Chapter 7 - Slide of Hand

Quan Chi was unsure on how to interpret the situation. While tending to Goro's wounds, Quan Chi sensed the unmistakable presence of the undead. Creatures that should be rotting in a grave or, at the very least, the Underworld.

Quan Chi concluded that Shang Tsung's intruders were from the Netherrealm. That would be unfortunate for Quan Chi's plans. He was going to use this incident to convince Shang Tsung to accuse Earthrealm of cheating. The process would ultimately tainting this tournament and force the elder gods to declare it a draw. The result would infuriate Shao Kahn and allow Quan Chi to convince the emperor to go for a direct invasion. Therefore, speeding up the plan of having both Shao Kahn and Raiden eliminate each other.

However, the little evidence of the attackers there is point to Netherrealm interference. This would not be helpful, so Quan Chi made the deliberate decision not to tell Shang Tsung about what he had learned about Goro's attackers.

...

Nicholas was pleased with his experiment last night. Not only does he not have to be anywhere near the target location, but he can also monitor their actions and change their orders with relative ease.

Nicholas could feel the Oni's and the Dredge's dissatisfaction in not being able to finish off Goro, but they obeyed without pause. Nicholas didn't really care if Goro would survive the attack or not. That is why Goro was chosen, and if the Deathslinger obeying his plan was simply a fluke, then Goro's death would be no real loss.

Nicholas was slightly disappointed that for him to remotely view a location, a crow had to be there, but the fact that nothing could obstruct their view was a perk that made up for that. Of course, Nicholas had to be careful, though. While he could place a crow anywhere, those crows could stick out if they clearly didn't belong there.

Nicholas watched as the first fight began. It was Sonya Blade versus Kano. The fight was somewhat boring, Kano ran his mouth, and Sonya promptly kicked his ass. That was pretty much how most of the matches went. Even his own matches were against nameless goons.

At least until Scorpion showed up, the matches got more interesting then. Scorpion's first match was against Jax. It was close, but Scorpion was victorious. Jax was relatively fine, mostly a bruised ego.

The next match was Sub-Zero vs. Scorpion, it was then Raiden tried to change history by convincing Scorpion not to kill Sub-Zero.

An effort doomed to fail. It happened just as Nicholas remembered, from Scorpion get mad and dragging Sub-Zero into the Netherrealm, to Scorpion coming back with Sub-Zero's burnt skeletal remains. From the look of self-loathing, Scorpion gave himself.

While everyone waited for the next fight (Johnny Cage vs. Goro) Nicholas found Scorpion sulking in a corner. Nicholas said, "For someone who supposedly avenged his family, you look like you just lost everything."

Scorpion, not even turning his head, said, "By avenging them, I lost my chance at resurrecting them."

Nicholas casually said, "Well, perhaps it is for the best. The elder gods aren't exactly the best choice when it comes to resurrecting the dead."

Scorpion finally looked at Nicholas, rage filling his eyes. Then he said, "And what is that supposed to mean and for that matter what do you mean by supposedly!?"

Nicholas, keeping a calm look in his eyes, said, "To the first, to the elder gods, there is a casem between giving life and resurrecting the dead. If you ask them to resurrect someone, they'll give their targets bodies, but the bodies in question tend to be rotting corpses, immating life but actually alive. As for the second, well, since you are a spector, you're in between the land of the living and the dead. So, if your clan died as violently as I heard, then they would still be lingering around their place of death."

Scorpion eyes suddenly were filled with a realization. In a flash of flame, Scorpion disappeared. Nicholas' attention was suddenly drawn to a shouting crowd. Goro was making his grand entrance. It was Goro's first fight of the tournament.

Obviously, Shang Tsung was hoping that by delaying Goro's entrance, then the would-be attackers would think they succeeded in eliminating Goro. Shang Tsung was scanning the crowd, trying to find looks of surprise or anger. Any tell that would point to who was responsible. Nicholas had taken a position by Raiden. His face was analytical, like he was carefully studying Goro for weaknesses.

Shang Tsung didn't find what he was looking for. Shang Tsung signaled for the match to begin. Johnny, who was initially taken aback by his opponent's size and the fact that Goro had four arms, opened with his signature move, the low punching split.

Even though Nicholas knew it was coming, the moment Johnny's punch connected, every guy there gave in involuntary flinch. Goro was shaken, using his lower arms to hold his crotch in pain. Goro was unable to focus when Johnny began raining kicks against his head. Johnny launched everything from roundhouses to ax kicks. Every one of them aimed at Goro's head, every one of them connecting. In the end, Goro just fell forward unconscious, not even getting a single punch in. Shang Tsung was furious. Without hesitation, he invoked his right to challenge. Liu Kang responded immediately to answer, and Raiden gave his approval, saying, "The phrase he must win must be referring to you."

The fight between Shang Tsung and Liu Kang was as intense as expected. Shang Tsung held nothing back as he fought with Liu Kang with everything he had, from spells to even the techniques of fallen warriors. Liu Kang, for his part, fought just as fiercely. Liu Kang used his full arsenal from his special bicycle kick to fire balls and every combo in between.

They fought each other head on, giving no ground. Despite the intensity, the fight only lasted a few minutes. Ending with Liu Kang giving a high kick. Shang Tsung was knocked to the ground. He struggled to get up before finally passing out.

Raiden was surrounded by a beam of light, and then he explained that the elder gods had declared Earthrealm the winner of this tournament. There was cheering and hugging all around as everyone thought that Earthrealm would be safe for another five hundred years at least. While Nicholas knew the truth, he wasn't above taking advantage of the situation to place a soul tag on Sonya Blade. Ensuring that if anything happens that he wasn't expecting, she'll still end up at his realm, with everyone oblivious to the fact.

As soon as preparations were completed, they began the journey to the White Lotus Order's temple for the "victory party." While the celebration was being prepared, Nicholas knew that Shang Tsung was at that very moment telling Shao Kahn how to change the rules. Nicholas decided to check the temple's library to see if they had any records of the rules of Mortal Kombat. They did, and to no one's surprise, the rules were written in a very flowery manner. Easy to misinterpret.

After thoroughly reviewing the rules, Nicholas understood three things. The first, the rule of ten consecutive tournament wins were just the default conditions. It can be changed at any time as long as both sides agree. The second, Mortal Kombat is only there to stop a forced merger or destruction of a realm, even than only as long as it's being caused by another realm, it doesn't stop invasions, raids, or even event manipulations, like assassinations or instigating a rebellion. As long as the realm's guardian is still capable of protecting their charge, then the elder gods will not interfere in such cases.

The third, and probably most significant, is that it's only common courtesy not to interfere with any realm undergoing Mortal Kombat, but there is no real rule against it, and they can declare it at any time. As Nicholas left the library, a fireworks show began to start. Nicholas stepped out into the courtyard. He saw Raiden having a conversation with a much younger Shang Tsung. Shang Tsung then smiled, and a portal opened behind him, and in that same moment, a much bigger portal open and dozens of Tarkatans poured out.

Just like in the game, Jax rushed the horde, only to be overwhelmed. Still, he did well by knocking a few of them senseless despite the odds. Liu Kang and Kung Lao were working together in perfect sync fighting Tarkatans. Even Johnny Cage was pulling his weight and fought his fair share of enemies. Unfortunately, most of the monks here were not prepared, and despite their best efforts, they were getting picked off one after. Sonya fought bravely but was captured when a Tarkatan attacked her from behind.

Nicholas, who was watching it unfold, did nothing. Mostly because he was on the opposite side of the massive courtyard, and also he needed Raiden to head to Outworld. The main reason for that was that upon their arrival to the temple, Nicholas learned that he could re-visit any location that he previously been to. With some effort, Nicholas could find some way to reach the other realms, but making sure the plot continues like it's supposed to is the fastest way for now. After Sonya's unconscious body was dragged through a portal, the other Tarkatans began an immediate retreat.

In the aftermath, Liu Kang was voicing his displeasure at what he thinks is blatant violations of the rules. Nicholas didn't feel the need to correct him.

Raiden found Jax, then began bringing everyone up to speed on the ultimatum that Shang Tsung was forcing. Then Raiden turned to Nicholas and said, "I'm sorry, but your aid is still required." Nicholas gave a reluctant look, then simply said, "Understood."

Then Raiden said, "We accept Outworld's proposal!" A light began to cover him, signaling that the elder gods acknowledge the new tournament. Raiden then said, "In Outworld, my powers will be significantly diminished, so please, keep that in mind." Raiden then focused his energy and opened a portal to Outworld. As everyone began entering, Nicholas could feel a slight tingle in the back of his neck. He knew that while he could go a certain amount of time without feeding, it doesn't mean he should push it. He would need to find individuals he could feed on, or more specifically, women who developed affection towards him.

He thought about his current options. Sonya was still too mission driven, and the only reason she got with Johnny was because she had lost everyone else, and Johnny almost died in her arms. Kitana and Jade were possible. Their previous interactions were minimal, but with some effort, affection could be achieved, at least for Kitana. Nicholas wasn't as sure with Jade. Mileena hasn't been awoken yet, and he hasn't even met Sheeva or Tonya or anybody else for that matter. As Nicholas walked through the portal, he shrugged internally and thought, 'Well, there's nothing to it, but to do it.'