KOTAL KAHN: (To Raiden) The Tarkatans, long extinct, have also returned.
RAIDEN: Shao Kahn will seek them out. He relies on their power.
JADE: Kotal's scouts tracked a Tarkatan war party to the Kytinn's Lost Hive, D'Vorah's ancestral home. Lily Tsung's hand in Shao Kahn's escape makes that our starting point.
RAIDEN: Please advise me of what you learn. I must consult with the Elder Gods.
He lifts his hand into the air and teleports away with a flash of lightning. As Raiden exits, Kitana walks down the steps of the temple.
KITANA: When do we leave?
KOTAL KAHN: Your duty lies elsewhere, Princess. I need you to enlist Queen Sheeva. Her support is critical, against Kronika, Lily Tsung and Shao Kahn.
Kitana seems none too happy at being ordered around.
KITANA: Surely you can--
KOTAL KAHN: --Queen Sheeva does not trust me. No Shokan has since my bloody battle with Goro.
JADE: Sheeva's always respected your opinion more than anyone's. When she hears you support Kotal, she'll join us.
Kitana narrows her eyes at her friend's words, but seemingly takes the advice in. She turns to Kotal.
KITANA: If that is my duty, so be it.
KOTAL KAHN: Thank you, Princess.
Kotal walks up the steps of the temple and takes his leave. Once he is out of earshot, Kitana angrily turns to Jade, who takes
it all in stride.
KITANA: Are you my friend or his consort?
JADE: It was my idea, Kitana. It's in your best interest. Succeed with Sheeva and Kotal will pledge his loyalty to you. There's no bond more sacred to an Osh-Tekk like him.
The scene cuts to the wastelands of Outworld, a barren desert filled with nothing but rocks, sand and dead trees. A scouting party mounted on some striped horses walks through the desert. Kotal and Jade travel on horseback
as well, Kotal on a steed with the same colour as his blue war paint, while Jade travels on a brown horse the same colour as her clothing.
JADE: I remember when we could ride like this alone.
KOTAL KAHN: My life has changed as Outworld's Kahn. Thankfully, you have not.
JADE: You haven't changed much either, despite the years. You're still the same noble warrior I met in Shao Kahn's court. And now
you're Kahn. I'm surprised no woman has claimed your bed and become your queen.
A rare smile adorns Kotal's lips as he snorts in amusement.
KOTAL KAHN: Many have tried.
JADE: Yet they failed. Why?
KOTAL KAHN: None of them were you.
The scouting party continues on their trek through the desert. They have now reached an area where unnatural looking stalagmites reaching dozens of feet high are littered across
the landscape. The party draws to a halt and all the scouts dismount, Kotal and Jade included. Jade looks to one side and points her finger toward the ground.
JADE: There are fresh tracks leading into the Hive. If Shao Kahn and Lily Tsung are in there, they will be difficult to find. The tunnels are endless.
KOTAL KAHN: (To the scouts) Set fire to them. If they are hidden, they will be smoked out.
Jade places a hand on Kotal's shoulder.
JADE: Kotal, we don't know who else is in th--
A sudden thundering in the ground below interrupts her. The horses are immediately spooked by the noise and vibrations and take off running in every direction away from them. Insect creatures that somewhat resemble an Earthrealm spider emerge from the ground. Kotal draws out his macuahitl blade as Jade
gets into a fighting stance.
One of the creatures lunges at Jade, grabbing her legs in its mouth. Another tries for Kotal, but he slices his blade across its face. The first creature begins to pull Jade away.
KOTAL KAHN: No!
Kotal turns to Jade and reaches his hand out, but the second creature comes at him again. Kotal hastily swipes his blade again in self-defense, this time cleaving the creature's head
in half. Jade, however, is pulled away screaming underground as another creature comes at Kotal.
The creature now holds Jade fully in it's maw, scuttering across the underground tunnel with breakneck speed. It emerges in the same part of the Hive that Shao Kahn spoke with Kronika in, although no one else appears to be present now.
As Jade struggles in the grasp of the insect, a more terrifying presence jumps into the room with them - her revenant self. She walks toward her younger self, who steels herself.
O. JADE: (To the insect) Hold her!
The insect tightens its grip. Revenant Jade lifts her polearm into the air and brings it down hard. At the last moment, Jade moves to the side and the staff crashes down on the insect's
head, killing it instantly. Jade flips to her feet and faces down her undead self.
Y. JADE: By the Gods, it's true? This is what I become?!
O. JADE: Blame your loyalty to Kitana. It led directly to our death.
Y. JADE: Then so be it. I would not trade Kitana's friendship for anything.
O. JADE: It is pitiful you choose servitude.
Y. JADE: She and I fight side by side, against Shao Kahn. His oppression cannot stand!
They fight. Both the old and young Jade are equals in speed, agility and skill, but the revenant Jade holds back her assault, not wishing to accidentally kill her younger self. This allows the younger Jade to press her advantage, eventually defeating her revenant after a fierce battle.
Y. JADE: When called for a higher purpose, we must ser--
A cry from above in the Osh-Tekk language interrupts Jade's speech.
KOTAL KAHN: Ack-Na! Kot-tek-hah!
Jade backs up as Kotal falls into the Hive from an above entrance. D'Vorah lands on her feet next to him. Kotal recovers quickly and
tries to stab D'Vorah with his sickles, but she dodges to one side. Kotal rises to his feet and faces her down.
KOTAL KAHN: You will bleed for your betrayal, D'Vorah.
D'VORAH: This One acts only for the Hive's survival.
With a motion, her four stingers emerge from her back. She charges and swings them at Kotal, who repeatedly fends them off with his
sickles. After several parries though, one of the stingers gets through his defenses and impales him through his right shoulder. Kotal sinks to his knees in pain as D'Vorah yanks the stinger
back out.
With Kotal weakened from the poison in her stingers, D'Vorah walks up to him and caresses his face in her hands. Kotal struggles as tiny maggots begin to emerge from D'Vorah's mouth in the hundreds, covering his face. Kotal tries to scream, but is unable to do more than gurgle as the maggots crawl over and into his mouth.
Just as it looks to be the end for Kotal, D'Vorah ducks her head backwards just in time to avoid Jade's razor-rang, which circles around back into its owner's hand.
JADE: You'd best flee, D'Vorah. Kotal is mine.
They fight. There is no fighter in Outworld like D'Vorah, who's speed, poison and control over insects is unmatched. But seeing Kotal injured drives Jade into an aggressive fury that takes
the Kytinn by surprise. The Edenian warrior takes the fight to D'Vorah and beats her to the ground.
With D'Vorah down, Jade points her staff downward and sticks it in her throat.
JADE: Wish to survive? Tell us where to find Shao Kahn and Lily Tsung.
D'Vorah growls in anger, but her eyes show she has no fight left.
The scene cuts to three almost completely charred bodies, hung from tree stumps. Kotal Kahn, Jade and the Outworld scouts are on
a cliff side, looking into the valley below.
KOTAL KAHN: Ghosts of my past. D'Vorah spoke the truth.
Below them are a multitude of large tents, all kept erect by several large poles crammed upright. The tents are considerably larger than the Tarkatans walking between them and encompass the entire valley.
KOTAL KAHN: We are outnumbered.
JADE: Give me a few of your best soldiers. We'll infiltrate the camp and search for Shao Kahn unseen.
KOTAL KAHN: What you propose is dangerous.
She smiles.
JADE: Of course it is.
The scene cuts to inside the Tarkatan war camp. A male Tarkatan bites into the severed hand of a flayed body next to him, then throws the hand away in disgust. As he picks up and tears into a severed and flayed head next, Jade and five of the scouts sneak past behind him. They pick up their pace into a run, and soon
hear voices before them speaking in the untranslated Tarkatan language.
TARKATAN 1: Okot nara toka nit Ratash, oko nar?
They get into cover behind a tent. A group of five Tarkatans walk into the main campsite area, deep in discussion.
TARKATAN 2: Nar hartak latah ratk.
The Tarkatans break into laughter. Jade peaks out from her cover and notices they are walking away from their position.
TARKATAN 3: Alk Tarkata aka ha, Tetakh.
Jade and the scouts break cover and start running in the opposite direction to the Tarkatans.
TARKATAN 1: No nakhut nay.
TARKATAN 3: Trakka tor no rakata.
As they run through the camp, a group of six Tarkatans walk out, prompting Jade and the scouts to duck behind another tent.
TARKATAN 1: Kabak takar wak kakta kaht? Tak pakar rah batahat.
This group walks right next to the tent Jade and the scouts are using for cover.
TARKATAN 2: Tor parkaht. Wak kaht nak Shao Kahn kolkat ha trabakar.
TARKATAN 1: Wakt hakka turk. Wak rakata raynar Kotal khanak.
They walk on, none looking in Jade's direction.
TARKATAN 3: Nar oko papkhat.
As the group walks off, Jade motions to her scouts and breaks cover. She turns, starts to run... and steps right into the path of a female Tarkatan, who backs up in surprise and fear.
F. TARKATAN: Toh ha na? Taka ha na aki Tarkata? Nay... nay... Trakka ti!
The female is terrified, and through her speech is untranslated she has realised that Jade and her scouts are not allied with the Tarkatans. The scouts reach for their swords to silence her, but Jade holds her hand out.
JADE: No.
The female holds her hand out in surrender.
F. TARKATAN: Parkha...
Jade holds her hands up as well, trying to calm the female as she approaches her.
JADE: It's all right. We won't harm you.
F. TARKATAN: Parkha nah... nay ti oto nokorta.
The female continues to edge backwards.
JADE: We're looking for Shao Kahn.
F. TARKATAN: Shao Kahn? Pakta ray Shao Kahn?
JADE: Please... we only need to--
The female backs up into two posts behind her. Suddenly, a nearby male Tarkatan blows a war horn, sounding the alarm. Dozens more
Tarkatans begin running toward Jade and the scouts.
JADE: RUN!
She takes off, as do the scouts. On the cliff side, Kotal hears the war horns sounding across the camp and realises Jade's cover is blown. He looks to his remaining soldiers.
KOTAL KAHN: With me!
He jumps onto his horse, which rears up onto its hind legs. Kotal remains in the saddle and tugs on its reins, making the horse gallop off down the valley. Kotal's soldiers follow soon after on their own mounts.
Back in the camp, Jade flees from three Tarkatans in hot pursuit. The other scouts are nowhere to be seen. As she runs, two more
Tarkatans join the chase. Jade reaches a flight of steps and turns about, swinging her staff and catching the nearest Tarkatan in the side of his head, knocking him down. She follows with a swipe in the other direction, knocking down the next Tarkatan after him, then she swings her staff downwards and cracks a third Tarkatan on the top of his skull, following through with a kick to his face that sends him sprawling.
The fourth Tarkatan does not run blindly into her staff like the others before him, instead leading with his arm-blades. Jade dodges back and up the stairs, avoiding his swipes. She counters with staff strikes to both of his knees, then an upward swing right into his groin. She finishes with a strike to his head that knocks him aside. The fifth Tarkatan charges immediately afterward, but Jade sweeps his legs out from under him with her staff and slams her staff into his midsection, incapacitating him.
As a sixth Tarkatan charges next, Jade retreats further up the steps. She parries an arm-blade attack with her staff and bashes the Tarkatan upside his head, knocking him off the steps, then repeats the motion for a seventh immediately afterwards. An eighth Tarkatan tries his luck next, but Jade stabs her staff straight into his open maw and knocks him down.
Jade has now reached the top of the stairs she was climbing, and it now becomes obvious that she has ascended into a meat carriage.
Dozens of human bodies with the skin flayed off their forms are hanging from the low ceiling above her. Realising the Tarkatans are going to keep coming for her, she turns around and makes her way through the carriage. Another Tarkatan charges behind her, swiping madly with his arm blades and carving through some bodies.
One of his swipes ends with him accidentally getting his blade stuck in a body, and Jade takes advantage with a roundhouse kick
to his face, knocking him senseless. Jade looks in front of her to see more bodies, these ones hanging from chains over a pit of hot
coals. She shoves a body into the face of another Tarkatan to knock him down and runs toward the chains, leaping into the air and grabbing the nearest to her.
With effortless grace, she swings to the next chain and catches it, repeating the process for every next chain. As another Tarkatan swings behind her, Jade grabs one of the hooks that ends the chain and stabs the Tarkatan through the side of the head. Immediately his body loses its grip and tears itself free of his
head, falling to the coals below and catching fire.
Another Tarkatan swings toward Jade, using the head of his fallen comrade as a grip. Jade swings back in his direction and kicks
him in the face, sending him down to a fiery end. One more Tarkatan swings toward Jade and leaps, managing to grab her left
leg. She kicks him off and he falls as well. Jade keeps swinging across the chains, dragging one carrying a particularly large corpse into the face of another pursuing Tarkatan, causing him
to fall into the coals as well.
Finally, Jade reaches the other side, pushing her way through more flayed bodies. She jumps off the meat carriage and into an open
area of the war camp. Dozens of Tarkatans swarm in around her, and she finally comes to a halt as she sees her exit is barred by none
other than the Naknada known as Kollector and even more Tarkatans. Kollector smiles as Jade finds herself surrounded on all sides,
but she remains unfazed and addresses him directly.
JADE: All these years and still you exploit others to rise above your station.
KOLLECTOR: I have risen TO my station, Jade.
Behind them, the Tarkatans roar and turn to another battle taking place - Kotal Kahn and his soldiers have reached them. Kotal
stabs through a nearby Tarkatan with his gigantic sword, swipes with a backhanded strike to send another flying, then cleaves
upward to catch another Tarktan, following through with a downward swing that splits him in half from head to groin.
Kotal grabs another Tarkatan by the throat and lifts him off his feet, using his sword to stab through a Tarkatan charging him while doing so, and then killing another with a backward swipe. He turns his attention back to the Tarkatan in his grasp and crushes his windpipe, throwing him aside and stabbing through two Tarkatans at once with his sword. One falls aside, but the other is still alive on his blade. Kotal breaks into a run, charging toward more foes with the still alive Tarkatan screaming in terror next to him.
Kotal's charge takes him past Jade, who faces down Kollector.
KOLLECTOR: Before Shao Kahn raised me up, Outworlders despised the Naknada. Now they fear us. Tell me that is not progress!
They fight. Kollector's unique physiology, his surprising strength and his multitude of hidden weapons present a challenge that no
ordinary human could hope to prevail against. But Jade knows him well, and her own speed, skill and experience allow her to slip past his defenses and take the fight to him. After a fierce melee, Jade leaves Kollector defeated on the ground.
JADE: Fear and respect are not equals.
Jade looks to Kotal, who is parading in front of the surviving Tarkatans. He stops before the female Tarkatan who had the misfortune of running into Jade earlier. Though she looks
down in fear and despair, Kotal Kahn has no pity for her. He looks to his soldiers.
KOTAL KAHN: Line them up. Execute them.
He grabs the female by her upper arms and pulls her away from her brethren. She cries out and tries to reach for a male Tarkatan next to her, who tries to reach her back. Their arms fall short though, and Kotal's forces pull apart other Tarkatans in a similar fashion. Jade observes all of this with a growing horror.
With the Tarkatans lined up, Kotal walks behind a male Tarkatan who is still standing and kicks him to his knees. A nearby
Outworld soldier wields a small macuahuitl and he brings it to bear, ready to slice the Tarkatan's head off. Kotal stands once more in front of the doomed Tarkatans and brings his hand up. The female Tarkatan closes her eyes in terror as Kotal's soldiers raise their blades... but Jade puts a hand on Kotal's shoulder before he can bring his other hand down.
JADE: Kotal! This is cruel! Many didn't fight us. There are children!
KOTAL KAHN: You forget; In my time, they joined Lily Tsung and Mileena in
rebellion against me!
JADE: These aren't the same Tarkatans, Kotal. A better Kahn would offer them a warm hand, not cold steel.
They fight. With his sheer strength, magical powers and deadly weapons, Kotal is a match for even Shao Kahn and would have had
little trouble taking on Jade... were it not for the fact that he is in love with her. As such, he is taken aback when she challenges him and does not bring his full strength to bear,
allowing Jade the chance she needs. Kotal's lover holds nothing back and leaves him a beaten and unconscious mess on the floor.
JADE: Your heart has hardened, Kotal.
Both the Outworlders and Tarkatans seemingly stopped everything to watch the fight, but the crowd begins to part for a newcomer to the scene - Shao Kahn, Lily Tsung and his warguard. A couple of Outworlders make a run for it, but most stand down, realising there is no point in running. Upon spotting the former Emperor, Jade too does not bother running nor fighting, merely looking at him impassively. Shao Kahn and Lily Tsung looks down to the unconscious Kotal Kahn, and though his face is obscured by the skull-mask he wears, there is clear glee in their eyes at seeing their foe defeated.
The scene cuts to the chambers of the Elder Gods. Raiden teleports in with a flash of lightning... but the chambers themselves are
abandoned and in ruin. The thrones that once housed the Elder Gods are either empty, or in some cases outright destroyed. He looks
around with a clear expression of sorrow on his face.
RAIDEN: It is... too late.
CETRION: Blame yourself for the Elder Gods' deaths, Raiden.
Raiden looks around. Cetrion hovers toward the platform he is standing on. She is no longer dozens of metres in height, nor does she shine with a spectral hue. Instead, she is slightly
smaller than Raiden, having adopted the form of a woman as he does a mortal man. Unlike Raiden though, Cetrion's skin shines with a purple hue and her outfit appears to be a combination of turquoise crystalline armour with an undergarment made out of leaves.
CETRION: Your actions have irrevocably altered Kronika's balance of light and dark. Shinnok's decapitation was the cap stone, your lucky that Lily Tsung's balance of light and dark are in between.
RAIDEN: You are a paragon of virtue. You should wish evil vanquished! Especially Lily Tsung!
CETRION: I abide my mother and sister's will.
RAIDEN: You were begotten by Kronika.
CETRION: As was my brother, Shinnok. The darkness to my light. Lily Tsung is our young sister who is far more powerful than everyone, she's as powerful as my mother.
She approaches Raiden and places her hand on his shoulder.
CETRION: Nature demands equilibrium. Balance is perfection. You have stepped out of your role, made that balance impossible.
That's why the New Era holds no place for you.
RAIDEN: You will not succeed.
CETRION: Kotal Kahn is captured, Raiden.
She drops her hand to her side.
CETRION: The combined might of Outworld and the Netherrealm will keep your forces at bay - while my mother finishes her work along side my sister.
She turns to leave.
RAIDEN: Do not underestimate Earthrealm's warriors!
Without turning to look back at him, Cetrion levitates into the sky.
CETRION: You are right to have been fond of these mortals. They were good souls. Lily Tsung will make great use of them.
She floats away, leaving Raiden alone on the platform.
The scene cuts to the interior of the Special Forces base. A training dummy's torso is on display. A large klaxon sounds in the
background, and a moment later a fireball shoots into the dummy, exploding outward and completely destroying it.
From across the firing range, the younger Jax shoots two more fireballs from his heated up arms, destroying another dummy. As his arms cool down, he smiles at the effects of the cybernetics. Jacqui stands a few feet behind him, holding a rifle of her own.
JAX: Man, these arms are an upgrade. It'll be payback time, next time I see Ermac.
JACQUI: Oh, I made sure he got his.
She turns away from the firing range and puts the rifle down while Jax flexes his new arms.
JAX: Hmm, I imagine "future me" is out kicking ass with these right now.
Jacqui pauses at the mention of her father, and speaks without looking back at Jax, taking off her ear protectors as Jax does the same.
JACQUI: Cassie told you that "future you" spent time as a revenant, yeah?
JAX: Sounded horrible. Can't imagine becoming Shinnok's puppet. But she says I come back from it.
Jacqui now faces Jax with her arms crossed, clearly not at ease.
JACQUI: The experience haunted Dad. But then he-- you - met Mom. She brought you back to life.
JAX: The love of a good woman? Like the sound of that.
JACQUI: She was Dad's everything. She died last year. Dad's stayed on the farm. He feels safer there.
At these words, Jax looks just as troubled as Jacqui. He contemplates them for a few moments.
The scene cuts to the command centre. Cassie is with Sonya, using one of the holographic interfaces at a desk.