The three of them take in the battle occurring around them.
SHANG: When have we arrived?
FUJIN: Immediately after the time merger, yes? The battle
between Kotal and Shao Kahn?
Nightwolf stares into the distance and points, placing a hand
on Shang Tsung’s shoulder as he does so.
NIGHTWOLF: No. Look!
The camera cuts to see from his point of view. He has spotted
Jade picking the lock of the stock holding Kotal. After a moment,
she finishes and helps him to throw the stock off. She then
turns to intercept a sword strike from a Shao Kahn loyalist,
punching him across the face, kicking him in the knee and
knocking him over with a roundhouse kick. Behind her, Kotal
punches a soldier across the face, drills his fist into his
stomach, then turns his back and throws the soldier over his
shoulder, slamming him hard into the ground.
NIGHTWOLF: It’s much later than that. This is Kitana’s battle
with Shao Kahn.
SHANG: Then we are almost out of time. We must escape quickly.
He points over to a nearby open trap door, leading down to the
fighting pits beneath the Koliseum.
SHANG: Changing this battle’s outcome could cause Cetrion to
claim the crown earlier than expected.
FUJIN: And guarantee our failure.
NIGHTWOLF: Let’s go!
The three of them run off to the trap door. As they approach,
a nearby Shao Kahn soldier slams his sword through the skull of a
Tarkatan, killing him, but the soldier does not look over to the
trap door, which they reach without impediment.
The scene cuts to the Kollector, who is fighting with a Kotal
loyalist. He parries several sword strikes from the soldier with
his flail, then counters with several slashes across the leg,
chest and back with the knifes held by three of his four main
arms. With the soldier stunned, Kollector holds up his flail and
magically shoots it outward, exploding the soldier’s head in
a violently gory display.
Kollector looks around the battle just in time to spot Nightwolf
entering the trap door, followed closely by Shang Tsung and Fujin.
His eyes widen as he recognises the scheming sorcerer. Another
Kotal loyalist attempts to stab him from behind, but Kollector
shanks him through the top of his head without even turning to
face him. He pulls out his knife and snarls menacingly, walking
toward the trap door.
The scene cuts to the interior below the Koliseum. Shang Tsung,
Fujin and Nightwolf walk through the hallways lined with prison
cages. As they walk past one, they are suddenly started as
an Outworld beast – a creature resembling a giant rat but with
the jaw of a saber-toothed tiger – rushes at them, slamming into
the cage bars. It screeches and claws in an attempt to maul them,
but cannot get past the metal in its way. After taking a moment,
the three continue on, with Tsung crushing a smaller rat
underneath his boot.
SHANG: We escaped the battle undetected.
Unbeknownst to them, Kollector sneaks up from behind.
KOLLECTOR: Shang Tsung!
All of them whirl around at his voice, getting into fighting
stances.
FUJIN: Or not.
KOLLECTOR: Where have you been hiding? You consort with
Earthrealmers now?
NIGHTWOLF: His business is none of yours, Kollector.
KOLLECTOR: My business is collecting what Shao Kahn wants.
He points toward Shang Tsung.
KOLLECTOR: He will pay handsomely for you.
Shang Tsung briefly smirks, but also readies his soul magic.
Nightwolf steps in front of him.
NIGHTWOLF: You’re outnumbered, Kollector.
KOLLECTOR: Am I?
He snaps his fingers, letting loose a burst of blue magic.
Behind them, the prison doors are opened with the same magic and
two giant rats emerge from them. They roar out loud and leap into
the air. As they approach, Nightwolf rolls to the side and the
rats go for Fujin and Shang Tsung, forcing them to backpedal.
Nightwolf looks up to see Kollector hurling his flail towards him
and he rolls out of the way in the nick of time, the heavy weapon
slamming into the sand beneath him. Kollector recalls the
retractable flail back to his grip and faces Nightwolf down.
KOLLECTOR: These are indeed strange days. How do Earthrealmers
profit from protecting Shang Tsung?
NIGHTWOLF: He shares our goal: Kronika’s defeat.
KOLLECTOR: You will be partners in death!
They fight. The Naknada proves to be a most unorthodox opponent
for the Native American, and his numerous weapons and magical
abilities prove to be a challenge in kombat. But Nightwolf
has his own weapons, magic and fighting skill on top of that,
all of which he bears against Kollector. After a fierce melee,
Nightwolf eventually triumphs.
NIGHTWOLF: Thank you, Great Spirit.
As that battle finishes, Fujin catches one of the beasts in
a tunnel of wind that not only spins it around, but peels the
skin right off it. As the beast falls dead, the second one
stalks toward Fujin and Shang Tsung. It leaps straight into
a tornado from Fujin that levitates it into the air. Fujin
disperses the wind for a moment to allow the beast to fall
to the ground, then summons it immediately after to pin it
down. As the beast struggles, Shang Tsung charges his hands
with fire and unleashes a flamethrower blast that roasts
the beast in an instant.
He takes a moment to smirk in triumph, and then looks overhead.
Above them, sand falls, a loud gasp emanates from the crowd and
the sounds of battle start to die down.
NIGHTWOLF: Kitana has defeated Shao Kahn.
SHANG: He always had more ego than skill.
FUJIN: Come. Let us leave while the crowd is distracted.
The three of them turn around and head toward the exit.
The scene cuts to outside of the Koliseum, by a roadside some
distance away. Nightwolf and Fujin are in a heated discussion,
while Shang Tsung sits in the shade of a nearby tree.
NIGHTWOLF: No. We’re already here later than we wanted to be.
He turns to Tsung and points at him.
NIGHTWOLF: Let’s go to your island now and take the crown. No
detours!
SHANG: Our rather public arrival at the Koliseum makes that
impossible. Kronika’s Outworld allies will inform her of our
presence. Go to my island now, we could be ambushed by Cetrion
herself.
FUJIN: And our combined power won’t stop her. We need help.
NIGHTWOLF: But whose help?! We can’t recruit any of our allies
without altering this timeline’s events.
Fujin walks away, unable to answer. Shang Tsung stands up,
grinning to himself for a moment, before giving Nightwolf a
sly sideways glance.
SHANG: Sindel.
Upon hearing her name, Nightwolf’s eyes narrow.
NIGHTWOLF: Sindel’s a revenant.
SHANG: Who can be restored to life. And who plays no major part
in the battles that lie ahead. We can safely recruit her without
disrupting events.
He clasps his hands together.
SHANG: It’s a tactic Kronika is unlikely to anticipate.
Fujin walks back toward him.
FUJIN: She was Shao Kahn’s Empress, his equal in evil.
SHANG: Because he had her bewitched. Returning Sindel to life
will restore her original, more heroic self.
FUJIN: And if we fail? The Sindel I knew wiped out most of
Earthrealm’s champions in a single battle.
He points to Nightwolf.
FUJIN: If Nightwolf hadn’t sacrificed himself, she would have
killed them all.
Shang points back at him.
SHANG: That is the power we need to assure victory against
Cetrion. Sindel is the key.
Shang turns his back on them, one hand behind his back, the
other lifted in contemplation. Nightwolf throws up his hands in
exasperation.
NIGHTWOLF: And I suppose restoring her will be easy.
Tsung gives him another side-ward glance.
SHANG: Anything but. We can use Earthrealm’s Jinsei to heal
Sindel’s body. But to break Quan Chi’s spell and revive her
soul, we will need access to Outworld’s Soul Chamber.
Nightwolf looks away, unconvinced. Fujin sighs to himself.
FUJIN: You have a different plan, Nightwolf? A better one?
Nightwolf turns back to Tsung.
NIGHTWOLF: One hint of betrayal, sorcerer, and we will finish you.
Shang takes the threat in stride, only smirking back at Nightwolf.
NIGHTWOLF: Where do we start?
SHANG: Earthrealm, to acquire the Jinsei.
He swirls his arms around and summons a portal. The three of them
walk through it and it disappears behind them.
The scene cuts to Kronika’s Keep. The Titan of Time is using her
magic to shift the sands in her hourglass. As she does so, her
top enforcers – the construct Geras and the cyborg ninja Frost –
walk up to her.
GERAS: Shang Tsung, Fujin, Nightwolf. All were seen in the
Koliseum. How is that possible?
Kronika turns to face them.
KRONIKA: It should not be. Those cast into the void do not return.
GERAS: If Shang Tsung were to–
KRONIKA: –I am aware, Geras. Take Frost and find them. We must
discern from when and whence they came.
The scene cuts to the Dragon Grotto. Fujin scoops some of the
Jinsei liquid from a pool into a metal vial the size of
his hand.
SHANG: That will be sufficient.
He motions as if to take the vial. Fujin glares at him and seals
the vial himself.
FUJIN: You two may leave. I’ll stay behind to secure the Grotto.
He turns directly to Shang Tsung.
FUJIN: Your aid is not required.
Once again, Shang replies with nothing but a knowing smirk.
He mockingly half-bows to Fujin as Nightwolf walks past him,
then leaves the grotto himself.
As they pass from the cave into the arena, Shang stops at
the entrance. He holds up a hand to prevent Nightwolf from
entering, then picks up a nearby pole. He uses the pole to prod
a loose tile just ahead of them. Immediately, several long spikes
on either side of the doorway shoot into the space above where
the tile is. On one of those spikes is the bloodied remains
of a treasure hunter, impaled through his shoulders, pelvis
and legs on one side of the spikes.
[AUTHOR’S NOTE: The dead man is better known as the Descendant
of Apep – the player character of the Krypt mode.]
There is enough time for the dead man’s mask to fall from his
face before the spikes are retracted back into the wall, along
with his decaying body. Shang Tsung smiles in appreciation.
SHANG: These traps are excellent. Who knew the Shaolin were so
diabolical?
Nightwolf looks at him quizzically.
NIGHTWOLF: From you, that’s high praise.
For a change, Shang looks offended at this remark. He
contemptuously shoves the pole into Nightwolf’s hands and walks
into the trap dungeon before them.
SHANG: Indeed.
Nightwolf drops the pole and follows after him. The two of them
don’t manage to walk very far before a swirl of sand magic starts
to appear before them, prompting both men to get into fighting
stances. The tornado of sand soon begins to disperse, revealing
Geras, Frost and twelve cyber Lin Kuei.
GERAS: Nightwolf, Shang Tsung. Come. Kronika is keen to question
you.
The cyber Lin Kuei charge them. As Shang Tsung ducks into a low
stance, Nightwolf readies one of his tomahawks and throws it
straight at one of the cyborgs, impaling it through its head.
As the cyborg sparks and staggers from the fatal impact,
Nightwolf runs up and pulls his tomahawk free, running up
and vaulting off the cyborg’s shoulders in doing so. As he leaps,
he raises his tomahawk, magically summons a second one into
his spare hand and brings both weapons down through the chest
of another cyborg. It tries to rise, but Nightwolf knocks it
back down with a headbutt and rolls forward.
As he stands up, he catches another cyborg with a tomahawk to
its gut, doubling it over. He chops it across the back with
his other tomahawk to drop it and then spins around, using
the motion to decapitate another cyborg. He knocks his weapons
together and runs into the fray of remaining ninjas, while one
of them breaks from the crowd and rushes at Shang Tsung.
Shang is ready and parries the cyborg’s attack, countering with
a knife hand chop to its throat that stuns it. He hits another
cyborg with a punch to its face, grabs and spins it around for
a few moments, then drops it with a clothesline. A third cyborg
manages to sucker punch him in the face, but he hits two
counter punches to stun it. He turns to the first cyborg and
kicks it in the chest, then hits another palm strike and a
jumping kick to the third, sending it sprawling.
A fourth cyborg charges in, but Shang grabs its arm, wrenches it
down and knees it in the face, knocking it back. The first tries
to punch him, but he dodges its strike. It swings multiple times,
but Shang dodges each swipe, even putting his hands behind his
back while doing so. He then uses his fire magic to suddenly
roast the cyborg where it stands, and finishes by punching off
its head. A fifth cyborg attacks, but Shang blocks both of its
strikes, then he inflames his hands and downward chops the cyborg
twice across its chest. He finishes with a fiery palm thrust that
goes straight through the cyborg’s chest. He lifts his hand up,
from chest to head, splitting the cyborg vertically in half in
doing so.
As Shang Tsung and Geras approach each other, Nightwolf finishes
the last of the cyber Lin Kuei by splitting it in half with
his tomahawk. He faces Frost as she approaches.
NIGHTWOLF: Kronika isn’t the future, Frost. We’ve seen it! Join
us on the right side of history.
FROST: The only side is Kronika’s. My place in her New Era is
assured.
They fight. Frost’s control over ice combined with her cybernetic
upgrades proves to be quite a challenge for Nightwolf, but he
has faced down greater threats than her before. Taking advantage
of her arrogance, he manages to break through her attacks and
take the fight to her, leaving her beaten on the ground.
NIGHTWOLF: Nothing is assured, Frost.
Over to his side, Geras throws a haymaker that Shang Tsung blocks.
He hits Geras in the chest several times, chops him the face and
lands a gut punch that staggers him. Geras recovers and throws
a spinning haymaker that Tsung catches, but the construct keeps
throwing punches, eventually landing a short uppercut to Shang’s
chin that he follows with a gut punch.
The sorcerer staggers back, clearly winded. Geras magically
generates his armoured gauntlet and pounds Shang Tsung straight in
the chest, sending him flying across the dungeon. Tsung whirls
back to his feet and shoots out a fireball. It impacts on Geras’
chest, but only staggers him for a moment.
Shang powers up and shoots out a flaming skull. This time,
Geras is knocked back and crashes through a wooden pillar,
splintering it into matchwood. As Geras lies motionless, Tsung
falls to one knee, exhausted. Fujin walks up behind him.
FUJIN: Is he finished?
As they both look toward Geras, they find he is already standing
to his feet.
GERAS: I am eternal, Fujin. My will and my strength, infinite.
Both Fujin and Shang Tsung charge up their wind and soul magic,
shooting it at Geras together. He holds up his arms and takes
both rays head on, blocking them and pushing forward. The magic
stalls him for a moment, but he pushes back and outward,
dispelling the rays.
Both Fujin and Tsung stagger for a moment, but they rally and
shoot their magic out once again. Geras again blocks their rays
of magic and slowly makes his way forward… until a tomahawk
slams into his face. This in turn causes Fujin and Shang Tsung
to stop firing at Geras, watching as he nonchalantly pulls the
tomahawk out of his skull. His wound instantly heals as he
throws the weapon aside.
Nightwolf steps up next to Fujin and Shang Tsung. All three of
them enter fighting stances. Geras roars and charges them,
engaging in mortal kombat.
Fujin hits a palm strike to Geras’ chest, following through
with a knee that is blocked, but he manages to kick Geras in the
chest as a follow up. Shang throws a sidekick that Geras parries,
but he punches Geras in the face, leaving him open to Nightwolf,
who punches him twice in the face and backhands him in his
abdomen.
All three of them throw high kicks that Geras blocks, but each
one forces him back, until Nightwolf throws a dropkick that
breaks his defenses. Geras rallies and punches into the ground,
activating his powers over sand as he does so. A burst of
sand suddenly appears before the threesome, catching both
Shang Tsung and Fujin as they charge in. They are thrown into
the air and land heavily on the ground.
Nightwolf readies a tomahawk and leaps into the air, but Geras
catches his arm and counters with a haymaker to Nightwolf’s gut.
As Nightwolf drops his weapon, Geras grabs him by the throat and
lifts him into the air. He generates a portal of sand on the
ground underneath and throws Nightwolf through it, causing him
to emerge on the other side of the dungeon.
Shang Tsung kips up to his feet and attacks, but Geras parries
his punches, countering with a punch to the gut and two to the
face. Fujin tries to attack, but Geras sends him flying with
a shoulder barge. He uses his time powers to freeze Shang Tsung
where he stands, then uses the same power to grab Fujin. With
a gesture of his hand, he drags Fujin toward Shang Tsung, causing
them to collide in a heap, both knocked out from the impact.
Nightwolf manages to stand, though he’s still not fully recovered.
Geras walks over to him.
GERAS: Of all the Nightwolves I have fought, you are the fiercest.
NIGHTWOLF: It must be why the Great Spirit chose me to wear the
mantle.
GERAS: You are also anomalous. No one has ever escaped the void.
They fight. The battle proves to be one of Nightwolf’s toughest
yet. Geras is not fazed by any one of his magical weapons or his
fighting abilities. Every fatal blow is absorbed by the construct
to no effect. But Nightwolf does not give up, and manages to knock
Geras to the floor for a moment.
Geras lifts his face, growling at the Native American. Nightwolf
readies two of his tomahawks and throws them together, severing
Geras’ arms at the shoulder. He falls flat on his face once more,
but still tries to look up.
Fujin and Shang Tsung, now conscious, walk up to Nightwolf.
FUJIN: Was that necessary?
NIGHTWOLF: To buy us time. We must be rid of him before he
recovers.
Sure enough, a swirl of sand magic begins to reattach Geras’ arms
back onto his body. Shang Tsung readies himself by generating
his fire magic.
SHANG: Fujin, summon the wind!
As Shang creates a portal, Fujin readies his wind magic, blasting
it directly at Geras. His hands grip down on the ground, but
they have not finished attaching to his body yet. With a loud cry,
the construct is blown back into the portal. One of his arms
inches toward Nightwolf and grabs his foot. Nightwolf looks down
and contemptuously kicks it away, watching as it slides into the
portal as well.
FUJIN: Where did you send him?
SHANG: Chaosrealm. Havik will keep him entertained.
NIGHTWOLF: Let’s get to the Netherrealm. We’re running out of time
to find Sindel.
Shang creates another portal in front of them.
The scene cuts to the Netherrealm. An army of oni walk across
the hellish landscape. Mounted nearby on an undead fiery steed
is the revenant Jade, who jabs a demon close to her that walks
too slowly for her liking. Kung Lao and Kabal are also seen
on mounts of their own overlooking the marching army.
Nightwolf, Fujin and Shang Tsung watch the army passed by
from the cover of a nearby rock.
NIGHTWOLF: No sign of Sindel.
SHANG: Not entirely unexpected, given that she did not aid in the
Keep’s defense.
FUJIN: What was her role, then, if she is such a formidable
weapon?
As they talk, the shadows of three figures approach their position.
NIGHTWOLF: Is it possible tha–
He suddenly cries out in pain, clutching his chest. Both Fujin
and Shang look surprised at this, but say nothing for the moment.
NIGHTWOLF: Great Spirit!
FUJIN: What is it?
NIGHTWOLF: My revenant… he is close.
Realising the implications, all three turn around, now sensing
the approaching figures. They appear in shadow, but there is
no mistaking the revenants. They are Liu Kang, Kitana… and
Nightwolf.
O. NIGHTWOLF: The Great Spirit cannot save you.
Nightwolf, Shang and Fujin get into their fighting stances, but
Liu Kang raises his hand. He holds some kind of fiery medallion
that shoots out what appear to be molten tentacles. These
tentacles wrap themselves around the three of them, instantly
restraining them. Despite their best efforts, all of them fall
to the ground, losing consciousness. Liu Kang withdraws the
tentacles back into the medallion.
LIU KANG: (To Nightwolf) Take them to the Bone Temple.
The scene cuts to an unconscious Fujin, hanging from the ceiling,
suspended by the shackles on his arms. He awakens to find himself
in the Bone Temple. He looks at his restraints and tugs at them,
unable to free himself. As he looks around, he spots both Nightwolf
and Shang Tsung, each man bound by shackles to pillars on each of
his sides. Both of them are still unconscious.
FUJIN: Nightwolf! Shang Tsung!
Neither man responds.
FUJIN: Nightwolf! Shang Tsung!
Eventually, both men open their eyes. Nightwolf looks around.
NIGHTWOLF: Where are we?
Shang looks around for a moment before he answers, spotting a
familiar looking decapitated head.
SHANG: Shinnok’s Bone Temple.
We get a close of the former ruler of the Netherrealm. As we last
saw him before, Shinnok is still 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.
As Fujin takes in this sight, a familiar sounding voice echoes
out behind him.
SINDEL: Raiden’s violence against our Lord will not go unavenged,
Fujin.
The revenant Sindel does not step out of the shadows surrounding
her, instead remaining just out of Fujin’s line of sight.
SINDEL: Prepare to pay for your brother’s sins.
She walks around the pillar holding Shang Tsung, suddenly
appearing at his side. The revenant Nightwolf hangs back in the
shadows.
SHANG: Sindel… you look well. Death becomes you.
She smirks at the remark, but there is no amusement on her face.
She places a hand on his cheek.
SINDEL: Always the charmer, Shang Tsung. I will enjoy feeding Lord
Shinnok your soul.
She pulls her hand away and walks toward Nightwolf. He grunts as
he struggles against his restrains. Out of Sindel’s line of sight,
he magically conjures up a spirit knife in his right hand, using
it to cut away at the chain on his shackle.
SINDEL: But you, Nightwolf… you get the privilege of suffering
most.
She grabs him by the throat, though not tightly enough to
strangle him.
SINDEL: Only the best will do for the man who killed me.
NIGHTWOLF: I should’ve saved you. Hopefully we will today.
The knife finally manages to cut his shackles. He swings it out
at Sindel, who backpedals just in time to avoid it. He charges
forth, swinging it thrice more, but she dodges each time. As the
revenant Nightwolf readies his tomahawks, Sindel screams into
the air, her banshee cry magically echoing across the temple.
A multitude of oni hear the cry and storm into the room.
Nightwolf brandishes his tomahawks and throws them at Fujin’s
shackles. They snap them instantly, freeing the Wind God.
He readies himself as the revenant Nightwolf charges. Sindel
merely points with her finger, letting the charging oni do her
work for her.
As they approach, Nightwolf frees Shang Tsung by slamming his
tomahawk into the chain that binds him, and all three of them get
into fighting stances and charge. Shang Tsung engages the revenant
Nightwolf, while the living Nightwolf charges into a group of oni,
tomahawks drawn. Fujin conjures up a tornado around Nightwolf,
spinning him around while his tomahawks are outstretched. The
result of this unique combo is that any oni that approaches
Nightwolf is messily chopped to pieces by the spinning tomahawks.
Within a few seconds, all the oni are laying dead on the ground
and Fujin dispels the tornado.
As Fujin prepares to deal with more oni offscreen, Nightwolf
approaches Sindel, who stood off to the side as all this took
place.
NIGHTWOLF: You can’t kill me, Sindel. Not without killing my
revenant.
SINDEL: I’m not going to kill you.
She gives a throaty laugh as she walks forward.
SINDEL: As Raiden said to Lord Shinnok… there are fates worse
than death.
They fight. Earlier in this timeline, empowered by Shang Tsung’s
magic and strength, Sindel was too strong for Nightwolf to
defeat without sacrificing his own life. But Sindel lost this
strength when she became a revenant, and thanks to this, Nightwolf
is able to overcome her sorcery with his own magic, eventually
leaving her unconscious on the ground.
NIGHTWOLF: I can imagine few fates worse than yours.
A cry from behind him catches Nightwolf’s attention. He turns
around and spins, slashing out with his tomahawk as an oni rushes
him. He catches the demon on the throat, dropping it. Another one
tries to kick him, but he plants his tomahawks into its rising
ankle and leg. As it hobbles in pain, he drives a tomahawk square
into its chest to drop it. In the background, his revenant
staggers Shang Tsung with a spinning sidekick to the gut.
The revenant summons lightning into his tomahawk and blasts Tsung
square in the face. He falls down and writhes in agony as the
revenant continues to electrocute him. The living Nightwolf,
meanwhile, plunges his tomahawks into the chest of another
attacking oni. As it falls to its knees, Nightwolf spots his
revenant and yanks his weapons loose, taking off toward them.
He parries a swipe from an oni with his tomahawk before repeatedly
stabbing it in its torso, finishing it with a stab to the throat.
He then charges his revenant from behind and shoulder barges him,
causing him to break the lightning spell. Old Nightwolf lands hard
but gets to his feet as smoke begins to rise from Shang Tsung’s
badly burnt form.
The two Nightwolves circle each other. Old Nightwolf brandishes
his tomahawks threateningly.
O. NIGHTWOLF: You will die by your own hands.
Young Nightwolf puts his hands up in appeasement.
Y. NIGHTWOLF: Harming me only hurts you.
O. NIGHTWOLF: My sacrifice will save the Matoka.
Y. NIGHTWOLF: Kronika has no love for our people. The Great
Spirit–
O. NIGHTWOLF: –is a fraud! Who allowed us to suffer! Kronika is
our future.
They fight. The battle is even in its beginning, with both
kombatants equally matched in strength, fighting skill and
magic powers. But the elder Nightwolf is at a disadvantage thanks
to what his younger self realised earlier; every time the elder
harms the younger, he is hurt as well. This allows the younger
Nightwolf to press the advantage, and though the battle is tough,
he eventually knocks his revenant down.
Y. NIGHTWOLF: Kronika is not the answer.
As the revenant rises back to his feet, he is suddenly enveloped
by soul magic and cries out in agony. He falls to his knees as
Shang Tsung begins to devour his soul.
Y. NIGHTWOLF: Shang Tsung, stop! We can restore him!
Shang Tsung is not a pretty sight at the moment. The lightning
attack damaged him so badly that his face is nothing more
than a skull with two blinded eyes staring out of them. His
voice is barely more than a strained groan from rotted vocal
chords.
SHANG: He wounded me. If I die, we fail.
The soul magic transferring into his hands begins to restore
his face, growing flesh back onto his skull. Young Nightwolf
does not look convinced at his words. He starts charging toward
Tsung.
Y. NIGHTWOLF: Sorcerer, I’ll–
FUJIN: No, Nightwolf!
Fujin grabs him by the chest and shoulder, holding him back.
FUJIN: Shang Tsung must live.
Shang recovers enough to stand up fully, and uses his other
hand to channel soul magic as well. His face is now bloodied,
but recognisable, and soon his facial hair grows back as well,
and within moments he is completely healed, looking just as
before. The revenant Nightwolf meanwhile is sucked dry, and as
the spell is finished he falls forward, his body withered and
even more grey than before. His eyes are milk coloured and
glazed over, and there is no question that he is dead.
With his trademark smirk, Shang Tsung walks over to Nightwolf and
Fujin.
NIGHTWOLF: Are you happy now?
SHANG: I am healthy, Nightwolf. That should be your concern.
FUJIN: Both of you, please.
He looks to Sindel, who is still unconscious.
FUJIN: We must make haste to the Soul Chamber.
Shang turns around and walks off.
SHANG: Then let us hurry… and hope Sheeva is as eager to aid us
as I anticipate…
Both Fujin and Nightwolf stare after him, each lost in their own
thoughts at his words.
The scene cuts to Sheeva’s throne room in Outworld. The queen
of the Shokan herself is seated on the throne, a goblet in her
hand, flanked by two bodyguards wielding maces two heads taller
than their own giant frames. Shang Tsung stands away from the
throne, hands behind his back in apparent respect.
SHEEVA: Escort you and your “comrades” to the Soul Chamber?
SHANG: Yes.
SHEEVA: Have you come from the future only to insult me? I am no
sword for hire.