Ice begins to materialise in the prison, taking the form of a man. The ice

shatters to present Sub-Zero. He assumes a fighting stance and Sonya walks

toward him.

SUB-ZERO: Now you will feel death's cold embrace.

They fight. Even against his powers of ice, Sonya manages to fend off the

merciless assassin and beat him unconscious. She then addresses Shang Tsung.

SONYA: Done! We're leaving!

Raiden appears in a flash of lightning as Shang Tsung moves forward.

SONYA: Stand in my way and I'll kick your a--

SHANG TSUNG: A challenge?

Raiden suddenly gasps. In his mind he flashes back to a picture of Liu Kang

defeating Shang Tsung with a flying kick. He promptly gets between the two

of them.

RAIDEN: No. You will not be the one to challenge Shang Tsung.

Sonya misinterprets this as Raiden trying to protect the sorcerer.

SONYA: You want some too? Fine by me!

They fight. Showing her tenacity and taking advantage of Raiden's reluctance

to fight, Sonya aggressively takes it to the God of Thunder and knocks him

down.

SONYA: Enough of this!

She grabs Raiden by the shirt and prepares to punch him again.

RAIDEN: Shield your eyes.

SONYA: What?

RAIDEN: Shield your eyes.

His eyes start crackling with electricity. A blinding flash envelopes the

surrounding area. Sonya manages to get one arm in front of her face. Shang

Tsung and the guards aren't so lucky. With them blinded, Sonya destroys the

bars on Jax's cell with her wave energy blast. She supports Jax as best as

she can.

SONYA: Jax, come on! We're outta here!

JAX: 'Bout time...

As Raiden picks himself up, the masked guards take off after Sonya and Jax.

Shang Tsung looks over at Raiden.

SHANG TSUNG: You aided their escape.

RAIDEN: You allowed them to escape.

SHANG TSUNG: They will not get far.

Tsung walks off. The scene cuts to a forest. Sonya is struggling to keep Jax

moving.

SONYA: Come on Jax! Move it! That's an order!

JAX: Oh... so you're in charge now?

She speaks into her wrist communicator.

SONYA: Special Forces Command, this is Sonya Blade! Where's that evac?

COMMAND: Blade, they are en-route... coming to you shortly...

SONYA: Affirmative! Almost home, soldier.

The two women seen at Shang Tsung's side the day previous approach them from

the forest.

KITANA: By order of Shang Tsung, no one leaves this island.

SONYA: I don't have time for this. Outta my way!

They fight. Even though Sonya has the numbers stacked against her, she

manages to defeat both Kitana and Jade and leave them on the floor

unconscious.

SONYA: Sure don't need anymore surprises like them.

She walks over to Jax.

SONYA: How are you holding up?

JAX: I'm fine.

SONYA: Liar. After I get you to base, I'm coming back. Kano's still here

somewhere.

JAX: Your obsession with him is gonna get you killed.

SONYA: I trusted him.

JAX: Yeah, we all did.

SONYA: But I was the one he used.

She looks up at the sound of a helicopter.

SONYA: I think our ride's here.

She begins waving to the approaching copter. As she does so, a gigantic

fireball shoots up from nowhere and blasts it into pieces. Sonya can only

watch as the chopper crashes in the distance in flames.

SONYA: No!

She turns to see a laughing Shang Tsung alongside Kano. Tsung's hand is

still glowing with fire.

SONYA: Damn you!

SHANG TSUNG: You have a challenger - Kano.

Angrily, Sonya assumes her fighting stance.

KANO: Pretty Boy ain't gonna save ya this time.

They fight. With plently of anger in her this time, Sonya shows that she

doesn't need saving and beats Kano to the floor.

SONYA: You're comin' with me.

As she moves in to arrest Kano, Tsung stops her by blasting a fireball into

her path.

SHANG TSUNG: Kano is not your prisoner.

SONYA: At least help Jax. He needs a medic!

The sorcerer only laughs at her as he walks off, followed by Kano, Kitana

and Jade.

SONYA: Bastard.

JOHNNY CAGE: There she is!

Sonya turns around to see Cage walking toward her, followed by Raiden and

Liu Kang.

JOHNNY CAGE: Sonya! You all right? Hey, looks like you found 'im.

He throws a salute at Jax.

JOHNNY CAGE: S'up, Sarge?

SONYA: He's a ma--

She stops as she looks at Raiden walking toward her commanding officer.

SONYA: Hey, what are you doing?

Raiden charges up lightning in his palms.

JOHNNY CAGE: It's ok. He's cool.

As the electricity nears Jax, he starts to glow with blue energy. Sonya

attempts to intervene but Johnny grabs her arm.

JAX: What the?

SONYA: Jax!

JOHNNY CAGE: Seriously. He's cool.

The process takes a few moments, and after Raiden has finished, Jax has been

completely healed of his injuries. He examines his arms and seems quite

astounded at the difference.

JAX: That's amazing!

JOHNNY CAGE: Told ya! Turns out he's a god!

As Jax rises to his feet, Sonya is also quite astounded as Raiden approaches

her.

SONYA: Thank you... Raiden.

RAIDEN: Gratitude is unnecessary. I have foreseen events, like memories of

my future. They lead me to believe that you are all connected to Earthrealm's

fate.

LIU KANG: What have you foreseen?

RAIDEN: In my visions, Shao Kahn becomes invincible. He destroys all life in

Earthrealm. We will all die. I believe these flashes are a guide to defeating

Shao Kahn. But disrupting the flow of time can have serious consequences.

JOHNNY CAGE: I'm not worried. I bet you could win this thing no problem.

RAIDEN: Unless directly challenged, I cannot participate.

JOHNNY CAGE: What should we do besides standing around looking pretty?

RAIDEN: For now, the tournament must run its course.

SONYA: All right then. We're with you, Raiden.

------------------------

(3F) CHAPTER 3: SCORPION

------------------------

Back at the island's arena, Shang Tsung, his bodyguards and the monks have

taken their places once again. Notably, Quan Chi now stands by the

Grandmaster's throne. The kombatants present at the last fight are back

again, waiting for the next match. One masked guard catches the eye of

Raiden. He gasps and receives another vision; this one reveals Kung Lao

running at Baraka. Raiden realises the true identity of the guard at once

and leaves his place.

SHANG TSUNG: Kombatants! The next match will now begin!