into dust.
Inside the castle, two figures walk onto the main balcony
overlooking the army. They are the Emperor and Empress of the
Netherrealm, Liu Kang and Kitana. They look down on Raiden
blasting their troops, then at each other, but say nothing.
The main gates of the castle are opened. More Netherealm demons
come running out of the gate, these ones equipped with swords
and axes. The Special Forces, with Cassie taking point, wait just
out of sight by the main gate.
After an age, the last of the oni runs into battle. Cassie leads
the rest of the team into the castle. A lone oni straggler
attempts to chop her in half with a sword, but Cassie deflects
its attack with her machete and decapitates it without missing a
beat.
Inside the castle, Cassie, Sonya and Jacqui lead the soldiers
down a spiral staircase into the lower levels. Bodies long rotted
to bones litter the ground they walk on. A partially opened
doorway stands before the Special Forces. Sonya and Cassie wait on
either side of the doors and look into the chamber ahead.
Inside the room is a sight to behold; the decapitated head of
Shinnok is held in place next to a wall by two skeleton hands.
Behind the wall is a raging inferno. Sparks of red electricity
emit from Shinnok’s head frequently; the torture Raiden
inflicted upon him still causing him constant pain.
Sonya and Cassie look around the rest of the room. The right
side shows just a cavernous wall, but as they look to the left
they hear demonic growls and step back instinctively. More oni
start walking into the room, and among these oni are two
recognisable revenants; the Black Dragon Kabal and the Edenian
warrior Jade. They walk over to Shinnok’s head.
JADE: Should Raiden get this far, eliminate him.
The oni say nothing in response. Jade and Kabal clasp their hands
together and bow before Shinnok.
CASSIE: That burn victim’s Kabal? Wasn’t he Kano’s goon back in
the day?
SONYA: Don’t let the scars fool you. He’s fast. Take out him and
Jade. I’ll go downstairs and set the C4.
CASSIE: Roger that.
Gritting her teeth, Cassie barges the door open. As the oni turn
around, the front lines are cut down by the spread of bullets
poured into the room by the S-F automatic rifles. Numerous oni
fall, but one manages to floor a soldier with a jumping tackle.
The demon stabs its sword through the poor man’s eye repeatedly,
though he was already dead on the first strike.
Elsewhere, Cassie focus fire from her rifle on Kabal, but he
deflects the bullets with his hookswords effortlessly as he
charges forward. He then ducks low and changes direction, impaling
another soldier through the chest with his weapons. Kabal then
runs toward Cassie, using the dead man as a human shield. As she
runs out of bullets and tries to change her ammo magazine, Kabal
tears the soldier’s body in half and swings his swords, forcing
Cassie to dodge to the side.
As Cassie backpedals from Kabal, Jacqui tries to flank him, but
Jade jumps into the fray and slams her staff into the ground,
missing Jacqui by inches. As Jacqui steps backward, Jade throws
the staff into the air, catches it and swings, knocking Jacqui’s
rifle from her hands. Behind them, a rearguard of soldiers fires
into the room while their comrades, led by Sonya, descend to the
lower levels.
SONYA: Move! Charges on every column!
The Special Forces spread out into the basement, a dank and dark
room flooded with more partial skeleton remains. Each soldier runs
to a supporting column, taking out plastic explosives from their
backpacks and attaching them to the columns.
Upstairs, Jacqui blocks two strikes from Jade but a third catches
her in the face. Undeterred, she strikes back, with Jade blocking
two strikes but taking a fist to the belly. Jacqui follows
through with a right hook and a roundhouse kick to the chest that
sends Jade into a backflip. The agile Edenian lands on her feet
and Jacqui targets her with a wrist-mounted machine gun, but an
oni charges her before she can fire. She instead turns her aim to
the oni and perforates its head with bullets, making it explode
in a shower of gore.
Kabal continues the assault on Cassie, forcing her to block his
sword strikes with her rifle. However, one fierce blow of his
manages to outright shear the gun in half. She gasps in surprise
as she’s left clutching the useless weapon, and then drops it
with an almost sulky expression.
KABAL: You’re a dead ringer for your mother.
CASSIE: I’ll kick your ass on her behalf, Kabal.
They fight. Kabal presents a formidable challenge in kombat with
his speed and hookswords, but Cassie’s own skill and fighting
ability allow her to get the upper hand eventually. After a
furious struggle, the revenant Black Dragon is finally knocked
unconscious by Cassie.
CASSIE: You lose as fast as you run.
Around Cassie, the soldiers that survived the fighting are
assisting those who are injured. Jacqui comes running up to her.
CASSIE: Jacqui, where’s Jade?
JACQUI: She bailed. Getting help, I’m sure.
CASSIE: (To Sonya) General, how we doing?
Below them, Sonya picks up Cassie’s voice over her earpiece as
she finishes arming a C4 plastic explosive.
SONYA: Need ten minutes. The support columns are further apart
than expected.
CASSIE: You need help?
SONYA: Negative. Just watch our backs.
JACQUI: Ten more minutes? We needed to be tail-lights in five.
Cassie almost responds, but a demonic roar from above stops her.
Both she and Jacqui look up to the roof.
CASSIE: Well, we’re in the shit now. We have extra C4, yeah?
JACQUI: Yeah, why?
Cassie walks towards the entrance.
CASSIE: Let’s buy ourselves time.
Outside, the Netherrealm army continue to converge on Raiden’s
position. Raiden has stopped blasting them with Shinnok’s amulet,
but is now wielding dual lightning blades. Every oni that steps
too close to him is instantly cut into and disintegrated. He
tirelessly kills every oni he swings at, with none of them even
landing a hit on him.
On the balcony, Liu Kang and Kitana continue to watch him
slaughtering their forces. Jade walks onto the balcony with them.
JADE: Emperor! Empress! Earthrealmers have captured the Bone
Temple!
KITANA: But Raiden–
They look out to the Thunder God once again. Understanding comes
a moment later for the revenants.
LIU KANG: He’s the diversion!
Back in the Bone Temple, Cassie runs her fingers along a tripwire
attached to some armed C4 charges. She turns to Jacqui.
CASSIE: Lock and load.
They run back to a makeshift choke point, diving over two parts of
a collapsed column that the rest of the soldiers are waiting in
cover against. Jacqui pulls out her rifle, while Cassie is forced
to rely on her dual pistols.
Cassie glances upward. Through the glass on the roof above her,
she notices the oni army – countless in number – running toward
their position. She looks over to Jacqui, who is also gazing
upward. Eventually the oni stampede finishes charging past the
opening. When it does, Cassie faces forward with a look of
determination.
The first line of the oni charge into the room, but before they
reach the doors, the plastic explosives detonate, engulfing the
swarm in a massive explosion. But before the fireball has even
finished dissipating, waves of oni leap into the fray. Cassie,
Jacqui and the rest of the Special Forces all start firing at
will, cutting down the oni charging them with a constant barrage
of bullets.
Down below, the shockwave of the explosion is felt by Sonya,
who is still planting the explosives on the columns around her.
SONYA: What’s going on up there?
CASSIE: Watching your back, General.
Heedless of the losses that went before them, the next wave of
the oni army charges into the Special Forces’ choke point. Like
the demons before them, they are mowed down by the firepower of
Cassie’s duel pistols and the rifles of Jacqui and the S-F
soldiers.
Behind Jacqui, a group of oni charge from the opening behind the
S-F choke point. She turns around just in time to shoot down an
oni leaping in to attack. She stomps its head into mush for good
measure. She drops an oni with a burst of bullets, then throws
down her rifle and plants both her knees into the face of another
charging demon, perforating its head with bullets fired from her
wrist gauntlets.
As the oni falls dead, Jacqui rolls off its corpse and comes to
her feet, firing a barrage at another leaping oni. She staggers
another with a single shot and jumps onto its shoulders, cutting
down three more oni with precision shots while her mount flails
about.
The oni finally collapses, but Jacqui is already standing again.
She shoots two more oni on either side of her, then crushes the
throat of the oni beneath her with an ax kick, finishing it with
a three round burst. Another oni charges and throws a punch, but
Jacqui blocks it and fires a barrage into its chest, before
exploding its head with a single shot. She judo throws the
corpse to the floor, then shoots up another oni charging her from
behind. She charges it in return and blasts into its chest,
prompting a shower of blood from its back as it crumples to the
floor. With the immediate threats downed, Jacqui looks off to one
side and her eyes widen in horror.
Liu Kang has arrived.
Roaring with fury, he launches a flaming skull directly at her.
Jacqui sidesteps it in the nick of time, but the skull shoots
over to where Cassie is. She dives to the floor just before
impact, and the skull explodes against the wall, sending a
soldier sprawling.
As Cassie looks up, she rolls backward, a split second before a
bladed fan stabs down where she once was. Kitana presses the
attack, slashing out with her fans and forcing Cassie to scurry
backwards, each swing narrowly missing her. Finally Cassie
manages to roll to her feet and into a fighting stance.
CASSIE: Kitana, Empress of the Dead.
Kitana pulls down a skull mask – almost reminiscent of Shao
Kahn’s – over her face.
KITANA: I’ve not forgotten our last encounter at the Sky Temple.
CASSIE: How’re your scars healing?
They fight. Even in death, Kitana has lost none of the fighting
skill she had while she was alive. But Cassie has taken her down
before and this time proves no different. The Empress is soon
beaten into the floor by Commander Cage.
Before Cassie can deliver a quip, a cry from Sonya catches her
attention.
SONYA: Move! Move, move, move!
The General and her soldiers have finished arming the C4 and
the soldiers begin filing out toward the upper floor. The roof is
starting to crumble around them. Back in the Bone Temple, Jacqui
and Liu Kang are locked in kombat, and Kang hits a right cross and
follows it with a backfist. With Jacqui stunned for a moment, time
slows down as Kang charges up his fist with fire and slams it into
her torso, sending her flying across the room. She lands hard and
is knocked unconscious.
Liu Kang turns toward the lower entrance and smiles. As the
soldiers ascend the staircase, they find him waiting for them.
They raise their weapons, but Kang sends a burst of fire into the
roof above them. The already weakened roof begins to collapse even
further, and in the room below Sonya is pounded repeatedly by
falling debris. Cassie hears the sounds of her mother being hit by
the rocks over her earpiece, and her expression turns from shock
to horror.
CASSIE: General? General!
She looks over the entrance to the lower levels. The collapsed
roof has covered the stairwell entirely, blocking all entrance and
escape. Liu Kang suddenly steps into Cassie’s line of sight.
LIU KANG: She’s trapped, Cassandra Cage.
Cassie’s horror turns into a tranquil fury as she approaches the
Emperor of the Netherrealm.
CASSIE: How the Chosen One has fallen. Raiden’s right – whatever
Shinnok did to you, you’re a lost cause.
They fight. Even though she’s faced down an Elder God before, the
fight with the former champion of Mortal Kombat ends up being one
of the toughest of Cassie’s life. Liu Kang is faster, stronger
and more skilled with magic than Cassie is, but her willpower,
determination and a few dirty tricks allows her to gain the upper
hand. After a mighty back and forth battle, Cassie finally
manages to defeat the Emperor of the Netherealm.
CASSIE: FUCK. YOU.
With Kang down, Cassie runs over to the debris blocking the lower
levels. After a moment of hesitation, she crouches down and
starts pulling at the rocks.
CASSIE: General, can you hear me? General? Mom!
In the basement, Sonya is buried under a ton of debris. She’s
bloody and battered, but still alive.
SONYA: I’m here, Cass.
CASSIE: Hang tight, we’ll get you guys out!
Sonya coughs. The rocks remain unmoving, though the roof above
continues to collapse.
SONYA: They’re gone, Cass… and I’m not gonna make it.
Cassie pauses for a moment.
CASSIE: What?! I’m not leaving you behind!
SONYA: …Get your team home. That’s an order. Your duty.
Sonya clutches the arming device for the explosives in her
bloodied hand.
SONYA: Mine’s to finish the mission.
CASSIE: Mom, no! We can save you!
SONYA: I love you, Cass.
She coughs again.
SONYA: Give your dad a kiss for me.
CASSIE: Mom, no, don’t!
With tears in her eyes, Sonya looks at the arming device… and
presses it. In the room above, Cassie hears the device being armed
and frantically starts pulling at the debris again.
CASSIE: Mom? MOM!
Behind her, a recovered Jacqui closes her eyes in pain and sorrow,
then looks down at her military tablet. The words “DETONATION
SEQUENCE INITIATED” are on display, along with a countdown of less
than 3 minutes and counting. Below that are the words “OVERRIDE
DISABLED”.
JACQUI: She’s started the detonation sequence!
CASSIE: Override it, Jacqui!
JACQUI: There is no override.
Cassie ignores her and keeps pulling at the rocks. Jacqui grabs
her arm but is shoved back.
JACQUI: Commander!
Jacqui grabs Cassie by the shoulders and moves her away from the
rocks. Cassie desperately struggles against her, but Jacqui
eventually pulls her face to face.
JACQUI: Our orders are to leave.
Cassie almost bursts into tears, but steels herself at the last
moment. She takes another look at the fallen debris, breathes
deeply… and a loud roar catches their attention. The oni army
sprawl into the Bone Temple, converging on the Special Forces.
Cassie, Jacqui and the remaining soldiers all open fire,
cutting down the demons. The clip on Cassie’s gun empties, so she
draws her machete, parries a blow from a spear wielding oni,
slashes its throat and hits a roundhouse kick that takes its head
clean off its shoulders. She kicks it down and takes off running,
shooting down the oni following her with her other pistol.
CASSIE: C’mon, move it!
The soldiers flee toward the exit, Jacqui taking the rearguard
and shooting behind her as they escape. They make it outside,
where the oni army has thinned out significantly thanks to Raiden.
As they continue to shoot wildly into the oni around them, the
charges laid deep in the cathedral finally explode, completely
engulfing the structure in an almighty blast.
As it collapses, a huge dust cloud begins to swarm over the
Netherrealm. The S-F soldiers continue to charge, finally making
it over to Raiden. Seeing them approach, Raiden finishes cutting
down the last remaining oni near him and teleports them all out
of the Netherrealm in flashes of red lightning.
They all teleport back into Earthrealm. Cassie falls to her knees,
her emotions finally catching up to her. Jacqui crouches down next
to her friend, offering what support she can. Cassie looks over
angrily towards Raiden.
RAIDEN: Your mother died a warrior’s death. May we all be so
fortunate.
JACQUI: You did NOT just say that.
Cassie remains on her knees in grief. In front of them, Johnny
Cage comes over to greet them.
JOHNNY: Thank God you’re back. How did the mission g…
His words die on his lips as he takes in his daughter; on her
knees and crying. Raiden is nowhere to be seen.
JOHNNY: No…
Silently, Johnny walks over, kneels in front of Cassie and gently
lifts her face as Jacqui backs up away from them. As Cassie
continues to cry, both father and daughter pull each other into a
desperate hug. Cassie closes her eyes, tears streaming down her
face, lost in grief.
Back in the Netherrealm, only Liu Kang and Kitana have survived
the destruction of the cathedral. Their armies and the other
revenants are nowhere to be seen.
LIU KANG: Without the cathedral’s power, we stand alone. We are
vulnerable.
Suddenly, a sandstorm begins to whirl around them. They look up to
see a vague figure in the sand, the one that is generating the
storm around them. As the storm settles, the sand forms into the
bald headed woman seen earlier in the Jinsei chamber. She remains
floating in the air.
KITANA: Who are you? One of Raiden’s Elder Gods, here to taunt us?
WOMAN: No, Kitana. I am much more. Behold!
She raises her hands. The ground around her shifts back into the
shape of the Cathedral, completely restoring it in moments.
KITANA: What power is this?!
WOMAN: I am Kronika, Keeper of Time.
She generates another sandstorm that engulfs the three of them.
They reappear in a completely new area. Constantly shifting gears
make up most of the scene outside of the platform they stand on,
but in between them stands a giant hourglass.
KRONIKA: The Sands of Time guide the destiny of the realms and
every soul therein. I have carefully crafted them to keep the
realms in balance. But my work’s perfection has been irreversibly
tainted by Raiden’s actions. The two of you have felt that pain
most acutely.
LIU KANG: What can be done? The past is the past, is it not?
KRONIKA: It need not be. I intend to wind time back to its
beginning and restart history. But even with my vast power, I
cannot create this New Era alone.
KITANA: How will this “New Era” be different?
KRONIKA: In many ways. But most importantly, there will be no
Raiden.
Both Kang and Kitana look at each other at these words.
LIU KANG: How do we begin?
Kronika says nothing, but merely smiles.
The scene cuts to the Outworld Koliseum. A soldier bangs on a
drum, and the camera focuses on a blue skinned, bald headed,
red-eyed male humanoid bound by an enlarged circular neck brace.
Six more soldiers hold large poles leading into the neck brace in
place, trying to keep the captive imprisoned.
The creature is a member of the Naknada species, and has a total
of six spindly arms on his body – four at his sides and two
smaller ones on his back. Despite his wiry stature, the soldiers
visibly struggle to keep him pinned down. At one point, the
Naknada manages to pivot and lift two soldiers into the air, but
they lean down hard on their poles and manage to return to the
ground.
The crowd in the Koliseum cheer on the display. The Naknada –
known only by his alias of “Kollector” – is brought down
on his knees before the throne of Outworld’s Emperor, the Osh-Tekk
known as Kotal Kahn. Standing to the left of Kotal’s throne is the
Earthrealm mercenary Erron Black and another soldier, who holds
an enlarged sword, not unlike Kotal’s signature macuahuitl.