Fujin arrived at his destination with ease, but as soon as he touched down he felt weak. The Outworld air was always a bother to him, but something was different. The realm was in more of disarray than it had ever been. The only way to bring order to this realm was to seek out the person he was there to find. He arrived at the man's house, but no one was home. Fujin decided that it would be best if he waited for the man to return. After ten minutes of waiting, he began to grow impatient. Another five minutes passed before he saw him off in the distance. The man appeared to be limping away from some unseen danger. Fujin rushed over and saw the man he was looking for had been badly cut up and was losing a lot of blood. He rushed him into the house and began to tend to his wounds. A few hours passed and he had the man all fixed up, but he recommended that the man get some sleep.

"Lord Fujin, I am grateful that you have tended to my wounds, but the only way to survive is to walk it off. I will rest once I drink some of my wine. The day was long and hard, and I deserve a drink."

"Bo' Rai' Cho the wounds you received could be potentially dangerous. You must rest up and regain your strength."

Bo'Rai' Cho ignored Fujin and rummaged through the cabinets to find his wine. He found the bottle and began to drink straight from it. After a few gulps he let out a belch and rubbed his stomach. "Much better!" He exclaimed with a triumphant smile on his face. Fujin looked at the old trainer and was amazed at how easily he was moving about. It had been a while since Fujin had been seen an Outworlder, but from what he knew they were very akin to Earthrealm creatures. He then took a long, hard look at Bo' Rai' Cho and he didn't seem to have changed much. The last time Fujin had seen him had been around the time of the Great Kung Lao, yet here the man was looking as if it had only been a few years since then. As Bo' Rai' Cho continued to drink Fujin was reminded of why he was there.

"Bo Rai Cho, you may be wondering why I have paid you this visit."

"I believe I have an idea, but I will let you continue."

"Well Earthrealm was recently under attack by Outworld and many heroes perished in the battle. Raiden wants your assistance in training the surviving heroes, because he feels…we feel that something else is stirring. There is always a greater evil, so we are asking for your assistance."

"So the rumors are true then? Shao Kahn is dead?"

"Most likely, he was taken into judgment by the Elder Gods."

"Then you know his fate better than I, but I trust we will never see him again. This is good news.

Who bested the beast? Was it Liu Kang?" Fujin remained silent for a while.

"The bicycle kick was not enough?" Again Fujin remained quiet.

"Aye, I see did he at least go down a hero?"

"Yes he died trying to protect Earthrealm from the menace of Shao Kahn. Unfortunately, the only way to stop the Emperor was to allow him to believe he had won. Raiden had to fight him in the end."

"A drink then, to one of the brightest students I have had the honor of teaching." With that he finished the wine bottle, and he went to retrieve another. Bo' Rai' Cho knew that he was not being told something, but it did not bother him too much. If Raiden and Fujin did not want to tell him, then there was a good reason for it. After he finished the second wine bottle he felt the effects kick in. He felt ready to train ten and there, but he knew that would not be the case. "So who am I to train?"

"As of now we only have one. If Raiden succeeds in convincing the others, we will have amassed a total of three warriors."

"Okay then who is the warrior I must train? Kung Lao?"

Fujin hesitated and choked up a bit when replying, "Unfortunately Kung Lao died here in Outworld, at the hands of Shao Kahn himself. You will be training Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade, assuming Raiden has talked some sense into her."

"Did Kung Lao die by the monsters hands as well?"

"Yes, but unfortunately Kung Lao's death was long before the Earthrealm invasion. He won the tournament that was held here in Outworld."

"Yes I heard, that Earthrealm had won and that Shao Kahn was not pleased, so he had another tournament created here. Winner takes all."

"Exactly. Only Shao Khan was not pleased with Kung Lao's victory so he…" Fujin paused for a moment as tears began to well up in his eyes. "He snapped his neck. Bo'Rai' Cho I ask you to sit down, because I believe you must know all those valiant warriors who gave their lives to defeat the menace Shao Kahn." Bo' Rai' Cho walked over and grabbed another bottle of wine.

"I can stand, it is fine Fujin. His words began to slur the more he drank.

"Very well then. In order to invade Earthrealm Shao Kahn had his bride resurrected, only she was evil. He brought her back as his puppet. She causes much damage and killed the other warriors. The only not to die by her hands were Liu Kang and Kung Lao. The other deceased, are so because of her actions. Kurtis Stryker, Kabal , and Major Jackson Briggs of Earthrealm died by her hand."

"Where there more?"

"In addition, Smoke and Sub-Zero from the Lin Kuei also died in the battle. It took the valiant effort of Nightwolf to stop her. He sacrificed himself to save the remaining heroes."

"I had heard talk of him, he was a brave warrior."

"That is not all. Among the deceased were two Outworld heroes, women. Princess Kitana of Edenia and her trusted advisor Jade, were casualties of the horror."

"Then it is as I feared, Edenia is once again without a leader. This does not bode well for Outworld either. This means the next Emperor will be one of the monsters that followed Shao Khan. If my suspicions are correct the next Emperor has been decided." At this moment, Bo' Rai Cho began to touch at his wounds. Fujin noticed this and made the connection.

"Did your attack have anything to do with your suspicions?"

"Aye."

"Who attacked you?"

"It does not matter, let us go train these earthrealm warriors."

"Who was it?"

"A group of Tarkatans, proclaiming I get off their land." It took a while, but it finally sank in. If Bo' Rai' Cho's assumption was correct, then they needed to hurry up and get back to Earthrealm. He looked at Bo' Rai' Cho, who nodded in acknowledgment. They grabbed hold of each other and Fujin teleported them back to Earthrealm.

The throne room was growing louder as everyone argued. Everyone who had been a part of Shao Kahn's council was now arguing over who should be the new Emperor. Among those in precession were Mileena, Baraka, Goro, Sheeva, Kintaro, Sektor, Cyrax, Kano, Skarlett, and Rain. They were at each other's throats, and each had their reason to defend who they believed should rule. Mileena and Baraka argued that Mileena should rule. She was Shao Kahn's daughter and therefore it was his rightful place to rule. The Shokans all argued that they should lead. Goro felt that it was his duty, since he had served Shao Kahn well, but Sheeva felt it was her right to rule. Meanwhile, Rain was upset that he was not promoted for turning on the Edenian resistance. He felt that the Emperor's betrayal was reason enough for him to rule instead. Kano was there to see the drama and the Lin Kuei were beginning to get agitated. The only one who remained silent was Skarlett.

"The Shokan have served under Shao Kahn as his most trusted advisors. As his highest ranking official, it is my duty to carry on Shao Kahn's work. The throne will fall to me."

"You have disgraced the Shokan and let the Earthrealm warrior Liu Kang defeat you in Mortal Kombat, Goro, you are unfit to lead. I now realize if anyone is to lead, then we need someone with conviction. We need a strong warrior, one we can count on. I will be the Shokan Empress of Outworld."

"Oh pish-posh, you four armed lady-man brute. It was Shao Kahn's treachery that brought me here. I was promised a better position and for what? It is my right to rule, I can feel it. I was born to lead and I proved that when I rose up the ranks of the Edenian resistance. Then when I destroyed the fools, I was left as a mere general. No more. Rain will be the Emperor of Outworld." Rain spat at Sheeva maliciously.

"Hold your tongue before I spill your blood you insolent naïve. Shao Kahn was the best Emperor Outworld had seen to date, and I will not have you cursing his name."

"Yes boy Skarlet is right! You will not take my father's name in vain. When I become Empress, Skarlet will become my top enforcer. I suggest you get in line before I have your head on a pike, water boy!"

"You're going to need an army to bring me down crazy bitch!" Rain retorted.

"Then the Tarktans will taste your blood you pig!" Baraka exclaimed flashing his blades and pounding his chest.

Sektor chimed in "Baraka, Mileena, Rain enough! Silence all of you! My thermal scanners are picking up two life forms coming in close. If I am correct.."

A deep baritone, laughter filled the room. All those in the attendance spun around to see where it was coming from. Skarlet was the first to speak.

"What is that you want sorcerer?" She spit the words out in spite and hate. The man standing next to Quan Chi laughed.

"Oh I guess I'm not the only one in attendance who hates this white skinned bastard!" He laughed even harder as Quan Chi shook his head and looked at him in disgust. Then the others began to take notice of him and they were shocked and upset.

"You dare mock my father you fool?! Quan Chi who is this scum you bring to us? I will have his heart for dinner, for mocking my father."

"His name is Reiko, and he served as a general in your father's armies Mileena." Goro answered. "I fought alongside him and he is a ruthless warrior. His brutality spread among many of Shao Kahn's soldiers and it was that brutality that Shao Kahn liked in him."

"Thanks four arms, but I could really care less what piranha teeth here thinks of me and my intentions. Anyway, I only want..."

"If I recall correctly, the Emperor was recently upset with you because you snuck into this chambers and…"

"Yea, yea, yea, it was a simple misunderstanding, now shut your mouth about it."

"Goro, Reiko enough, we are here to determine who will lead Outworld." Quan Chi's mention of this silenced the room.

"The Lin Kuei agree with Quan Chi, therefore we claim that he be our Enforcer when we rule Outworld. It is obvious from this constant bickering that none of you are fit to lead. Therefore, by default I must intervene. The Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei will also be the one to rule Outworld."

"Quan Chi has no business here, these are Outworld dealings. Your partnership with us was with Shao Kahn, necromancer and according to Skarlet he knew you were up to something. So leave. Crawl back into your little hell hole and get out of my realm."

"I hate to agree with Mileena, but the Shokan want nothing to do with you either Quan Chi, leave you swine." Goro said angrily.

"I merely came to offer my allegiance to the next ruler of Outworld, but I see I am not wanted. Here I leave you with this gift. Reiko tells me he will serve whoever rules. I hope your mistrust of me gets him killed, at least do me that favor Mileena. We all know you're the one to rule. Sektor if you want I can still ally myself with the Lin Kuei."

"Duly noted, come Cyrax we have no more business here. Let these fools tend to their broken dream. We must expand the Lin Kuei. Quan Chi we will see you very soon." Quan Chi smiled as the two robots teleported away.

"Well if any of you change your mind, you know where to find me. I leave you all human, Shokan, Tarkatan, and Prince and Princess like. You know where to find me." As he teleported away he had the most evil grin on his face. Kano realized what it meant immediately. Kano recognized that face from playing poker. That was the face of a man who knew without a doubt that he would win. Quan Chi had four aces up his sleeve and Kano knew that in order to survive you had to ally yourself with the top dog. Survival of the fittest. He watched as the Shokans continued to argue with Mileena and he knew they were fucked. He looked over at Rain and began to make his way out.

"Nice knowin' ya purple pants. This is the only teleport outta here and Imma use it before it closes."

Rain looked on as Kano walked through the closing portal. He looked over but, Mileena and the Shokans were back to their bickering. Something about what Quan Chi said bothered him. Why had he called him a prince? The look on Quan Chi's face showed that he knew something. He was hiding something from Rain and he wanted to know. He also thought of the possibility of it being a trap. He looked back over at the crowd and didn't see Skarlet. It caught him off guard for a second but he noticed the portal was closing. He ran through the portal, and it felt as if he cut himself. Blood spilled a bit once he was on the other side, but it was a minor cut, probably from the small size of the portal as it closed around him. He continued to run, in hopes of finding Quan Chi. the blood rain spilled began to bubble and Scarlet appeared. She was going to find out what Quan Chi was up to and she was going to report back to Mileena when she did.

Meanwhile Mileena and Baraka had had enough of the people leaving and the arguing of the Shokans. They attacked the Shokans and very soon more Tarkatans began to spill in. As the fight continued a total of ten tarkatans had entered the fray and it became a twelve on three battle. The Shokans tried to hold their own against the Tarkatan horde, but the harder they fought the more tarkatans arrived. Pretty soon there were more Tarkatans than they could handle so they retreated.

"You will regret this Mileena and Baraka. We will return with armies and you will suffer."

As they left Mileena and Baraka laughed. They embraced and hand-in-hand they walked to the throne. They turned to their subject and raised their arms in triumph. One of the Tarkatans cried out, "All hail Emperor Baraka and Empress Mileena." The two bowed in approval as the tarkatans cheered and hollered at the newly crowned rulers.