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>>46709126

Cao, Skarlet and Ashrah look upon the Brothers Chi. All three of them are ghostly white of skin, but they wear different clothing. Torn, the central figure, stands forward. “Ashrah, I do hope you’re not thinking of leaving, are you? You only just recently arrived.”

“I’ll no longer be a servant of your vile cult,” she says. “I was misguided but now I know who I truly am once more.”

Nak shakes his crowned head. “Such a waste. You had the potential to once more be a great servant of our lord.”

Zarr sneers. “She still has the potential, but now we must wrench it from her by other means.”

Torn draws his sword. “You two,” he says, looking at Cao. “You may live, for however long you can, if you leave now. Ashrah remains with us.”

“Take your sword and sit on it,” Cao says to the sorcerer. “She’s coming with us.”

Zarr’s hands glow a bright orange. “She has taken the souls of two of our powerful assassins and lieutenants. She has a price and we are going to extract it.”

“Perhaps they can help make up for the balance,” Nak suggests, his eyes glowing green.

“I care not,” Torn says, his tattoos glowing blue. “It’s time to finish this.”

Cao and his two deadly female companions ready themselves for kombat, but he wonders if they truly should. He doesn’t doubt their prowess, but these are three sorcerers and undoubtedly quite cunning in battle. Furthermore, they were on their way out of the fortress when they arrived, as Z’unkahrah is still under siege—he knows that he needs to get back there as soon as possible. Can he afford to waste any time?

>A) Full-on retreat from battle
>B) Stay and fight them
>C) A fighting retreat
>D) Keep them busy while you search the fortress for a way home
>E) Other

>>46709131
>C)
We have to leave now but they can more then likely summon obstructions so were going to have to fight no matter what.

btw I mentioned the MKPNP homebrew and my buddy wanted to try out a little one shot thing sunday. If we still have thread up by then I'll post results there.

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>>46709219

Cao reaches over for a hollowed-out skull with oil and a candle in it and throws it at the Brothers Chi. Nak teleports them all away in a green portal as it hits the floor and ignites the stone they were standing on.

"Time to leave!" the thief says as they turn and run up the stairs leading out of the fortress. They make it halfway up before the three demon spellcasters appear at the top of the winding staircase, blocking their path.

"You are very foolish, boy," Torn says, pointing his sword. "A bad trait to have in the Netherrealm."

"Yeah, but at least I'm not damned ugly like you," Cao replies as he takes out his sword.

The three groups prepare to meet as the sorcerers descend the stairs.

>1d100 and an action!

Rolled 30 (1d100)

>>46709388
Charge

Rolled 34 (1d100)

>>46709388
Push past them, using the sword to break their lines

Rolled 85 (1d100)

>>46709388
Trident throw with off hand at whoever is in center, he'll teleport out of the way giving us a shot at the two left. Devide their power.

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>>46709459
>>46709466

Cao leads the charge against the Brothers Chi, but Zarr, the Summoner, waves his hands and conjures forth a large netherbat. The creature screaches as it flies forward, barreling into the thief and knocking him from the stairs!

Cao finds himself falling, carried by the netherbat. Below is a thousand foot drop into a lake of lava. The thief clings tightly onto the creature as its wings strain with his weight.

Zarr dispells the monster and Cao finds himself falling!

>>46709493

Fortunately, he lands right onto a massive iron chain connecting a floating spire to the fortress. He grabs onto the rusty and hot metal and stops his fall, taking a moment to crawl up on top of it. After regaining his footing, he looks up and sees Ashrah and Skarlet fighting side-by-side against the Brothers Chi.

He raises a hand and conjures forth the power of Shao Kahn, creating a green trident-like lance. He shouts as he hurls the weapon, managing to impale Torn, the Sorcerer, through the leg and pin him to the wall. The sorcerer shouts in pain as he attempts to free himself while Ashrah and Skarlet battle the summoned demons of Zarr.

Cao begins walking down the chain, back to the main fortress, when Nak the Warlock appears in front of him. His arms glow green as he blasts a series of glowing skull projectiles at the thief!

>1d100 and an action!

Rolled 17 (1d100)

>>46709551
Can't afford to get knocked off. Crouch low to the chain and try to knock him off with a fireball.

Rolled 3 (1d100)

>>46709551
Dodge and use the chain to swing onto Nak's blind side to knock him off.

>>46709551
Keep low to avoid the skulls and rush him with a sword swing to the thigh.

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>>46709711

Cao attempts to crouch low to the chain, ducking under the green skulls as they fly overhead, but Nak anticipated this and creates a portal underneath the thief. Before he can react, he falls through and ends up in a different part of the fortress. He raises his head and looks around, finding himself in a dark room in what appears to be some manner of dungeon.

He picks himself up and looks for an exit when he suddenly hears a loud breathing coming from the shadows. He turns only to see three yellow eyes staring out at him before a massive, blue-skinned monster charges at him!

He rolls to one side to avoid the oni's furious swipe. The ball and chain he carries in one hand smashes against the ground. The beast is massive, easily three times his size and likely five times his weight, looking like a blue hairless gorilla. The monster roars at the thief and prepares to charge again!

>1d100 and an action!

Rolled 100 (1d100)

>>46709775
Actually change that to drop and cling onto the chain then go for a trident again.

Rolled 57 (1d100)

>>46709793
Summon the hammer, when we avoid his next attack use his momentum against him and swing the hammer right into a leg.

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>>46709797

Rolled 99 (1d100)

>>46709793
Where the fuck are we!? Call out one of the brothers to face us like a man!

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>>46709797

The oni swings his ball around, smashing walls and pillars as Cao avoids the rage of the beast. He runs and searches for a way out, finding iron bars that lead to the outside. He can see Ashrah and Skarlet there, still fighting!

He turns as the monster stands up on its two legs and roars at him, his breath filled with the stench of rotting meat and spittle. The beast raises the ball and chain up high, intending to smash Cao!

The thief, unintimidated, summons another lance and charges at the oni! With all his strength and soul-fueled might, he impales the creature right through the heart! The green polearm digs into the blue flesh of the beast, embedding itself firmly into his vital organs. The oni's three eyes go wide and he coughs, spit and blood dribbling from its dumb, ape-like mouth.

The arm holding the ball and chain falls forward, smashing the wall. The iron bars and the wall along with it fall away, giving Cao his escape and a way back to his friends. The thief smiles as he turns the creature aside and drops him to the floor, banishing the lance.

>>46709828

The creature is not dead yet, however. He gurgles and coughs, clinging onto life---he is a tough beast. Cao puts a foot on his chest and summons the Wrath Hammer of Shao Kahn, raising it high above his head. The oni's three eyes go wide as he tries to escape, but Cao, fueled by dark forces within, ruthlessly brings the hammer down onto the monster's head, which smashes like a melon.

The soul of the oni, a twisted and corrupt thing compared to that of a man but a soul nonetheless, bleeds out of the beast and up into Cao's hammer. He feels the strength of the monster coursing through his veins as Moloch's power is added to his own. Cao throws back his head and lets out a triumphant roar as he feels his strength doubling!

>>46709874

Banishing the hammer, the thief steps to the hole and shouts out at the Brothers Chi, "Cowardly spellcasters! Face me like a man!"

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>>46710085

He then walks back into the dungeon and makes a running leap out of the hole and out onto one of the fortress platforms that runs alongside its walls. From here he is able to leap to the staircase and rejoin Ashrah and Skarlet.

The Brothers Chi take a moment to assess the moment when one of them is suddenly attacked from behind! A shuriken is thrown into the shoulder of Nak and all three turn to see a dark figure, surrounded by others like him.

Cao and his allies look on and see as well. Ashrah immediately recognizes them. "Wraiths!" she says in a sharp whisper.

A figure moves to the forefront of the black, white-eyed group. His appearance is dark and sinister, with flaring white-blue eyes set within ebony skin. He holds up one hand and in it is a scythe of black metal.

"Death has come for you," the wraith speaks to all of them.

"Noob Saibot," Ashrah tells them. "We must leave. They will fight each other!"

The king of darkness raises a hand and clenches it, signalling for his Army of Darkness to attack. Wraiths begin to appear all over the fortress, taking advantage of the battle that Cao had brought to the Brothers Chi. Demon guards are suddenly overwhelmed and all are taken by surprise as the shadowy warriors begin to storm the citadel.

"We must flee!" Ashrah says.

>1d100+10 to escape the Netherrealm civil war!

>>46710103
Summon another trident and use it too keep anyone from getting close

Rolled 25 (1d100)

>>46710135
fucking dice!

>>46710103
Also Damashi I thought that last thread we were gonna stop absorbing every single soul we come across.

Rolled 25 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>46710103
Cheese it!
Thank Bi-Han as we leave.

>>46710103

>>46710211
WORK DICE

>>46710234
dice+1d100+10 in the email field. No spaces or caps, exactly like that.

Rolled 30 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>46710234
I got it this time!

>>46710144
>>46710178
>>46710257
Maybe the girls will pick up the slack for us

>>46710281
Apparently Bi-Han has all his bases covered. This is a well organized civil war.

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>>46710157
>>46710178
>>46710257

As the Brothers Chi shift focus onto the invading wraith army, the three of them run down the stairs and back into the main chamber.

"Come on! This way!" Ashrah says. "I know another path that can take us out of---"

A shadow moves along the ground, crawling in front of them. A figure leaps from it and blocks their path. Noob Saibot.

"Well, this is certainly interesting," he says, his voice sounding like two people talking at once. "A demon, a blood construct... and a thief."

"How did you know that?" Cao asks.

"I know many things," he says, holding his scythe out. Around them, the war between demons and wraiths wages, but the dark foe before them is uncaring. "I see many things as well. And I have seen you."

He points his weapon at Cao and says, "Tell me, thief... do you know the one thing you cannot outrun?"

Cao is silent as Noob Saibot chuckles softly to himself. "It is death. Death is the one true inevitability of life, the one thing that no one can ever truly escape from. And you have come here, to the land of the dead. Did you think you could merely leave, with something that belongs to me?"

"I do not belong to you, wraith," Ashrah says, pointing her Kriss at the dark warrior. "I follow my own path!"

"Adorable, truly, but you aren't what I meant," Noob replies. He looks back at Cao. "The thief has something else I want."

"...What?" Cao asks, unsure of what he means.

Noob holds up his scythe. "I intend to carve it out of you."

The wraith king suddenly leaps forward as his shadow-clone Siabot jumps from the ground to push Noob towards them! He hefts the scythe up high over his head and prepares to bring it down!

>1d100 and an action!

Rolled 61 (1d100)

>>46710357
He's jumping at us! How nice. Use the Wrath Hammer to smack him like a baseball.

Speaking of, I like how Cao has gone from an Agile and Stealthy thief to a Brute Force using Not-Shao Kahn.
We probably should back off on relying on Shao Kahn's shit after this.

Rolled 2 (1d100)

>>46710357
Uh...uh...Grab the Kriss blade from Ashrah and impale noob with it!

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>>46710415

As Noob leaps at them, Cao steps forth and summons the Wrath Hammer! He swats the wraith off to one side of the chamber, knocking him through a table. The dark ninja crashes into the wall and drops his scythe.

After a moment, he looks up. "So, it is true..." he mutters to himself, laughing. "Tell me, thief, are you well? All together inside? Hahahahah!"

>>46710445

Ashrah strides forward, intent on ending the wraith king's life, but when she stabs him with her Kriss he merely vanishes into black ooze, draining into the ground. His scythe similarly disappears.

She turns around. "We should leave immediately," she tells them. She, Cao and Skarlet run out of the fortress, following the demon's lead. Behind them the wraiths continue to attack and they are pefectly content with letting the Netherrealm tear itself apart.

They make their way down a stone path and back to the roads of the open plains. "I know a gate," Ashrah says. "It leads to a place known as the Nexus. There, we can find a portal to Outworld."

"Is it very far?" Cao asks.

"No, thankfully," she replies, "...but it is not without its own guard."

They travel at a fast pace for some time until they come upon a large valley. At one end of the valley is a great, red portal, a fiery gate that is stable, but in front of it is its guardian. They look upon a massive three-headed hound.

"Cerberus," Ashrah says. "The great beast guards this gate of hell, from those who wish to enter and those who wish to leave."

"Perhaps we can distract it," Skarlet suggests.

>A) Sneak by
>B) Attempt to run past
>C) Wait for it to fall asleep
>D) Attempt to distract it
>E) Other

>>46710604
>A)
Thief skill

>>46710604
>>D) Attempt to distract it
I'm sure Skarlet could distract it with her bloody smell and just pool by it when we reach the other side

>>46710604
>>A) Sneak by
Reaffirm our Sneaky Not-Shao Kahnness

>>46710604
>A) Sneak by

>>46710658
>>46710678
>>46710736

Alright, let's have a 1d100+10.

Rolled 68 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>46710803

Rolled 77 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>46710803
Thief skills away

Rolled 8 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>46710803

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>>46710816
>>46710821

Carefully, they make their way into the valley. As quietly and slowly as they can, they mvoe from cover to cover, avoiding all three sets of the great hound's eyes. The beast is vigilent, but not impossible to sneak past, as they make their way towards the flaming gate.

>>46710836

Right before they reach the portal, however, Ashrah accidentally kicks a stone when she steps wrong. The three heads of the beast turn as one and look at them before snarling.

"Sorry," she whispers before all three of them break out into a run. Cerberus chases after them, drool hanging from each of its three maws!

One by one, all three of them make it to the gate and leap inside!

Cao finds himself in a place he has never seen before. A great stone platform hangs in a cloudy void, circular and smooth, with massive pillars with braziers atop that burn in the wind. The platform itself supports a number of portals; some are active while others are not.

The portal they just emerged from is red, and a strange symbol of a red jewel is carved over it. Each portal has a unique symbol of its own. He can't count how many there are, but they all are of a different color or pattern.

Ashrah walks out of the Netherrealm portal and speaks. "This is the Nexus, a place that connects all realms together. It has portals to every active realm."

"Why are some of them closed?" Cao asks, approaching an empty stone circle.

"Realms that are no longer alive, or were conquered and absorbed long ago," Ashrah explains. She looks at Cao and blinks for a moment, realizing for the first time that something is off. "Cao, are you... taller?"

He stops and looks at her. He realizes that, compared to when they first met, his eyes are now almost on level with her own. The demon approaches him. "You seem... broader, as well. Your muscles have grown."

>A) Go to Outworld
>B) Explore another realm
>C) Take a moment to breathe and relax
>D) Talk to Ashrah or Skarlet
>E) Other

>>46711014
>D) Talk to Ashrah
>E) Tell her that you think the evil inside you is making you taller and more musclebomber

>>46711047
Pretty much

>>46711014
>E) Spend some time going through the souls that we have collected to see if we can learn some new moves

I wish we got to absorb one of the brothers and get portals but that oni might have given us something good

>>46711171
Backing this, even if we don't do it now we should do this sometime soon

>>46711014
>A) Go to Outworld
>D) Talk to Ashrah or Skarlet
about the power inside and how its Shao Khan

>>46711014
>C) Take a moment to breathe and relax

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>>46711047
>>46711102
>>46711171
>>46711216
>>46711475

Cao stops for a moment and considers. He's been draining lots of souls lately... There were weak ones, but strong ones as well. He looks at his hands and his arms; they seem more muscled, just as Ashrah said. He feels different... Just as fast and skilled as he was before, but taller, stronger and more powerful.

"I'm changing," he says to her. "Physically, I'm... growing. It's because of what's inside of me. This power..."

"What is this spirit?" she asks.

He closes his eyes. "Shao Kahn."

Ashrah lightly gasps. "You... You have the soul of Shao Kahn? Within you?"

"Ever since I was a child," he tells her, flexing the fingers on one hand as he holds it. "And now he's awakening fully. He wants my body. I'm killing people and absorbing their souls... wielding his hammer, his staff... and using his magic." He looks at her. "I've been using his power because he's a part of me. I can summon the powers of those I've killed. Simple things, like daggers or fireballs, but now..."

He holds out his arm. Ashrah feels his hand as he closes his eyes and summons forth the power of Moloch. The oni was a brute, a monster with little mind, but he was powerful. Stronger than most men could ever become. And when he focuses, he too can now summon the oni's power. He wraps an arm around Ashrah's waist and hefts her up, holding her entire body with one arm while she sits on it.

Skarlet looks on approvingly. "You are becoming what you were always meant to become," she says. "Each soul you take brings you closer to the power you once wielded."

He lets Ashrah down and the demon looks at him, her eyes judging and evaluating. "And my Light helped keep his spirit at bay?"

"Yes," Cao tells her. "I have spoken with him and he won't accept anything less than total control of me. He wants to return to ruling all of Outworld..."

"As you should," Skarlet adds nonchalantly.

>>46712028

Ashrah looks at the blood construct. "You serve Shao Kahn?"

"Of course. My loyalty is absolute."

"And what if there were no Shao Kahn? What would you do then?"

Skarlet narrows her eyes. "Is that a threat, demon?"

"No," Ashrah says. "Merely wondering what you will do if Shao Kahn were truly gone."

"Shao Kahn will never truly be gone," Skarlet says defensively. "He is the one true ruler of Outworld and its lord. He cannot die."

"So you say," Ashrah says, turning her attention back to Cao. "And what do you want?"

"I don't know," he says. "I don't want to lose control of my body. But... this power feels good. I haven't been able to stop using it. And now, with this strength, I feel stronger than I've ever been before..."

"But at what cost?" Ashrah asks. "You are already physically changing. How long, how many souls, before you empower Shao Kahn within you and he takes control?"

"It's happened a few times already," he tells her. "He takes control and I fully transform into him." He closes his eyes and rubs them. "I don't want that. I'm my own person and I want to live my life without the threat of transforming into someone I'm not."

Ashrah is silent for a moment as Cao approaches a stone table. He places his hands upon the surface and says, "I don't know what's going to happen to me. I never have. But I've also never had so much as I do right now and I don't want to lose it. I have friends, I have a home, and I think for the first time in my life I have... dreams. Hope."

He looks back. "If I lose who I am, I lose everything. It'll be like I never existed at all and everything I've fought for, everything I've gained will have meant nothing. I don't want that. I want to live."

Ashrah approaches him. "There may be a way."

>A) Ask her what it is
>B) Tell her you'll do whatever it takes
>C) Ask what it may cost
>D) We’ll discuss it later; let’s leave
>E) Other

>>46712048

>A) Ask her what it is
>C) Ask what it may cost

>>46712048
>A
>C

>>46712048
>>A) Ask her what it is

>>46712048
>A) Ask her what it is

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>>46712074
>>46712078
>>46712105
>>46712151

He stares back at the demon for a moment. "What is it?"

She holds out the blade. "This Kriss is known by another name... Datusha. It was forged with powerful magic. I have studied much in my time traveling with it, and have yet to unlock all of its secrets."

"I've carried it ever since I retrieved it from Kotal Kahn," Cao tells her. "Are you saying that if I had been using it, I would be purged of Shao Kahn?"

"No," she shakes her head. "No, the blade purifies the soul... but you have more than one soul inside of you, struggling for control. I have heard of such things before; sorcerers often struggle to keep their stolen souls within their power, otherwise they can rise up against them and take control."

"Then what can I do?" he says. "How could I possibly control the soul of Shao Kahn?"

"You can't," Skarlet interrupts them. "Shao Kahn cannot be contained. Sooner or later, he will have complete control."

Cao ignores her. "What would it cost?"

Ashrah is silent for a moment. "I know of a ritual. It is dangerous. And it requires sacrifice."

"Mortal sacrifice?" he asks.

"No," she says. "There is magic in my sword. A power that we can unleash in a ritual to bind the souls within you with what I know as the Light."

"What would it do?"

"If it works, it would do what I have been doing for you since we parted: keep him bound within you. Shao Kahn is powerful, but deprived of souls, he is weak. If we bind him with the full power of Datusha, we could keep him locked away... forever."

Skarlet's eyes widen as Cao asks, "What would it do to the sword?"

"It would destroy it," she says. "The magic taken from the blade and given fully to you."

"But, your quest..."

Ashrah closes her eyes. "I would be willing to sacrifice a chance at purity to keep someone like Shao Kahn locked away forever."

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>>46712672

Skarlet storms over. "Cao! You cannot truly be considering this. You are Shao Kahn! You cannot deny yourself your true power and rightful place as Emperor of Outworld."

He looks at the blood construct and sees genuine concern in her eyes. She truly wants him to become Shao Kahn, and has faithfully served him ever since he learned the truth. What will she become to him if he goes through this ritual and enslaves Shao Kahn within him?

>A) No, keep your sword.
>B) When can we perform the ritual?
>C) Is there any other way to rid you of your demonhood?
>D) Order Skarlet to follow you regardless
>E) Other

>>46712692
>C) Is there any other way to rid you of your demonhood?

>>46712692
>C) Is there any other way to rid you of your demonhood?

Just so I understand if we go through with it we can't use Shao Kahn's powers or absorb souls anymore?

>>46712692
>>C) Is there any other way to rid you of your demonhood?

>>46712692
>C

>>46712750
Going through the ritual would effectively force Shao Kahn back into hibernation, like he was before Cassie and Jacqui's Bizarre Adventure. However, the Kriss would be destroyed, and Ashrah would be forsaken again.

Keep in mind, we have yet to talk to Raiden about all this. If anyone has a mind about exorcising Shao Kahn, it's the Blundergod.

>>46712894
You know, now is as good a time as any to grab Raiden's ear. Outworld is literally days from falling at the hands of Onaga, and once Outworld falls, Earthrealm is next. Convincing Raiden to join the fight as a form of "preventative maintenance" would be handy.

>>46712894
Well if its gonna lock away all of his powers then lets save this until after the giant war

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>>46712721
>>46712750
>>46712801
>>46712875

Cao looks back at Ashrah and asks, "Would there be any other way to rid you of your demonhood?"

"I do not know, honestly," she says. "Ever since I could choose, I have wanted to be rid of my demonic nature. I am compelled to darkness because of it. I can control it now, but at all times there is a terrible temptation. Every demon manifests their dark nature in different ways; some through bloodshed, others may be greed or envy..."

"What of you?"

"Lust," she says, averting her eyes. "I battle it constantly. It is an overwhelming thing. On my quest for purity I kept it controlled through zealotry, through prayer and willpower. If the sword were gone, I do not know what I would do."

She brings up a finger and chews on it slightly. "But... I feel that it would be worth forsaking my soul to keep one such as Shao Kahn at bay, as I said. If I could do one final act of good in my quest, that would be worthy."

He is silent. "What of the powers I have gained? Would I be unable to use them?"

"I would need time to relearn the intricate nature of the ritual, but if what I understand is correct, the Light would bind Shao Kahn within you and combine its power with his own. It forms a kind of 'loop' of feeding on his dark power to empower itself, perpetually keeping him locked away. You would be able to draw on the power of the Light within you, which would be his own power... Meaning that you would still have the power of Shao Kahn."

"Could he ever escape?"

"Consuming too many souls until his own power exceeds that of the Light would free him," she cautions. "In all things, balance must be kept. If you did this... If you took within you the power of Datusha... You would have to change. Grow stronger in your own soul. Wisdom and training would be needed, but in time you could acheive this balance and wield Shao Kahn's power in harmony."

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>>46713159

"You speak of enslaving Shao Kahn!" Skarlet says. "You speak of turning the Emperor of Outworld into nothing more than a tool! I will not allow it!"

Skarlet takes out her blades and turns to Ashrah. "I will not allow you to destroy my master!"

Cao steps between them both. "Skarlet! Enough!"

She falters. "Cao... You cannot listen to her. She is a demon. She cannot be trusted! How do you know that what she is saying is not merely some manner of trickery? What if she is lying?"

"Why would she?"

"She seeks 'purity' of her soul, does she not? Shao Kahn is a master of darkness, a sorcerer of unrivaled power! If you expose the soul of Shao Kahn to her, she will destroy it in an attempt to purify herself, for what greater 'evil' could there be for her to purge?"

"That is a lie," Ashrah says. "I owe Cao my life!"

"You owe him nothing!" Skarlet shouts. "You sacrificed yourself for him and he gave you a chance. Your debt is already repaid, but that was between you and he---not Shao Kahn! I serve Shao Kahn, I have always served him, and I will not stand idly by while you speak of enslaving him! Of denying him his rightful place as the ruler of Outworld!"

She points her swords at them both. "And Cao... if you, too, truly mean to not become Shao Kahn... Then you are in my master's way! Don't think for one moment that my feelings for you would stop me from destroying you to free my master!"

He pauses. "Your feelings?"

"Enough! Swear that you will become Shao Kahn! Swear that you will not deny my master!"

>A) Try to talk Skarlet down
>B) Tell her you are never going to become Shao Kahn
>C) Tell her you are going to enslave Shao Kahn to your will, and if she serves Shao Kahn, she must serve you as well
>D) Deny the ritual; there must be another way
>E) Face Skarlet in Mortal Kombat
>F) Other

>>46713197
>A) Try to talk Skarlet down
>D) Deny the ritual; there must be another way

>>46713197

>A) Try to talk Skarlet down

>>46713197
>A
>D

>>46713197
>>A) Try to talk Skarlet down
>>D) Deny the ritual; there must be another way

>>46713233
>>46713262
>>46713334
Maybe we can stop absorbing souls all the time? Or we can stop all together

>>46713364
Maybe after we stop the person who Shao Kahn couldn't beat

>>46713378
Sure, let's feed Shao Kahn some more and then face the person he hates the most

>>46713420
As long as we beat Onaga

>>46713450
There will be literally every defender there, we don't need to go Khan on him.

>>46713475
We don't have to at the beginning but when everyone gets their ass kicked we unleash him

>>46713515
>but when everyone gets their ass kicked

I'm so fucking sure that will happen. Unless Damashi does it for "lol DRAMA" it should be based on dice rolls.

Kaito will be there, Johnny will be there and whole bunch of other people who kick extreme amounts of ass.

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>>46713233
>>46713254
>>46713262
>>46713334

Coa holds up a hand. "Now just wait a damn minute! I haven't agreed to anything."

He looks at Ashrah. He isn't sure about the ritual; it sounds nice, but he also isn't ready to commit to anything. "I appreciate the offer but I'm not sure you should get rid of your one, best chance to not be a demon."

"I know, but---"

"No," he says, cutting her off. "I don't know, but I'm not going to make any decision yet." He looks over at Skarlet. "And you... Don't overreact. I haven't made up my mind yet, so I'm still, for all intents and purposes, Shao Kahn."

She hesitates, but after a moment puts her blades away. "Very well. I apologize, master." She waits a moment before asking, "If it pleases you, I will follow in silence."

He nods and she pools into the floor, vanishing from sight. Ashrah looks at Cao uncertainly and asks, "What will you do? How will you keep his soul at bay?"

"I don't know," he says. "We'll... talk more on this later."

He turns towards the portals and contemplates what to do next.

>A) Outworld
>B) Earthrealm
>C) Ask Ashrah what she feels you should do next
>D) Go to another realm
>E) Other

>>46713743
>B) Earthrealm

Might as well get Raiden

>>46713743
>A) Outworld
We must fight for the Fatherland.

>>46713743
>>A) Outworld

>B) Earthrealm

Raiden time, hopefully Ashrah can take Scarlet and Raiden can take Shao Khan if he decides to manifest.

>>46713743
>B) Earthrealm
Gotta see how the forces are mustering.

>>46713743
>B

Save us from the crit fails, Blundergod

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>>46713763
>>46713796
>>46713811
>>46713823

Cao hesitates as he approaches the Outworld portal. His friends are there, right now, likely fighting for their lives, but something else occurs to him. He turns towards the green portal.

"Is that the portal to Earthrealm?" he asks her.

"Yes," she answers. He walks towards it. "We are not going to Outworld? What of the siege?"

"There's someone I want to speak with," he says as he steps into the portal. He pauses halfway and looks back at her, urging her to come with him.

Ashrah follows him through and he finds himself in a garden-like meadow. This grove is well-hidden and the moon rises high above them. A soft stream from a nearby mountain pours into a river while the wind gently rustles the tall grass and peaceful trees. Aside from the portal, which hums softly as he steps down from its stone platform, this place seems untouched by human hands.

"What is this place?" Cao wonders aloud.

"A hidden and protected grove," a calm, deep voice answers him. He turns and sees a man sitting nearby, cross-legged with his palms together in his lap, apparently in meditation. "Why are you here?" he asks.

"My name is Cao, and I am from Outworld," he says. "The Dragon King, Onaga, lays siege to Kotal Kahn's city. If he succeeds, Outworld will fall into ruin again and Earthrealm will be next. I came here seeking the one known as Raiden."

The man is still. Cao sees he has dark skin with white markings running up his arms. His hair is braided into a series of short dreadlocks. His clothing is relatively simple, a dark red color, loose and monk-like.

"I am called Kai," the man tells him. "I am close friends with the thunder god you seek."

"Can you bring him here?" Cao asks.

"How do I know this is not some trick?" he asks. "You could greatly endanger the thunder god."

"Fair enough," Cao asks. "What must I do?"

"Sit."

>A) Sit
>B) Insist you have no time for games
>C) Tell Ashrah to vouch for you
>D) Leave the grotto
>E) Other

>>46714083
>A) Sit

>>46714083
>A) Sit
>C) Tell Ashrah to vouch for you

>>46714083
>A) Sit
Can you do this quick?, there are lives on the line here.

>>46714083
>>A) Sit

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>>46714116
>>46714132
>>46714188
>>46714197

Cao sits down in front of the monk. "Can we make this quick? Lives are on the line."

He is silent. Cao fidgits a bit. "So, what do you do all day? Just hang out here?"

Again, silence.

The thief pats his knees a few times. "Are you going to test me, or...?"

Kai's silence remains unchanged. The thief finds himself growing increasingly impatient.

"What is with you, man? I told you that lives are on the line! People are dying! Come on! I need to speak to Raiden!"

He is about to stand up when Kai speaks again. "Do not stand."

"What?"

"Do not stand up."

"Then what is the point of this? What are you doing this for? I told you that I need to speak to Raiden!"

Kai opens his eyes. "You have no patience."

"I have no patience? My friends could be hurt! Those are Earthrealmers, you know. Do you not care about your own realm?"

"You don't."

"What? What did you say?"

"For many years of your life you did not care for Outworld. You hated it. You were spiteful, resentful, angry. You still are. What has changed, I wonder? Or perhaps nothing has changed and you are fooling yourself?"

"How do you---"

"You grew up with nothing but those you love in a place that hated you for being what you are. You never cared for your home, your realm or its people. You never spared them a thought while you did what you had to do to survive. You stole, you ran, you hid. This was your life. This was the way of things, but now things have changed. Now you do not know what is happening. You are afraid."

"I am not---"

"You are terrified of what may happen. Terrified of the dark and the light all at once, because you are being forced to face something you have never had to face before: responsibilty. True responsibility. Not for yourself, but for others as well. You seek answers, you seek a way out, but you are afraid of what it may be. You are a frightened child who no longer knows what he truly wants... and you have no patience."

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>>46714506

Cao is stunned. "You... can tell all of that?"

"And more."

The thief leans forward. "What do I have to do?"

"I have no answers for you. The only one who can truly help you is yourself, and for that you must look inside. Past the lies, past the walls you have built, past the dark influences that seek to bury you and truly reflect on what you are. Who you are. What you truly wish to become and what you must do to acheive it."

"But I don't know how," he says.

"Others can help but ultimately you are the only one who can truly change yourself. There is no spell, no ritual, no easy way out. You must face what you are. You must overcome what you are. This is the only way to grow."

"Why are you telling me all of this?"

Kai smiles. "Stalling until my friend arrives."

"Hello," a voice says, startling them all, save fo Kai. They turn around and see an old man with silvery hair sitting upon a rock. He wears all white clothing, simple like a begger. Upon his head is a pointed straw hat.

"Who are you?" Cao asks.

"A simple guardian," the old man replies, stepping off his rock. Ashrah suddenly recognizes him as he steps into the moonlight.

"Lord Raiden..." she says, kneeling. "Forgive me. I am not worthy of your presence."

Raiden smiles and places a hand on her shoulder. "Rise."

As she does, Cao stands up and approaches him. "Raiden... God of Thunder and Lightning?"

"I am," he says humbly.

Cao feels something stir within him; a great resentment. A hatred fueled by thousands of years of rivalry and fierce battle. He clenches his fist and tries to keep calm as Shao Kahn's utter, complete resentment of the man before him threatens to bubble up to the surface.

>A) I'm Shao Kahn
>B) I seek your help
>C) Tell him about the siege
>D) Ask him about Shao Kahn
>E) Other

>>46714530
B
C

>>46714530
>E) Other
Look this is gonna sound really weird but please just hear me out >A) I'm Shao Kahn

>>46714530
>B
>C

>>46714530
>>B) I seek your help
>>C) Tell him about the siege

>>46714530
>B) I seek your help
>C) Tell him about the siege

>>46714530
>B) I seek your help
>C) Tell him about the siege

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>>46714596
>>46714600
>>46714616
>>46714634
>>46714640

"I need your help," Cao says, approaching him. "Z'unkahrah is under siege. The mummified army of the Dragon King is there, attacking it. Johnny Cage and his team, Kaito and the others, they're inside and we need more help."

Raiden is surprised at the news, but tilts his head. "Have we met before?"

"No, we haven't, but my name is Cao. I'm from Outworld. And if we don't do something, Onaga is going to take over and Earthrealm will be next."

Raiden nods and walks off, his hands resting behind his back. "A matter of time before this was going to happen, I suppose. Very well." He turns around. "I shall return to my temple and sound the call. The White Lotus Society shall send its warriors to help."

"Thank you," Cao says, smiling at Ashrah. "When will they be ready?"

Raiden turns his head and does not answer his question. "I sense three souls... They are destined to help face the Dragon King and stand with the New Defenders, but fate has yet to intervene. One is ready but inexperienced, one is ignorant of her potential, and one denies his heritage."

"Who are they?" Cao asks.

"I shall collect them and send them to Outworld to help," Raiden replies. "In the meantime, I sense that you, too, have more than a bit of destiny ahead of you... I shall send you to Z'unkahrah now."

"Perfect!" Cao says, walking up to him. "You can send all three of us there now."

"There are only two of you," Raiden says.

"Oh..." Cao says, realizing Raiden does not know about Skarlet. He could reveal her, but at what potential cost?

>A) Reveal Skarlet
>B) Leave Skarlet behind
>C) Subtly tell Skarlet to crawl onto you in blood form in order to remain hidden
>D) Tell Raiden you thought Kai was coming too
>E) Other

>>46714917
>C) Subtly tell Skarlet to crawl onto you in blood form in order to remain hidden
>D) Tell Raiden you thought Kai was coming too
He seems to just be sitting around, waiting, soo...

>>46714917
>D
>C

>>46714969
Ditto

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>>46714969
>>46714976
>>46715097

"Oh, of course!" Cao laughs. "I thought Kai was coming with us."

"No," Kai says, "I cannot. It is not yet my time."

"What's that mean?" Cao asks him.

"I shall join the heroes for the final battle, but it is not this day," Kai tells the thief. "When fire threatens to destroy all of the realms... Then, I shall fight."

He goes back to silently meditating. Cao excuses himself for a moment as Ashrah speaks to Raiden about something.

The outworlder wanders over to a corner of the grotto and says, as softly as he can, "Skarlet, crawl up me and hide."

He feels her then, her blood running up his legs. It's a strange sensation and he can't help but react a bit as she washes up into his clothing, namely his pants, hiding upon his skin. He whistles and dances for a moment as the strange feeling makes his hair stand up. "What are you doing down there----Ahhh!" he has to hold onto a nearby treebranch for support.

"Are you alright?" Raiden asks.

"F---Fine!" he says with a strained smile. "Just fine..."

He walks back over, trying to walk normally, as Ashrah thanks the Thunder God. "For what?" he asks. Raiden teleports away in a flash of lightning. "Where's he going?" But in a moment, he has returned, holding a set of white clothes. He hands them to Ashrah, who thanks him once more.

She takes a moment to put the robe over her demonic Brotherhood of Shadow attire. The white robes match her har and greatly resemble what she used to wear. Raiden looks at Cao. "Ready?" he asks.

>A) To Kotal Kahn's palace
>B) Z'unkahrah streets
>C) Outside the walls
>D) The Living Forest
>E) Sun Do, Li Mei's village
>F) Other

Skarlet blood crawling on us has got to be awkward as hell for s both

>>46715249
>>A) To Kotal Kahn's palace

>>46715249
>A
Much as I wanna smack Li Mei we got to get to work

>>46715249
>B) Z'unkahrah streets
Best drop in somewhere safe, but near the fighting

>>46715249
>E) Sun Do, Li Mei's village

Time to take out Li Mei

>>46715249
>A

>>46715249
>E) Sun Do, Li Mei's village
If this is the port of entry for Onaga's forces, then we need to cut them off and destroy those netherships.

>>46715249
>>E) Sun Do, Li Mei's village
Break those ships!

>>46715352
>>46715405
>>46715497
Those ships might be too well defended for us to get too.

>>46715352
>>46715405
>>46715497
Oh you mean that army that's ALREADY ARRIVED?

>>46715534
>>46715552
Who's to say the ships aren't bringing more reinforcements? Besides, it's better than passively waiting out the siege inside the city.

That's three for A and three for E.

>A) Head to Kotal Kahn's palace and link up with the New Defenders; help them repel the invaders and strengthen the defense of the city
>B) Head to Sun Do and destroy the fleet of Netherships; Raiden and Sanra are both going to send reinforcements into the city so you could do better work outside by disrupting their forces

>>46715596
>B) Head to Sun Do and destroy the fleet of Netherships; Raiden and Sanra are both going to send reinforcements into the city so you could do better work outside by disrupting their forces

>>46715596
>A) Head to Kotal Kahn's palace and link up with the New Defenders; help them repel the invaders and strengthen the defense of the city

>>46715596
>>B) Head to Sun Do and destroy the fleet of Netherships; Raiden and Sanra are both going to send reinforcements into the city so you could do better work outside by disrupting their forces
I also really wanna know why she is helping him.... I like Li Mei...

>>46715596
>B) Head to Sun Do and destroy the fleet of Netherships; Raiden and Sanra are both going to send reinforcements into the city so you could do better work outside by disrupting their forces
The Special Forces, Shaolin, White Lotus and everyone else will be heading to Z'unkarah. That'll free us up to do some sabotage.
I like how we casually ignored the mention of the Black Dragons in the Netherrealm.

>>46715596
>B) Head to Sun Do and destroy the fleet of Netherships; Raiden and Sanra are both going to send reinforcements into the city so you could do better work outside by disrupting their forces

>>46715654
>I like how we casually ignored the mention of the Black Dragons in the Netherrealm.
Please mention this to raiden before we go Damashi. Someone needs to know this

>>46715733
Backing this so we don't get another snake cult

>>46715650
>I also really wanna know why she is helping him.... I like Li Mei...
Li Mei's (noncanon) ending in Deception has her turn heel and sell out to Onaga because "The closer she got to him, the more she came to understand which side was truly deserving of victory."

>>46715654
>I like how we casually ignored the mention of the Black Dragons in the Netherrealm.

Don't worry, they've yet to show up but they're not out of the picture.

>>46715733
>>46715763

Alright, writing now.

>>46715596
>B) Head to Sun Do and destroy the fleet of Netherships; Raiden and Sanra are both going to send reinforcements into the city so you could do better work outside by disrupting their forces

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>>46715778

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>>46715611
>>46715650
>>46715654
>>46715691
>>46715815

Cao nods. "You're gathering other Earthrealm forces and sending them to help the city, but I think we can do better outside the walls of the city than within."

"What do you mean?" Ashrah asks him.

"Li Mei is a traitor to Kotal Kahn," he tells Raiden. "She opened her village, Sun Do, to his ships and allowed his army to land and disembark to lay siege to Z'unkahrah. If you could, send us there instead. We can do more damage outside the city than within, I think."

"Where will you begin?" Raiden asks him.

"The sorceress Turana constructed netherships that Onaga used to bring his army to Z'unkahrah... If I destroy those, he won't have any way to take his army elsewhere or retreat."

"A fine plan," Raiden commends him. "But one that you can do yourselves? I think not. You need assistance."

"I might be able to do it with just myself and Ashrah," he says. 'And Skarlet, too,' he thinks.

"Hear my offer. I shall send you to the Living Forest, near Sun Do. Wait for some time there; scout the enemy village. Learn what you can. When I assemble the three souls I detected earlier, I shall send them to assist you. Five can ensure success better than two."

>A) Alright, let's do that.
>B) No, send them into the city. I'll do fine on my own.
>C) On second thought, send me into the village directly, along its outskirts.
>D) Just who are these three, anyway?
>E) Other

>>46716017
>B) No, send them into the city. I'll do fine on my own.

Lets not have Raiden's goons see us using Shao Kahn's power

>>46716017
>D)

>>46716017
>A) Alright, let's do that.
Sun Do is effectively a stronghold at this point. I won't say no to improving our odds.

>>46716017
>>B) No, send them into the city. I'll do fine on my own.

>>46716017
>A
>D

>>46716017
>>A) Alright, let's do that.
>>D) Just who are these three, anyway?
Don't forget about telling him about the black dragon!

>>46716017
>B) No, send them into the city. I'll do fine on my own.
>D) Just who are these three, anyway?

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>>46716137
>>46716162
>>46716239

"Alright, let's do this," Cao says. "I'll wait in the Living Forest until you send them my way. Just don't take too long."

"You speak to a god," Raiden says, suddenly very serious. Cao is a bit unsettled, but then Raiden smiles and chuckles. "I won't be too long."

He holds up his hand, which begins to crackle with electricity. Something suddenly occurs to Cao. "Wait! One more thing."

"Yes?"

"We just came from the Netherrealm. While we were there, I heard mention of the Black Dragon. I was with the Black Dragon on the day that Sonya and the Special Forces took Kano in, and I heard Kabal talk about wanting to go to the Netherrealm... I think there may be a connection."

Raiden nods. "Hmmm... Interesting. Very well. I shall investigate this further at another time. For now, I wish you luck and thank you for bringing these dire matters to my attention."

He raises his hand and blasts them with electric light. They are both hurled away as bolts of lightning across time and space, ending up in a dark forest. Cao looks around and sees the hollow faces of the trees staring at them.

"Here we are again," he sighs.

"This is where we first met," Ashrah says with a smile. "I remember how timid you were, afraid to trust me."

"A lot's changed since then..." he reflects. "But I'm glad we're together again." She shares his smile and suddenly he feels her hand touching his, gently squeezing it. He looks into her eyes and she lingers for a moment before letting go and turning away.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have," she says, sounding slightly ashamed of herself.

"Hey, it's alright," he says. "It was just---"

She interrupts him. "No, I have trouble controlling certain things. I have not had the Light back with me long enough, nor slain enough evil to resist my urges." She looks back over her shoulder. "I don't want to give into base desires."

>A) Summon Skarlet
>B) Search the Forest
>C) Make camp
>D) Head to Sun Do
>E) Talk to Ashrah
>F) Other

>>46716509
>>A) Summon Skarlet
>>B) Search the Forest

>>46716509
>A) Summon Skarlet
>B) Search the Forest

>>46716509
>>A) Summon Skarlet
>>B) Search the Forest
>>E) Talk to Ashrah
LETS GO TO NITARAS CAVE! We should ask her what's been going on in Neatherrealm

>>46716509
>A) Summon Skarlet
>C) Make camp
>E) Talk to Skarlet in private
I have to clear the air it's super awkward

>>46716588
Ditto, also mention we banged Nitara to make Skarlet all jelly and Ashrah nervous

>>46716624
Whatcha talking about?

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>>46716535
>>46716575
>>46716588
>>46716624

Cao looks around the clearing they are in. He searches it to ensure that it is safe before he stands still and commands Skarlet to bleed off of him. Red blood runs down his legs and onto the ground where she takes form and he looks at her with an odd stare and she does the same back at him. Silently, she moves to secure the perimeter.

Cao sits down as Ashrah cleans her blade with a white cloth. He wonders how long he will have to wait before the reinforcements arrive. He looks over at the demon and asks, "So, what was that we ran away from in the Netherrealm? Those black figures."

"Wraiths. Ever since Shinnok's imprisonment in the amulet, Noob Saibot has abused a power given to him by the dark lord to turn others into wraiths like himself. He has forged an Army of Darkness, and the Brothers Chi have led the Brotherhood of Shadow against him. Noob Saibot means to crown himself as Wraith King of the Netherrealm."

"He said he knew me," he whispers.

"I imagine it's because of our encounter with the wraiths the last time we were in this forest," she says. She smiles, laughing a bit. "When I think to this day about how we escaped from you simply pointing and shouting..."

"Well, I was very convincing," he chuckles.

Skarlet approaches them. "Someone has been here recently," she tells them. As an expert tracker, she honed in on a nearby corpse which she shows them. A wild animal, killed and dragged in front of a cave.

"Is it a creature that killed the animal?" Cao asks.

"No," Skarlet replies. "Someone who walks on two feet and was very hungry."

The three of them stand in front of the cave. It is an ancient structure, with parts of worked stone, and an ancient emerald eye, long cracked, hangs over the entrance. A waterfall runs nearby.

"We need to leave someone at the camp in case the others arrive," Ashrah cautions.

>A) Cao goes in alone
>B) Cao and Skarlet
>C) Cao and Ashrah
>D) All three go in
>E) Ignore it
>F) Other

>>46716840
Skarlet it currently residing in our pants. That could be awkward.

>>46716861
>>A) Cao goes in alone

>>46716861
>>B) Cao and Skarlet
We can have that chat that one anon wanted

>>46716861
>B) Cao and Skarlet
I don't trust leaving Ashrah and Skarlet alone together.

>>46716861
>B) Cao and Skarlet

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>>46717008
>>46717080
>>46717110

"You wait here, Ashrah," he tells her. "Skarlet and I will check and see."

She nods and goes to wait by the camp as Cao and Skarlet enter the cavern. Not far inside, once out of earshot, Cao stops and looks at the blood construct.

She eyes him confusingly. "What?"

"I feel like we should talk," he says to her.

"About what?"

"You mentioned feelings. I was told some things about blood constructs... about how you feel or cannot feel. So tell me, what is this all about?" He pauses for a moment. "And, well, you were just... on me."

She averts her eyes. "I cannot feel like a normal person, this is true. But I am able to feel simpler emotions... Anger, hatred, loyalty. I can enjoy the feel of a kill as I bathe in my victim's blood... And, contrary to what you may believe, I can feel other things as well. I was sad when Shao Kahn died. I feel jealousy towards the others you spend your time with."

"Others? Other women?"

She slowly nods. "And when you spoke of wanting to rid yourself of Shao Kahn, I felt... angry and sad." Her brows soften as she looks back at him. "Do you truly desire to not be the Emperor? Do you truly not desire my service?"

"I don't know," he says. "Look, Skarlet, it's not you, but... I don't know what to make of everything. I'm frightened by becoming Shao Kahn."

Skarlet steps closer. "Do not deny what you are. You are the Emperor. You take what you want."

He looks into her eyes and she leans forward when suddenly they both hear a shout from within the caves. They turn and hear it again, followed by a gasp. It sounds like a woman.

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>>46717462

Moving further into the cave, he discovers a pool of water. Partially submerged in it is a woman. He didn't see her at first due to her translucent skin.

"Khameleon..." he says, and she looks up in surprise. She is up to her neck in the water.

"Y-You!" she gasps. "You... You aren't supposed to be here!"

She suddenly twitches and gasps in pain as she goes back to holding herself. Cao looks down into the water; though he cannot see her, he can see her general shape, and realizes her belly is distended and swollen.

She is pregnant.

"Oh... uh..." he says, his voice drifting off. He knows that this is the result of his and her last encounter. He looks around the chamber and discovers that she has made a nest here, with a supply of food and other comforts.

"Get out," Khameleon says as she winces in pain. "I dont... I don't need you..."

Skarlet puts a hand on Cao's shoulder. "She is giving birth," she says, taking out a knife. "This is your brood. Your spawn with this... creature. Say the word and I'll stop this from happening."

"Don't you dare," Khameleon threatens her, though she is in no position to do anything about it. "Both of you... leave! I don't---AH!" She closes her eyes. "Just... Just leave me be..."

Cao hasn't the smallest idea of what to do. He never once in his life imagined he would be in this position. He also never thought he would see her again, especially like this...

>A) Leave with Skarlet
>B) Send Skarlet away; help Khameleon
>C) Keep Skarlet here and help Khameleon
>D) Tell Skarlet to take care of this
>E) Other

>>46717490
>C) Keep Skarlet here and help Khameleon

>>46717490

>B) Send Skarlet away; help Khameleon

>>46717490
>B) Send Skarlet away; help Khameleon

>>46717490
>B
This is our doing whether we like it or not.

>>46717490
>C)
>E) tell Skarlet we're not killing childre not even green ones

>>46717625
This

>>46717490
Rub her tummy. Whisper sweet nothings

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>>46717625
>>46717714
>>46717750
>>46717780
>>46717792

Cao's mouth hangs open for a momnet before he thinks about what he must do. "I'm not killing children. Skarlet... Head back to the camp. Don't get into a fight with Ashrah, we need her."

She puts away the knife and looks at Khameleon for a moment before sulking off. He slowly enters the chamber.

"What... What do you want?" she asks, panting.

Slowly, he steps down into the water. She edges away from him as he approaches her. "Don't, go away," she says, apprehensive of him.

"I'm going to help," he says, kneeling alongside her. "Just try to relax. You're tense."

"You're not supposed to be here," she says. "I was going to do this... alone!"

She grunts as her body shakes. He moves closer and places a hand on hers, resting it on her stomach. She breathes hard as he helps ease her head back.

"This... changes nothing!" she insists as she pants. "I'm going to be a... a matriarch!"

"Yes," he nods. "Just breathe, relax... Uh..." He wracks his brain for knowledge, before finding several useful hints from the souls he's absorbed. "Steady breathing, big breaths. In and out."

She reluctantly follows his advice, taking big, slow breaths in and out. She closes her eyes as he helps her get more comfortable, moving alongside her.

She screams as she begins to engage in the miracle of life. The process takes several minutes as, one by one, she lays a series of eggs. By the end of it, she's laid eight of them. He supports her and helps her gather them under the water to where they can be easily retrieved later.

"Do we leave them there?" he asks.

"Yes, for now," she pants, weary. She looks down at them and manages to smile. "They're beautiful..."

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>>46718059

He looks at them strangely and cannot help but share some of her affection. They're his as well, after all. It's strange to think about, in a way... He wonders what they're going to look like.

He stands and helps her out of the water; she can barely stand. He brings her over to a bed and helps her lie down. Khameleon breathes with some difficulty, but she doesn't resist as he helps her.

Afterwards, she curls up under a blanket and rests. He knows she is awake, but she isn't talking to him. It could be that she is merely weak but he can't help but wonder why she is so insistent on him not being around for her. He recalls her earlier desire to breed; it didn't seem to be out of affection for him, but rather a desire to simply find a suitable 'donor' for the act. He sits back and thinks about the eggs now lying in the pool not far away.

'This has been a very weird day,' he thinks to himself.

He wonders what to do next. There isn't much time before dawn and the sky will shift from purple to orange. The siege is still going on, and Raiden's reinforcements will be at the camp soon.

>A) Stay here with Khameleon; let her rest
>B) Leave and head back to the camp
>C) Try and talk to her
>D) Take one of the eggs
>E) Other

>>46718082
>B) Leave and head back to the camp
If you're not a good mom, I'm coming back for you.

>>46715778
But that happened because Shang Tsung had half-merged her with one of Onaga's mummies.

>>46718082
>B
She'll be fine

>>46718082
>B) Leave and head back to the camp

>>46718082
>B) Leave and head back to the camp

Going to go get some dinner.

Fatherhood acheived

>>46718082
>>C) Try and talk to her
Cmon guys

So what are we naming the kids? I'm thinking boys are named after ninja turtles girls after the power puff girls.

>>46718365
We wont get to name them if we dont stick around and try to talk to her. She will probably name them all herself.

>>46718365
Cao doesn't know what those things are though.

>>46718365

Let's name them after our friends. That isn't creepy right?

>>46718617
Before we go we have to tell her to name at least one of them Cao.

>>46718421
It's a joke bro

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>>46718122
>>46718136
>>46718168
>>46718178

As the thief sits and looks upon the woman he knocked up, he feels conflicted. In a way, he had nothing to do with any of this---it wasn't his choice. He was flirting, jokingly at the time, and she used him to get what she wants. And yet, he doesn't want to completely abandon her either, despite her insistence on doing so.

It's strange---usually the sexes are reversed in this kind of situation. Or so he's been told.

'I need to get out of here,' he thinks to himself. He stands up and leaves her there, promising to, at some point (preferably when lives aren't on the line) come back to check up on her.

He leaves the cave and his spawn behind, stepping back out into the Living Forest. As he approaches the camp, he hears talking and voices he is unfamiliar with. 'Oh, good, they're here,' he thinks to himself.

He steps out from around the tree and immediately two figures turn and point bows at him. He holds up his hands. "Woah! I'm on your side!"

One of them, a young man dressed in brown monk-like robes with a golden headdress, lowers his strange, magical bow. His black hair is done up in a ponytail behind him and he cocks a brow up. "Who are you?"

"He is the one we are waiting for," Ashrah says, telling them to lower their weapons. The one with the magical bow does so first while the second one hesitates. He is a larger man, though not much older, and his face is covered in red warpaint. He is covered in gear from head to toe and his thick black hair is done in large, tribal-like braids.

"Come on, she said put down the bow," a young woman tells him. Cao looks at her now and sees that she is wearing some kind of dark uniform. Memories suddenly flood into his mind from Kobra's memories of avoiding these figures all his life ever since he murdered his first man: she is a police officer.

"I'm Cao," he says. The young archer approaches him first and holds out his hand to shake, which he does.

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>>46719493

"Name's Kung Jin. Shaolin warrior and archer. Maybe you've heard of Kung Lao?" He raises his brow a few times to accent the name. "Well, he's my cousin." He seems very proud of that fact.

"Uh... No."

Jin blinks a few times. "Ah. Well, I've never heard of you either, so I guess that makes us even."

He points at the larger warrior as he puts away his bow on his back. Cao can see that he carries assault weaponry; a rifle, grenades and other survival gear, along with an assortment of knives. "The big guy's name is Fireseed."

Fireseed, contrary to Kung Jin, does not extend any kind of greeting towards the thief. The policewoman approaches and holds out her hand. She is about his age, perhaps a year or two older, and somewhat plain-looking, with brownish-blondish hair and brown eyes.

"Samantha," she introduces herself as Cao takes her hand. "Just call me Sam. This is Outworld, right?"

"The Living Forest to be specific," Kung Jin says, looking around at the large faces on the trees. "Read about this place back in the Shaolin archives."

Ashrah and Skarlet linger off to one side while Sam continues, "Okay, well, if you could point me to the nearest portal back to Earth, I'd appreciate it."

Jin turns around. "Hey, come on, Raiden said he needed us here."

"Needed you two, maybe, but not me," she insists. "I have a pistol, a tazegun, a flashlight and a badge. I am in WAY over my head."

"So was your father," Fireseed points out.

"That was different," she replies. "I'm not him, alright?"

>A) Tell them to gether their things; you're moving out
>B) Ask them what their skills and abilities are
>C) Send Skarlet out to scout ahead
>D) Ask Samantha about her father
>E) Other

>>46719514
>A) Tell them to gether their things; you're moving out

>>46719514
>>A) Tell them to gether their things; you're moving out
>>B) Ask them what their skills and abilities are
>>E) Other
Snap your fingers together and realize you do know a Kung. Kung Lee. or whatever the girls name was

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>>46719654
Kung Lin.

Don't participate in a MKQ unless you know the proper and well respected MKK lore, thanks.

>>46719763

It's Ling actually

You know
Weee-ooooo-weeee-ooo-weeeeeee-ooooo-weeeeeee-oooo-weee-ooooo

>>46719808
I fucked up being an armchair lore fag fuck

>>46719514
>B) Ask them what their skills and abilities are
I didn't know Curtis Styrker had a daughter.

>>46719763
>>46719836
DO NOT EVER TRY TO ARMCHAIR ME!

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>>46719549
>>46719654
>>46719860

Cao looks at them, then at Ashrah and Skarlet. "Alright, get your things. Let's not waste any time. We have some ships to destroy."

Everyone except Sam starts to move. "Ships? What ships?" she asks.

"Netherships belonging to the Dragon King that he used to bring his mummified army here," Cao replies, heading to the edge of the clearing.

Sam jogs to keep up with them and asks, "What the hell is a nerthership? What Dragon King? Did you say 'undead'?"

Kung Jin starts speaking. "Well, a nethership is a bit of a vague term used to refer to any ship that travels between realms with magic. They can travel to any body of water if they have the right enchantment on them."

"Right, but I was more concerned about the other two things," she says. "Dragons and undead?"

"Ah, well, Onaga, the Dragon King, was the original ruler of Outworld. Legend says that his heart could resurrect the dead and so he used it to create an unstoppable army of undead mummified soldiers that would guard his tomb until the day of his return. He was poisoned by his trusted advisor, Shao Kahn."

Cao looks back at Jin. "Remind me to keep you around; you're better at explaining things than I am."

"Happy to help," Jin winks.

"Are they going to be mad if we blow up their ships?" she asks. "Are they going to imprison us?"

"No, probably just kill us," Fireseed says, taking out his rifle. "I wonder if they need to be shot in the head..."

"So, what can you all do?" Cao asks.

Jin answers first. "Well, I've been trained by the Shaolin, I possess a number of powerful magical artifacts from my family's ancestry, I have an encyclopedic knowledge of anything we might come up against and I'm damned good looking."

"Thanks for the resume," Fireseed grumbles. “As for me, I make things dead.”

“Short, simple, easy to remember,” Cao replies. He looks back at Sam. “What about you?”

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>>46720049

“I’m in way over my head right now,” she replies. “I am NOT supposed to be here.”

Jin waves the notion away. “Hey, come on, your dad was supposed to be some kind of super-cop, so that means you are too, right? That’s only logical.”

“Do I look like I’m my father?” she says.

Fireseed looks at Cao. “What about you? What can you do?”

“I’m the best damn thief in Outworld,” Cao replies, “and where ever I go, trouble follows. So if we go to the Dragon King’s ships, chances are they’re getting sunk.”

“Flawless logic,” Fireseed says.

“The village is up ahead,” Skarlet says, and they look on and see the fishing community. There’s about a mile of open terrain from the edge of the Living Forest to the village itself; the sun will be rising soon so they still have the cover of night.

“Looks pretty normal,” Kung Jin says.

“Most of the undead are sieging the city to the north,” Cao tells them. “Hopefully, the ships are not well guarded. Plus, this village is the home of a traitor to Kotal Kahn: Li Mei.”

“Hey, I know her,” Jin says. “My cousin spoke about her once. She’s a traitor?”

He nods. “She opened her port for the Dragon King’s ships. If we see her, maybe we can capture her.”

“And how do you plan on sinking the ships?” Fireseed asks.

“We’ll improvise,” Cao says.

>A) Sneak into the village
>B) Split into two teams
>C) Approach the town from the coastline
>D) Prepare a plan of attack before heading there
>E) Other

>>46720068
>B) Split into two teams

Send the earth realmers to find Li Mei and we'll sink the ships

>>46720068
>B) Split into two teams

Where is Minerva she's going to come literally out of nowhere is fuck us up

>>46720068
>B
Kung can use flaming arrows to set the ships on fire

>>46720153
I keep worrying about Minerva. She might betray us or Onaga might be able to control her.

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>>46720112
>>46720153
>>46720187

"Alright, we're going to split up into two teams. You three will be one, and we will be the other."

"What will the signal be?" Jin asks.

"Uh... I'm not sure. Once they know we're there, we won't have much time to destroy the ships so we'll need to work fast."

"Alright," Fireseed says, taking out his bow and readying some explosive-tipped arrows. "Let's do this nice and quick."

"I want to go on record in saying I think this is a bad idea," Sam tells them.

"Noted," Jin says. "Let's move out!'

The three teams make their way across the field, splitting up halfway. Under the cover of the night sky, they approach the village and spy on it from a distance. It seems that the people of the village have been rounded up and captured; fishermen and crewmen alike are tied to posts and in large groups, kept captive by undead soldiers in armor with lances. The soldiers patrol the streets in pairs, marching in eerie unison. Cao, Ashrah and Skarlet look on and see one of the netherships in port. Each vessel is large and looks decrepit in nature, with tattered sails and rotting wood. Mummified soldiers stand guard in front of the ships.

>A) Go for the nearest ship
>B) Sneak into the town
>C) Climb a tower to get a vantage point
>D) Focus efforts on freeing the civilians
>E) Other

>>46720353
>D) Focus efforts on freeing the civilians
Do this as a distraction so the other team can destroy the ships

>>46720353
>>A) Go for the nearest ship

>>46720353
>C) Climb a tower to get a vantage point
We need to get our bearings and see what we can exploit.

>>46720353
>C) Climb a tower to get a vantage point

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>>46720446
>>46720531

Sneaking into the village when none are looking, the three of them make their way up to a tower. The slip in past the door and scale the stairs until they reach the top.

From here, Cao counts seven ships. They are all docked near each other in the port, and each are guarded by undead sentries. The mummified soliders march in formations up and down the streets and docks, keeping a close eye on their captives.

Cao gets his first good look at the soldiers. They wear ancient outworlder armor and carry weapons like spears, lances and swords. Their flesh is withered and, in some cases, mostly just exposed bone. The soldiers are unnerving to look at, as the precision they march with even in death is quite intimidating; these are not shambling, weak undead like zombies. They are trained, strong and well-drilled soldiers who happen to also be dead.

As Cao looks on, he sees something else. The soldiers appear to be taking the civilians, one at a time, into a large domed building. The civilians do not come out. He guesses that must be Li Mei's mayoral hut, but whatever is happening in there certainly cannot be good.

The attack has yet to begin, but he knows that the other team must be getting into position.

>A) Stay in the tower until the other team makes its move
>B) Sneak onto a ship
>C) Search for useful cargo along the docks
>D) Head towards the village hall and see where the people are being brought
>E) Other

>>46720662
>C) Search for useful cargo along the docks

>>46720662
>>A) Stay in the tower until the other team makes its move

>>46720662
>C) Search for useful cargo along the docks

>>46720662
>>A) Stay in the tower until the other team makes its move
We can drop in with an awesome Oni slam!

>>46720662
>A)
We got one shot at this

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>>46720701
>>46720747
>>46720902
>>46720726
>>46720683

Up in the tower, Cao searches along the docks with his eyes, looking for anything useful. That's when he sees it: several kegs of gunpowder! One of the ships appears to have transported a significant deal of it and some of the undead are currently forcing the civilians to unload it. They roll the barrels carefully until they get onto the dock, then carry them to the pile.

'That could be useful...' he thinks to himself. That's when he notices the earthrealmers. They sneak onto the far boat and appear to be placing explosives. It's only when one of the undead from a nearby tower spots them does their plan go into effect.

They all leap off the boat and onto another, swinging from ropes. Fireseed lands and takes out his bow, firing back at the boat and hitting one of the explosives with his arrow-bomb. Fire blasts across the deck as the ship ignites, its hull destroyed by the blast. One down, six to go.

The undead immediately are put into high-alert and head towards the ships. It's time for action!

>1d100 and an action!

Rolled 35 (1d100)

>>46721021
Oni powered slam into the ground to cause a distraction

Rolled 32 (1d100)

>>46721021
Start from the opposite end of the docks and start detonating those powder kegs on the ships.

Rolled 15 (1d100)

>>46721021
Typical action, throw knives and fire balls

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>>46721062
>>46721070

As the earthrealmers go about causing chaos on their end of the docks, Cao wastes no time and leaps off the tower! He lands with a powerful slam, borrowing strength he stole from Moloch, right onto the dock... with results in him falling cleanly through the boards in a neat, Cao-sized hole.

He finds himself in the water! Cao panics for a moment as he realizes he doesn't know how to swim! A lifetime of nightmares about horrible, awful monsters lurking beneath the waves catches up to him, terrifying him to the core. He panics and thrashes about in the water... until he realizes it is about two feet deep.

He pauses and stands up, reaching up to pull himself out of the water and back through the hole. Skarlet and Ashrah have scaled down the wall and are battling the undead soldiers. Cao quietly gets out and vows never to speak of what just happened to anyone, ever.

>>46721076

Suddenly, one of the undead soldiers charges at him, brandishing a sword! Cao reaches for his dadao but the undead pushes him to the ground and attempts to stab down at him.

Kung Jin uses his magic bow to launch an arrow into the soldier's back, knocking the mummified corpse off of Cao. He then uses the dragon-like head of the staff to set fire to one of the sails on the ship he is standing on.

Cao gets up to his feet and looks around. He sees Fireseed and Sam shooting at the undead with their firearms while the civilians panic. The soldiers draw their swords and ready their spears as they move into attack range. He looks nearby and sees one of the powder kegs, abandonned by the two running fishermen.

>1d100 and an action!

Rolled 47 (1d100)

>>46721062
Ditto except use the hammer

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Rolled 56 (1d100)

>>46721241
lead some of the spooky skeletons towards the kegs then fireball into the powderkegs

Rolled 53 (1d100)

>>46721241
Pull out the warhammer and go to work

Rolled 69 (1d100)

>>46721241
Hammer time, start by backing up the nearest ally already in combat.

Rolled 31 (1d100)

>>46721241
Apply sword to skellies

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>>46721257

Cao holds out his hand and conjures forth the Wrath Hammer! He spies three soldiers approaching him out of the corner of his eye and raises the hammer high before smashing it onto the ground, destroying part of the dock and causing them to fall into the water.

>>46721273
>>46721285
>>46721288

He turns around and sees more soldiers charging at him near the barrel. With one hand, he swings the hammer, smashing it into pieces and spreading gunpowder all throughout the air around them. With his other hand, he conjures a ball of fire and throws it at them, igniting them all! The soldiers burn and become stunned by the explosion, and one by one, Cao runs up to them and bashes them with his hammer.

He looks over at Ashrah, who slays one of the foul mummified corpses, and has an epiphany. "Hey! I just realized something!"

"What?" the demon asks.

"I can kill these things without consequence! They have no souls! Hahaha!" One of them leaps off a ship to stab at him, but he swats it out of the air.

>>46721294

With his other hand, he draws his dadao and duel-wields hammer and sword, using the blade to block attacks and then following up with the hammer. He practically dances across the docks, slashing and smashing, having the time of his life. The soldiers organize into a tight formation and approach him with spears drawn; he smashes the ground with his hammer and creates a shockwave that knocks them all down.

Kung Jin and Fireseed work together, using their arrows to set fire to the second ship. Sam runs around, freeing people by untying their bonds. Skarlet teleports around, slicing at the undead soldiers while Ashrah focuses on purifying herself through use of the Kriss against the unholy corpses.

>1d100 and an action!

Rolled 13 (1d100)

>>46721785
Wack some kneecaps with a giant hammer, Gratuitous Italian is not necessary.

Rolled 44 (1d100)

>>46721785
Let's not swing the Wrath Hammer too much. Let's focus on destroying the ships.

Rolled 64 (1d100)

>>46721785
Sink some ships, set fire to them.

Rolled 9 (1d100)

>>46721785
Keep baddies off our normie, Sam. Make sure to avoid soul sucking

>>46722009
25 seconds late. Don't count that.

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>>46721835

Cao grows too confident in his fun. One of the soldiers leaps at him from behind and stabs him in the back of his knee with a spear. Cao shouts in pain and falls to one leg as Skarlet turns and sees. She teleports behind the soldier and stabs him, ripping him to pieces with four blood-tentacles. She kneels and helps Cao up to his feet, taking out the spear. She places a hand to his wound and transfers blood into him, healing his wound.

>>46721868
>>46721987

Cao banishes the warhammer, deciding that it's a bit too distracting to use. He thanks Skarlet and jumps onto one of the ships, the one with the powder kegs. He raises his hands and blasts a series of fireballs at them before leaping off onto another vessel.

The gunpowder explodes in a great, massive fire that rises high into the air. A blast of heat hits the thief as he rolls onto the other deck while the ship he just leapt off of begins to tilt and sink, its burning sails falling onto another ship alongside it and setting it on fire.

Cao turns around as three skeletal soldiers advance towards him with swords and spears. He raises his own sword and prepares to defend himself!

>1d100 and an action!

Rolled 41 (1d100)

>>46722113
Flip over their heads and take them out from behind.

Rolled 57 (1d100)

>>46722113
Use the Staff of Shao Kahn to create an army of Ninja Mime constructs to assist in defeating this undead scourge.

Rolled 87 (1d100)

>>46722113
Cut one of the ropes keeping the sails in place to drop it on the skeletons Scooby doo style

>>46722171
I thought we're supposed to be subtle, especially in front of some of the prospective New Defenders.

Rolled 64 (1d100)

>>46722113
Make a running leap and super dash over to fireseed. Ask to borrow an explosive and dash away to the nearest ship. Bonus points if we tap him on the shoulder.

Rolled 89 (1d100)

>>46722113
smash some skulls in and remve some spines

>>46722171
CRASHHHHHH

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>>46722137
>>46722171

They close in and Cao leaps over their heads, landing behind them. He summons the Staff of Shao Kahn and conjures forth a powerful construct, fueled by souls he has captured, of one of the greatest warriors he has ever witnessed... the Ninja Mime!

The green-glowing Ninja Mime attacks the undead and keeps them at bay. Cao runs over to a nearby rope and grabs onto it.

>>46722194

With his sword, he slices it and the counterweight on the other end falls, carrying him up the sails! With three quick slashes he drops them onto the three mummified soldiers as the Ninja Mime vanishes from sight.

>>46722212

Cao swings from one ship to another, landing on the sails. He jumps down onto the deck where Fireseed is firing his assault rifle at one of the undead soldiers. He taps on the Native American's shoulder and asks for an explosive-tipped arrow. The man hands him one as a soldier closes in. He quickly uses the butt of his rifle to smash the undead's head off of his shoulders before crushing it with his boot.

>>46722230

Sticking alongside Fireseed, Cao battles the other soldiers on the boat. Soon this ship is clear, and it and only one other remain. Kung Jin, Sam, Skarlet and Ashrah fight their way onto the ship to join them as more soldiers close in.

>1d100 and an action!

Rolled 66 (1d100)

>>46722468
Throw fireballs at the last boat

Rolled 4 (1d100)

>>46722468
Use this last neathership to return to Kotal!

Rolled 84 (1d100)

>>46722468
Make a big ass cray snake projectile with the Staff of Shao Kahn and blast the last boat.

>>46722492
We're currently on said ship. Why not commandeer it to make a quick return to the rest of the defenders?

>>46722545
There's this boat, and the other one. I meant blow up the one we're not on. when I >>46722492

>>46722588
Ah I gotcha

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>>46722492
>>46722527
>>46722541

As the group battles off the remaining undead soldiers, Cao leaps onto the railing of the ship and looks at the other vessel. He raises the staff of Shao Kahn and points it at the ship, summoning forth a great, flaming serpent. The large beast wraps around the ship, coiling up its mast and cracking it, setting the ship on fire. Now, only theirs remains.

Cao steps back onto the deck, banishing the staff. He looks around and sees his allies too busy to have noticed his use of magic---fortunate for him. He thinks about possibly using this nethership to travel elsewhere, but realizes he has no idea how to make it work, or where he would take it, as neither Z'unkahrah nor Xun-Koto have any significant body of water large enough for the ship.

As it turns out, however, someone else had a similar idea---but in reverse. From the open sea manifests a rolling fog, and from it emerges a new nethership---clean, well-lit and crewed by a powerful band of pirate hunters along with the New Defenders!

Kaito leaps from his ship, the Dragon Wing, soaring across the sky. In his hand appears the Staff of Raiden and he uses it to blast the undead soldiers with lightning as he falls. Mileena teleports onto the shore and stabs a corpse in the head, using her sai to tear it off.

The Dragon Wing swiftly moves into port alongside the destroyed, burning ships. From across the way, Johnny Cage lifts up his sunglasses. "Cao? Is that you? How the hell did you get here?"

"I was doing most of the work for you!" the thief shouts back.

>A) Head back onto land
>B) Jump over to the Dragon Wing
>C) Stay on this nethership with the others
>D) Destroy this ship
>E) Other

>>46722815
>A) Head back onto land
Li Mei still needs to be accounted for.

>>46722815
>>E) Other
Ask our glorious leader what we should do with the boat. Also say your welcome

>>46722839
Ditto, I have a feeling there's more too this.

>>46722839
MY WAIFU

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>>46722839
>>46722867
>>46722912

Heading onto land to link up with Kaito and the other New Defenders as they step onto the dock and fight the undead soldiers that remain, Cao points out the village hall. They talk by Sam as she frees the last of the people and stride up to the doors, kicking them open.

Within is a dark chamber where they observe a dark ritual being undertaken. An undead sorcerer, wearing a helm that resembles the Dragon King's, turns one of the civilians into an undead soldier with his staff.

The red-eyed undead lieutenant turns and looks upon them as they enter. Several soldiers with better swords and armor stand behind their leader.

"Where's Li Mei?" Kaito demands.

"Not here," the priest replies. The new soldier, his skin rapidly rotting, picks up a helm and a spear to join his new undead brethren. "You interlopers shall know the wrath of Onaga."

"This one can talk," Cao says. "I say we take him alive."

"Well, dead, but I see your point," Kaito says as he and the thief prepare to battle against the sorcerer, who raises his arms and holds his glowing staff up high. The other undead ready themselves and charge!

>Current Meter: 1
>1d100 and an action!

Rolled 91 (1d100)

>>46723008
Shoot it with a fireball.

Rolled 75 (1d100)

>>46723008
Yoink that staff! Fuck magic casters

Rolled 71 (1d100)

>>46723008
Subtly use your Shao kahn powers to fuck up his sorcery while using the oni's strength to make your punches stronger

Rolled 52 (1d100)

>>46723008
Okay so no Khan power here, I say let Kaito handle the priest while we move as fast as we can to land blows on the undead to draw their attention off Kaito.

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>>46723035
>>46723038
>>46723046
>>46723105

Immediately, Cao raises a hand and blasts a fireball that knocks over two undead as it strikes the lieutenant. The sorcerer is knocked backwards and stumbles as Kaito follows up with a burst of lightning from his staff that shocks and stuns the other corpses.

This gives Cao a chance to dash across the room and grab the staff out of the undead's hands. He wrestles it out of the corpse's grip and uses his own power to destroy the staff, snapping it in half with his oni strength. Dark magic leaks out of the staff sections as he tosses them aside before raining down powerful blows on the sorcerer.

Kaito, meanwhile, takes out the remaining undead. Cao leans down and picks up the man by the neck. "Where is Li Mei? Why did she sell out Kotal Kahn?"

The undead laughs. "The Dragon King will soon have his queen." He then slips out of Cao's grasp by turning to black smoke; his cloak and helmet fall to the floor, the helmet clanging along the ground.

Cao stands up and drops the cloak as Kaito approaches him. "Good work," he compliments the thief. "Sorcerers have a nasty trend of escaping like that. I should know---we just lost one."

"Turana?" Cao asks. "How the hell did she escape?"

"She was rescued," Cao replies. "After you left, we made our preparations to head to Z'unkahrah when Anubis and his fellow gods laid one final attack upon the city. They destroyed some of the palace and retrieved Turana." He sighs. "I cant' believe it's come to this, but so be it."

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>>46723308

Johnny and Cassie walk in through the front door. Cao turns around and sees her. "Cassie? I thought you were in the city."

"Yeah, I was," she says, sounding a bit disappointed. "And where were you?"

"I was---"

"Supposed to help Jacqui fight in the streets against goddamned snake cultists!" Cassie says to him, obviously quite upset. "Where the hell did you go without telling anyone, Cao? She never even saw you leave the palace and had to go on to fight without you!"

Johnny puts a hand on his daughter's shoulder but she shrugs him off. She points a finger at the thief. "You said you were going to help us fight in the streets; we thought you were dead or hurt!"

>A) I went to the Netherrealm
>B) I got lost
>C) I was swept into another realm
>D) There was something I had to do
>E) I'm sorry
>F) Other

>>46723328
>C) I was swept into another realm

>>46723328
>>C) I was swept into another realm
>>F) Other
Is Jacqui okay?

>>46723328
>E) I'm sorry
>D) There was something I had to do
>F) Other
Maybe try and give her a hug

>>46723328
>A) I went to the Netherrealm
Oh you know, just dropped by hell for a couple of hours, met a god, acquired reinforcements from the White Lotus.

>>46723328
>>C) I was swept into another realm
>>D) There was something I had to do
>>E) I'm sorry
Cao doesn't owns his mistakes. Wait.
>>F) Other
"Cassie... Where is Jacqui?"

>>46723328
>F)
I was swept up into the Netherrealm.

>>46723411
I meant to say he owns up to his mistakes

>>46723328
INB4 WE END TONIGHTS THREAD AFTER WE FIND OUT JACQUI GETS CAPTURED

>>46723443

She's not captured, she was worried. We said we were going to do a thing and then we didn't do the thing and instead vanished without telling anyone. We weren't under any kind of real obligation to go to the Netherrealm at that exact moment but we did anyway.

>>46723482
...Wait shit
I just realized. We went to the netherrealm and didn't do the most important thing.
We forgot to save Yorick!

>>46723518
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

>>46723518
Alas poor Yorick, I knew him Skarlet

>>46723518
One of the Brothers Chi is using him as a paperweight.

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>>46723353
>>46723373
>>46723375
>>46723411
>>46723420

Cao sighs and averts his gaze. "I was swept into the Netherrealm," he tells her. "I battled the Brothers Chi---"

"Oh, those assholes?" Kaito interrupts.

"---and freed Ashrah. She's my friend, you remember, the one I had the white hat from?"

Cassie folds her arms. "I remember, yeah."

"Well, I was there, so I freed her and made my way to some place called the Nexus. I went to Earthrealm and spoke with Raiden and told him to send reinforcements from the White Lotus Society."

"How's Ray-Diddy doing?" Johnny asks. "He doesn't return my calls."

Cassie ignores her father. "How'd you end up in the Netherrealm?"

"I don't know," Cao lies. "A portal just opened and there I was, caught in the war going on down there between them and Noob Saibot." He approaches her and says, "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't want to leave the city but I had no choice. When I made it to Earthrealm, I had Raiden teleport me here so that I could destroy the netherships."

Cassie lightens up a bit. "That's why we're here, too. We were hoping to capture Li Mei and cut off any chance of Onaga's army retreating."

"I thought the same," he nods. "I also didn't go back to the city because I thought that you and Jacqui would have things handled. Is she alright?"

"She's fine, just worried. We all were." Cassie chews on her lip. "I'm glad you're not hurt."

"There, see? It all worked out in the end," Johnny says with a smile. "Cao, who were those guys with you?"

"Some new teammates," the thief tells him. "Raiden rounded them up. Kung Jin, Fireseed and Samantha Stryker."

Johnny reacts immediately. "Stryker! I didn't know he had a daughter! That guy never returns my calls either!"

"Can't imagine why," Kaito chuckles as they go outside to meet them. Cassie looks back as they leave before moving close to the thief.

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>>46723768


"Are you okay? For real?" she asks.

"I am," Cao replies. "And I'm very sorry, I am. I know we're on a team and I said I would do something but I couldn't."

She hugs him. As he returns the hug, she suddenly shouts, "Look out!" Pushing him back, she takes out her gun and blasts an undead soldier as he gets up behind the thief.

The soldier looks down at the bullet hole in his chest and then back up. "Please don't do that," it speaks in a distinctly feminine voice.

Cao recognizes that voice! He puts his hand on Cassie's gun and lowers it as he looks at the solider. "...Minerva?"

"Cao!" she says, springing over to him and giving him a hug. "Can you believe it? All these dead bodies and nobody inside of them!"

Cassie cocks a brow. "Uh, Cao? What's going on?"

"This is Minerva," he says to her. "She's... a ghost."

"A ghost with a new body!" she says. "But it's not that great, honestly. Kind of ugly. And I still can't feel or taste or smell anything... Honestly, it's not that great."

She lets the corpse fall to the ground as she drifts out of it. She sighs wistfully. "Oh, if only I had a body..."

"You know her?" Cassie asks, waving a hand through Minerva's vaporous body.

"We met... not long ago," he says, stopping himself from saying that he was on Shang Tsung's island. "She's friendly."

"What, like Casper?"

"Who?" they both ask.

"Right, nevermind."

>A) Ask Minerva where she has been
>B) Walk out to rejoin the others
>C) Talk to Cassie about Jacqui
>D) Ask to be alone for a moment
>E) Other

>>46723788
>A) Ask Minerva where she has been

>C) Talk to Cassie about Jacqui

>>46723788
>>A) Ask Minerva where she has been
>>C) Talk to Cassie about Jacqui
Is she really alright?

>>46723809
>>46723811
We should hold hands while we're alone

>>46723788
>A)
I wonder what the odds of getting Minerva to posses Li Mei are?

>>46723875
Lets try and make this threeway relationship work

>>46723891
I find those odds sexy.
>>46723893
My nigga

>>46723788
>A) Ask Minerva where she has been

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>>46723809
>>46723811
>>46723891

Cao looks up at the spectral girl and asks, "Where have you been?"

"I needed some alone time," she says. "And when I came out of it, there were a bunch of other dead people around the city! Normally you'd think that, as a ghost, I'd be all for more dead people---but these ones are so boring! They don't talk or think or anything."

"But you can possess them?" Cassie asks.

"Sure, because they're basically just walking corpses," Minerva shrugs. "No one really there."

"That might come in handy," Cassie says.

He turns to his blonde friend and asks, "Is Jacqui really alright?"

"Yeah, come on. She's stronger than either of us." Cao doesn't mention the fact that he now has super-oni-strength. "She helped take out the snake cult and personally smashed their tower's base out with her techno-gauntlets."

"Really?"

"Yeah, she fought an eight-foot-tall sorcerer man with the head of a snake at the top of the tower. Shit was pretty sweet." She suddenly stops for a moment. "Speaking of which... Are you taller?"

Cao nods. "Yeah, uh... about that..."

"Seriously, how the hell is that working?" she asks, reaching up to feel his arm. "Dude, you're like... twice as jacked as when we last saw you and at least, like, four inches taller. What the hell happened? I mean, I'm definitely not complaining, but... how?"

>A) I drank a potion in the Netherrealm
>B) I've been eating well
>C) Magic. It's magic.
>D) It comes from absorbing souls
>E) Other

>>46723979
>>C) Magic. It's magic.
>>E) Other
Enough about that. Grab her hand and asks how she's doing. Turn the charm up 100%.

>>46723979
>>D) It comes from absorbing souls
>>E) Other
Would you like to see?

>>46723979
>D) It comes from absorbing souls

For once lets just be honest about it and tell her whats really going on, besides it'll show us if we can trust her

>>46723979
>>C) Magic. It's magic.
>>B) I've been eating well

Sanra makes me eat all my vegetables

>>46724044

>Ghost in the room
>"It comes from absorbing souls."
>"Would you like to see?"

The hell are you implying son

>>46723979
>C)
Uh yeah mystic stuff. Anyway about this war going on...

>>46724061
No, I was suggesting we eat Cassie's soul. That way we could be forever together.