Mortal Kombat (19 page)

But right here and right now, she was on her own. None of those geniuses back at the Special Forces Academy had ever told her what to do if she were about to be sacrificed to a pigeon.

As soon as Baraka raised his blades, Sonya knew she had just moments to act – and she had to do this precisely or she was going to be shish kebabbed without having succeeded in her mission.

When the knives pointed down, Sonya struggled so that the attention of all her captors would be on holding her torso steady for the cut. As they did so, she tensed her thighs, pointed her feet, and as the knives descended, made her move. Hooking her feet around the cage in a scissor grab, she swung her legs up at the waist. Her move caught everyone by surprise, most of all the two figures holding the cage, as it flew from their hands. Guided along on its side by Sonya's feet, the cage intercepted the swords a heartbeat before they struck her chest. The pigeon was skewered, spraying blood and feathers into Sonya's hair, and the cage continued over her head, dragging the priest with it. Bringing her legs back so they were directly above her, Sonya did a split and clubbed the two hooded figures standing beneath them on either side of her. Startled, the other beings who were holding her relaxed their grip just enough so that the Special Forces operative was able to wrench free.

Leaping from the top of the stone slab, Sonya landed on Baraka, scissor-locking him around the chest, then bending her thumbs and driving the knuckles into the soft flesh of his temples. He howled with pain and then passed out, Sonya having squeezed his rib cage so tightly he couldn't breathe. He fell unconscious just as the enraged horde fell on her. Literally lifting the priest by the back of his robe, she slid her left hand around his waist, gripped his right forearm with her free hand, and used his sword to slash and fight her way through the crowd of hooded attendants.

"Sorry to cut out on you like this," she sneered, "but I've got a hot date." She ran one of the somber black-hooded figures through. "Get my point, laughing boy?"

Upon reaching the door of the temple, Sonya turned the priest toward them, put her foot against the small of his back, and pushed him inside. Then, plucking feathers from her hair, she ran off to find Kano and give him his long-overdue desserts.

The circle of fog outside the palace glowed with the reflected light of Rayden's lightning as the god materialized on the beach. Scorpion's form darkened the air and took shape beside him, and in backstep, the two strode up the woody hill, along the dirt road, toward the palace.

"
There is no one in the trees,
" Rayden said after making a sweep of the branches. "
Either we are not expected, or they have marshaled their forces inside.
"

The road curved toward the north, and the majestic palace came into view, nestled between the twin pagodas. Behind them, Scorpion could see the ancient Shaolin temple hewn from the rock of the mountain. It was a pity, he thought, the so magnificent an edifice was used in the service of evil.

And then, in a day that had been full of surprises, Scorpion was caught off-guard when he heard a voice inside his head.

Use caution, my son,
said the warm, reassuring voice of Yong Park.
They do expect you and there is evil in every corner.

Scorpion smiled behind his mask.
I will be careful, Father,
he assured him.

The iron gates were closed, the gold dragons facing each other from either side. Rayden threw a bolt at the lock in the center; flame seemed to shoot from the mouths of the dragons as one side of the gate rocketed back and the other flew off its hinges, bouncing end-over-end into the courtyard. God and man entered without missing a step.

As they walked in, two wedges of hooded figures ran at them from either side, barring the exit and the way ahead. Rayden stopped, and Scorpion stopped a step later as the figures just stood there.

"
Let us take what is ours,
" said the god, "
and you will not be harmed.
"

There was no answer, save for robes stirred by the wind as it swept through the courtyard. And then, from behind the multitude, a voice rang out.

"While I'm feeling charitable, you may take your lives from here, but that is all. Oh – and in the future, ring the gong. Those gates are costly."

Several of the robed figures moved aside to reveal the wizard, with the amulet around his neck, standing as tall as he was able. He was flanked by Goro on the right and Reptile on the left; behind him, barely visible in the dark, was Kano.

"
The amulet you wear was stolen from my temple,
" said Rayden. "
Return it, and Sonya Blade, and we will go.
"

"The amulet was recovered from the side of a mountain," Shang Tsung replied. "You have no claim on it. As for Ms. Blade, I have enabled her to be reunited with her fiancé. You've wasted your time coming here, Rayden. Don't waste my time by staying."

"
I will ask you one more time, wizard. Return to us what is ours.
"

Shang Tsung seemed revitalized by the challenge. His eyes had some of their old fire as he said, "Return it... or what? You are two and we are five hundred."

Scorpion shouted, "What you do is against the laws of nature! Were you five hundred times five hundred, we would not leave."

Shang Tsung put his fingertips on the center stone of the amulet and shut his eyes. "It's an interesting proposition, my friend. Do you think you can back it up?"

Beside him, Goro began to chuckle.

"With this amulet and just one soul, I can open the portal wide enough to bring twenty-five thousand warriors from the Outworld."

Scorpion felt a flash of weakness until his father spoke.
He cannot hurt you, Tsui. Trust in your power... and his weakness.
The costumed warrior lifted his wrists so they were facing Shang Tsung. "You talk too much, sorcerer. Let's see your army."

Shang Tsung's pale cheeks flushed, and his fingers, which were still on the amulet, began to tremble. "You, arrogant little godlet, will provide the soul that brings them here!"

The wizard's hands began to smoke, and his eyes fell expectantly to the amulet. The splendid talisman vibrated and shook against his chest, but it was only due to his quaking touch and not because he had tapped its power. The seconds took an eternity to pass as all eyes were upon him and the promised soul-rending did not take place.

Then the quavering ceased, Shang Tsung's spindly fingers having fallen still.

The wizard's hands stopped smoking.

His wizened features lost what little life had returned to them.

And under the uncomprehending eyes of Goro and Reptile, and the blank stares of the devoted denizens of the palace, Shang Tsung, Dark Lord of Shimura Island, Master of the Hooded Hosts, Wizard-Chancellor of Shao Kahn, raised his lusterless eyes from the amulet.

"It does not work," Shang Tsung said to Rayden.

Scorpion said, "We all saw."

"Tell me why, Rayden," Shang Tsung said. "I demand to know
why
!"

Suddenly what appeared to be a small, dark, and unusually thick cloud separated from the fog around the island and crawled up the hill. It passed over the courtyard, heads turning as it drifted toward the finial spire of the pagoda and settled on the sloping pent roof below. There, the foggy mass separated into two sections, one of which began to take human form and remained on the roof, while the other rushed toward the ground.

The shape on the roof solidified, the lumpy gray contours giving way to smooth flesh and a white robe.

"It didn't work because you are a fiend who serves an even greater fiend," shouted Kung Lao, his robe blowing in the wind.

"The priest!" Goro shouted. "How is it possible?"

"Dualities," Kung Lao said. He pointed to Shang Tsung. "His magic showed me how. Fengah mysticism provided the ingredients, and lightning torn from the ceiling at the Temple of Rayden gave me the means to mix them."

Landing on the ground and reconforming behind Shang Tsung, Liu Kang said, "We recreated what you did, magician, though not for evil."

The White Lotus warrior leapt up to jump-punch the startled sorcerer, but Goro stepped between them. He blocked the blow with one of his thick arms and, swinging his giant form into a roundhouse kick, caught Liu Kang in the leg. The mortal dropped to the ground, rolled away, and got to his feet before the giant could stomp on him.

Above them, Kung Lao lowered himself onto the balcony below the roof and swung feet-first through an open window of the pagoda, while Scorpion ran through the break in the ranks of Shang Tsung's hooded hordes. As Scorpion executed a high leaping split to avoid it, then continued running toward his comrade.

With an oath, Shang Tsung ordered his minions to attack Rayden. Then the wizard turned and, with another oath, pulled Kano with him and ran toward the shrine.

"Ruthay!" Shang Tsung was screaming as he hobbled through the twisting corridors to the shrine of Shao Kahn.

Hooded monks from the temple milled around aimlessly, and Baraka was nowhere to be seen. But the wizard couldn't worry about that now. No doubt his loyal priest had been drawn outside by the commotion.

"Ruthay!" the sorcerer cried, after uttering the chant to unbolt the doors. "Something has gone very wrong!"

"I'll say," Kano muttered as Shang Tsung gripped his arm for support. "I got a feelin' I'll be lucky to get the rest of my dough, let alone a chance to disembowel that fat lug who threw me against the wall."

The wizard ignored him as he moved through the darkness with desperate haste, crying for Shao Kahn's regent, hoping that the demon could help where, inexplicably, his own magic had failed.

Shang Tsung entered the chamber. "Ruthay, I need your help," he said, hurrying toward the circle so his dwindling body heat could animate the flame and the demon. "I'm too weak, my spirit drained. You must add your power to mine so that the amulet can be activated."

The brazier flared dully, sparkles of burning coal dust filling the air above it. The orange glow grew, and as it did the wizard stopped. Though his eyes were not yet adjusted to the dim light, he sensed at once that something was wrong. There was a strange agitation coming from the area around the brazier, a disquiet that caused the air itself to ripple with a curious mixture of heat and cold.

Shang Tsung's gaze went from the flame in the iron dish to the powdery circle on the floor, and he saw at once what was wrong.

There was a break in the circle, a slash no wider than a human foot. But that would have been enough to jeopardize the spell, not only weakening Shang Tsung's contact with the Outworlder but endangering all the other-realm beings on this plane. If any more of it were destroyed–

Shang Tsung's eyes wandered round the circle and settled on a sight that caused his heart to ache. Ruthay was no longer a mad, amber ring floating above the circle; the rift in the circle had caused the once-portly, parchment-skinned demon-regent to coalesce into a mockery of his natural form.

Lying in the dark at the foot of the brazier was a creature whose skin was white with brown patches, who was stretched and malformed from having spent fifteen centuries as a prisoner of the ring. He now had a narrow, lengthened torso, a muzzle-like elongation where his face had been, and legs and arms that were of nearly equal length and ended in pawlike appendages rather than hands and feet. His once-white eyes were a seep, sad brown, and his red robe was in tatters and hung from him like a tail.

Shang Tsung lurched forward. "Ruthay!"

"Sh-Shang," barked the demon. "I could do nothing. I... tried to... call you...."

"Who has done this?" the sorcerer gasped, stepping over the circle and bending beside the strange and pitiful sight. "Tell me!"

"Master... Shang," the demon whimpered as Shang Tsung stroked his sloping forehead, "it... it...."

"It was me," said a figure standing in the shadows. "Me and my left foot."

Shang Tsung fired a look toward the corner and strained to see in the darkness. "I know that voice," he said through his teeth, his voice quivering with anger. "Come out and face me, witch!"

Sonya Blade swaggered from the darkness and smiled. The underlighting accentuated her expression, making it seem almost demonic.

"Did I upset your plan, guys?" she asked.

"Only delayed them," Shang Tsung said defiantly.

"Maybe," Sonya said, "but one thing's for certain." She held out her right fist, opened it palm up, and blew. "You need a new mascot," she said as feathers floated to the ground.

"Hamachi!" Shang Tsung screamed. His mouth and eyes wide with horror, he hissed, "Sonya Blade – I will see you pulled apart by wild Kuatanese Troopyns, your remains fed to my other birds."

"No ya won't," Kano snarled. "She ain't gonna live that long."

His hands slashing violent uppercuts at the air, Kano knee-kicked several times before rushing at Sonya, a war cry on his twisted lips and death in his eyes.

Kung Lao found the pagoda deserted, all the servants of darkness having been summoned to the courtyard or, he saw as he exited the tower, to what looked like an interrupted ceremony in the temple.

Not that it mattered. He would have fought them all to reach his goal.

But the cloaked and hooded things ignored him as he pushed through, heading to where he sensed he'd find his ancestor's amulet. The crowd thinned as he picked his way through the twisting hallway, where corners that had seemed from a distance to have angles were smooth curves when he arrived, and floors that seemed to slope down actually sloped up.

This place is like a nightmare made real,
Kung Lao thought, the sick geometry reflecting the corruption of its master.

The corridor grew darker and darker, and then Kung Lao saw a faint light through an open door up ahead. He approached slowly, listening to what sounded like a low, desperate panting among the grunts and blows of combat.