Part 21

Sonya and Johnny ran back towards the main chamber that acted as the arena for the last fight. When they
got there they found Liu, Kitana, Jax, Kai, Jarek, Sub-Zero and Fujin fighting off a large group of mutant
rebels. Shinnok and Quan-Chi were also there, only Quan-Chi was not fighting.

"Enough!" Quan-Chi finally spoke, halting the fight. The Earth Realm warriors joined Sonya and Johnny.

"Quan-Chi, what is going on here?! I demand an answer now!" Shinnok yelled at his sorcerer.

"You are a fool Shinnok. I have used you this whole time, to get the Earth Realm warriors here. Soon they
will be dead, and out of my way. And you with them."

"Damn you!!" Shinnok screamed and rushed at Quan-Chi. Acting quickly, Quan-Chi slammed the back of
his fist into Shinnok's face, sending him flying across the room. Quan-Chi simply laughed at Shinnok's
pointless efforts.

"You are pathetic. To think you were once an Elder God. This whole time I've been using you until the
time came to take control of this tournament and claim Edenia as my own. I shall enjoy watching you
die."

Shinnok sat up and began laughing.

"What is so funny!?" Quan-Chi demanded. Shinnok pointed to something behind the sorcerer.

"That." He laughed. Everyone turned to look at what Shinnok was pointing at. To their shock stood
someone they had not seen since the first tournament.

"Goro?" Sonya said recognizing the beast. Shinnok continued to laugh at his traitorous sorcerer.

"Who is the fool now? I think you'll find that it is I who shall enjoy watching you die!" Shinnok reveled in
his supposed victory. Sonya turned to look at the group.

"Okay. Which one of you said this was going to be a simple straight forward tournament? Seriously."

"Rayden, my son. Help me. Have your warriors fight by my side and defeat Quan-Chi." Shinnok pleaded.

"Never, Father. You are both enemies of Earth Realm. And you will both die by our hands."

All the Earth Realm warriors stood in a fighting stance. And soon the entire room did aswell. Jarek leaned
over to Sonya.

"Looks like fun hey sweet thing?"

"Jarek I swear, you talk to me again, and I will kill you." Sonya replied, glaring at her enemy.

"Goro. Now!" Kitana yelled suddenly. Goro quickly turned and slammed his fist into Shinnok, knocking
him flying into Quan-Chi.

"What?" Liu asked Kitana.

"Goro came to me a few days ago. He has agreed to fight alongside Earth Realm."

"Why?" Sonya asked.

"Well, Edenia is his world too. He mearly wants to protect it."

"Very well." Rayden said stepping forward. "It looks as if we can use all the help we can get. And Goro is
indeed a powerful ally."

"So this is it? One last fight and we can go?" Sonya asked hopefully.

"We can only hope things go so smoothly." Liu replied.

"But how often do things go smoothly?" Jax added.

The two halves of the room faced each other in fighting stances. Quan-Chi and Shinnok were locked in
battle to the rear of the room. Then without warning, Jarek charged at the mutants, screaming at them.
This signaled everyone else to join the battle. Sonya ran for the nearest mutant and slammed her left foot
into his shin, before hitting him in the midsection hard with both palms, sending him flying backwards.
She then turned around and elbowed an oncoming mutant. She then hit him hard with a left cross. Sonya
looked quickly to her left and threw a jumping kick to the mutant that was about to collide with her,
before looking for Johnny. It was hard to see anything between the dueling bodies that filled the room. All
of a sudden, Sonya saw four mutants shoot up into the air. She then saw Goro standing under them as he
had obviously caused their current airborne state. She turned around and as another couple of mutants
came after her. She threw her right foot up into the face of when, then shot the same foot out to her right
into the midsection of another. She then turned left and elbowed another mutant in the face, before
punching him in the stomach with her right fist. She grabbed the mutant by the collar and waistband and
then threw him into another oncoming opponent.

"Sonya, duck!" Johnny yelled from behind her. She quickly turned in time to see a mutant flying through
the air towards her. She ducked and rolled, avoiding the attack, and sending the mutant crashing into
another.

"Thanks." She said to Johnny as he helped her up. Then she noticed two mutants coming at them from
both sides. Johnny noticed aswell and bent forwards at a ninety degree angle. Sonya rolled over his back,
shoulder to shoulder and let go a blast from her armbands, while Johnny performed a shadow kick on his
attacker. Across the room Sonya saw Jax struggling with three attackers. She turned to look back at
Johnny. He was fighting a single mutant. She figured he could handle it and ran off to help her partner.

"Jax!" She yelled as she jumped at him. Jax ducked and Sonya kicked a mutant behind him.

"Thanks." He panted.

"Your welcome. Excuse me." She said as she pushed him to the left and threw a right kick to another
mutant.

"Just like old times." She panted.

"Yeah. Feels like months since we've been in a good rumble." He grinned.

Sonya laughed as she began pummeling another mutant. The fight seemed to last for hours, but eventually
the mutant horde thinned out. Shinnok and Quan-Chi had disappeared, and Sonya noticed a few familiar
faces lying amongst the unconscious. Among them were Sektor, Scorpion, and Reptile.

"Where's Shinnok and Quan-Chi?" Sonya asked looking around the room.

"Follow me." Said a voice behind them. They turned around to see Tanya standing there.

"Tanya? Where did you come from?" Johnny asked her.

"I have been here fighting with you. You probably didn't see me in the fight."

"How convenient." Sonya whispered to Jax. They began to follow Tanya when another bunch of mutants
entered the room.

"You guys go, I'll hold them off." Jax yelled.

"You will need some help, someone stay behind." Kitana addressed the group. They split up and Sonya,
Kitana, Liu, and Johnny followed Tanya. She led them through a doorway that led into a dimly lit
hallway.

"Where exactly are we going?" Sonya asked.

"You will see. Rayden told me to bring you to him." Tanya replied.

"I haven’t seen Rayden since the fight started." Johnny remembered.

"He came to me and then he went this way." Tanya reassured him. It didn't help ease Johnny at all. He
and Sonya exchanged a look. They hadn't trusted Tanya since they had met her.

"Through here." She said as they got to the end of the hall and emerged into a large dark dome shaped
room. Against one wall there was a small recess filled with a large green fire. It lit up the room in an eerie
shade of jade green. Standing in front of it were Quan-Chi and Shinnok. They faced each other in fighting
stances, and both panted hard.

"You have lost, sorcerer." Shinnok panted.

Quan-Chi laughed at his opponent. This enraged Shinnok. He lifted his hand and a ball of green energy
appeared in it. Now Shinnok laughed. Quan-Chi stood his ground as Shinnok threw the energy ball at
him. The green ball flew directly into Quan-Chi's chest, and dissolved.

"What!? Impossible!" Shinnok yelled not believing what he had just seen. Quan-Chi reached into his
pocket and removed a gold amulet with a shiny green jewel embedded in the center.

"I am in possession of your once sacred amulet. Years ago, I delivered to you an exact duplicate, while I
kept the original. Ha ha ha, you are such a fool. Now I will rule Edenia, and you can go back to the
Nether-realm!" Quan-Chi held out the amulet and a burst of energy shot from it, striking Shinnok in the
face. Shinnok let out a chilling scream as he was thrown backwards into a portal in the wall behind him.
He stayed in the mouth of the portal for some time, screaming. His entire face had been taken off in the
blast, leaving only bone and muscle. All of a sudden his body seemed to twist and contort as he was pulled
back into the Nether-Realm. Quan-Chi now turned to the Earth Realm warriors.

"And now my foolish friends, it is your turn. Thankyou Tanya, you have served me well."

"Thankyou my master."

"I knew it!" Sonya yelled.

"Silence, foolish cow!" Tanya said walking towards Sonya.

Sonya raised her eyebrows and slowly looked at Johnny. He simply bit his bottom lip and winced as he
anticipated Sonya next move. Sonya flung her head back to look at the approaching Tanya.

"Okay. I just have to say one word." She began. Suddenly Sonya kicked Tanya hard in the mid-section,
then spun around and backhanded her in the face, sending Tanya stumbling backwards in the direction of
the huge fire and Quan-Chi. Sonya ran up to her and punched her hard in the face, almost knocking her
into the flames. Tanya looked over to Quan-Chi.

"Help me my master!" She pleaded. Quan-Chi simply laughed at her.

"Foolish girl. You really are far to trusting."

Tanya turned back to look at Sonya, who was reaching behind her back for something. She pulled her
hand out of a small pouch she had on her belt, her hand clenched in a fist. Tanya nervously laughed at
her.

"I thought you had something to say." Tanya said with false bravado.

"Right. One word." Sonya replied holding her fist in front of her face.

"Die Bitch." She then took a deep breath, opened her hand so that her palm was flat and face up, revealing
a fine powder. Sonya blew the dust at Tanya in a big puff. The dust flew off of Sonya's hand and over to
Tanya. When it touched her, Tanya was surprised to see that it did nothing. But as the dust blew past her,
it met with the flames behind her and burst into a fireball, engulfing Tanya. She screamed in agony as she
burnt to death right in front of their eyes, before falling into the pit behind her and burning to nothing in
the huge green flame. Sonya rejoined Johnny and the others.

"Um honey?" Johnny said to her. She turned to look at him. "That was two words." Sonya turned back.

"Whatever."

"Impressive mortal." Quan-Chi praised the brutal display. "But I wonder if your skills are great enough to
rescue your precious thunder god."

Quan-Chi pointed high up the wall and they followed his gaze to find Rayden crucified and gagged on the
wall. He appeared to be unconscious.

"Rayden!" Sonya cried out.

"Let him go!!" Liu cried out to Quan-Chi.

"You will have to fight me first Liu Kang."

"Very well sorcerer. Show me every thing you've got." Liu snarled at him, consumed with anger at the site
of his mentor.

"Oh, I intend to." Quan-Chi smiled and raised his hand. The amulet sparkled as it did before it hit
Shinnok. Suddenly a green bolt hit the sorcerer in the hand sending the amulet flying from his grasp.

"What!?" Quan-Chi yelled confused. Everyone looked back to see Fujin floating in the air with his
crossbow aimed at Quan-Chi.

"You will do this as it was meant to be done. In Mortal Kombat!" Fujin yelled.

Liu and Quan-Chi faced each other in fighting stances, before Quan-Chi began to yell and charge at Liu.
The sorcerer jumped into a flying kick, which Liu ducked. He turned and punched Quan-Chi in the face
and then kicked him in the stomach. Quan-Chi recovered quickly and slammed his weight into Liu,
sending him backwards and to the ground. Liu used the momentum to roll to his feet again and, with the
magic’s that he had learnt since the last tournament, sent a fireball into Quan-Chi's chest.

Fujin came down to get Sonya and he flew her up to Rayden. He held her there while she undid Rayden's
bindings and removed his gag. He then gently got them back on the ground. Sonya rested Rayden's head
in her lap and gently stroked his face. He was beaten pretty badly, but he opened his eyes and sat up.

"What happened?" He asked groggily and Sonya filled him in as the two warriors fought on in the fore
ground. They were both equally matched and they seemed to fight for some time before Quan-Chi began
to get the upper hand. Liu was bent over in pain, panting hard, as was Quan-Chi to a degree.

"You have been beaten boy. Just like your thunder god, and your brother."

Liu looked up at his last remark and stared at Quan-Chi.

"What do you know of my brother." He snarled.

"Quite a bit actually. I seem him very often."

"What!?" Liu was shocked and confused. Quan-Chi couldn't know his brother. He had been dead for years
at the hands of Shang Tsung.

"You see, when Shang Tsung was killed, He was sent to my Nether-Realm. Along with all the wonderful
souls he had taken. Among which was your brother. You can imagine how the two of us despise you my
young friend, and so to vent our anger, we beat your brother."

Liu's eyes widened, and welled up with tears. "You're lying."

"Oh I'm afraid not. We torture him. Burn him, freeze him, stab him, the whole works. It really does make
you fell much better."

"You monster!!" Liu screamed charging at Quan-Chi. Liu lept into the air, his legs kicking. He met with
Quan-Chi and delivered a brutal bicycle kick, sending the sorcerer back, but in doing so, he used up the
last of his strength. Quan-Chi let go a large green skull, the hit Liu and sent him flying backwards. Kitana
ran over to him and helped him sit up.

"This ends now!" Quan-Chi snarled. Then Sonya walked in front of him. She cocked her hip and crossed
her arms.

"You're damn right about that you son of a bitch." She snarled. Quan-Chi laughed at her.

"And what is this? You are going to stop me?" He laughed.

"No. He is."

Quan-Chi followed her gaze to see Rayden standing behind him.

"Go back to Nether-Realm." Rayden said holding the amulet. A huge blast lept from the amulet hitting
Quan-Chi and sending him down the same portal the he himself had just sent Shinnok.

Rayden collapsed to the floor. Sonya ran to his aid and helped him to stand. They all gathered around
him.

"Are you okay?" Kitana asked him.

"Yes, I will be fine."

"What about those two?" Johnny asked pointing to the spot on the wall were Shinnok and Quan-Chi had
disappeared. "Are they dead or what?"

"I'm afraid not." Rayden replied. "Nether-Realm is Quan-Chi's home. He will still be in power there. I'm
sure he will make Shinnok suffer however. The reemergence of Shang Tsung worries me I must say."

"Don't those guys realise? They keep trying and they keep getting their asses kicked." Johnny said taking
Rayden's other arm.

"Rayden?" Sonya asked. He looked at her as she tilted the brim of her cap to look him in the eye.

"Can we please go home now?"

Rayden smiled at her.

"Yes Sonya, I think we can."