Sorcerers Daughter (MK9 - MK11)

Chapter 4: Kung Jin

The scene cuts to Outworld's capital, Z'unkahran. Team S-F are walking through the crowded streets of Outworlders going about their normal business.

JACQUI: I dunno, I expected the sky to be purple or something.

KUNG JIN: Don't believe everything you see online.

CASSIE: And what makes you an expert?

KUNG JIN: The Shaolin archives. I studied a lot about Outworld.

CASSIE: No substitute for experience.

KUNG JIN: So what makes you our leader?

The two of them stop walking and stare one another down. Takeda intercedes before anything else happens.

TAKEDA: Guys, let's stick to the mission?

Cassie breaks off the staredown and walks off. Jin smiles to himself and follows along with Takeda and Jacqui.

CASSIE: Li Mei has to be telling the truth.

JACQUI: An invasion would violate the Reiko Accords.

KUNG JIN: 'Cause you can always trust an Outworlder...

TAKEDA: But if Outworld's our ally, why didn't they help us during the Netherrealm war? Against Quan Chi and his team of...

KUNG JIN: Revenants? Like Jacqui's dad?

Jacqui stops dead at this remark.

JACQUI: Asshole!

Jin turns round, addressing everyone as he does so.

KUNG JIN: It's not an alliance. Non-aggression pact. Outworld is not our ally.

A new voice cuts through the air, and Team S-F find themselves surrounded by several of Kotal Kahn's soldiers. The one speaking stands out the most in his gunslinger attire.

ERRON: A point you might make with more subtlety, given your surroundings. Now state your business. Including a reason why we shouldn't kill you.

Takeda puts his hand to his head, telepathically reading Erron Black's mind.

TAKEDA: I can read you. You're not from Outworld.

ERRON: I'm from Earthrealm - like you - but my employer, Kotal Kahn is from Outworld. So now I'm from Outworld. State your business.

CASSIE: We're emissaries. We need to talk to Kotal Kahn.

She pulls something out of her back pocket.

CASSIE: Here, we have Raiden's official seal.

Black looks at it for a moment.

ERRON: I can buy one of those at that stall right over there.

KUNG JIN: Look, you can arrest us, even kill us, but if we're telling the truth, you probably get a pay cut - or worse. You take us to the Kahn, I'll tell 'im you took us down. Maybe get you a bonus. You can't lose.

Erron considers this new offer for a moment longer than he did Cassie's.

ERRON: Follow me.

He walks off. Team S-F follow with the soldiers close by. Jin flashes another smile at Cassie. They walk into the main plaza of the marketplace, where a crowd has gathered to watch a public event. A soldier on a raised platform addresses all present, reading from a scroll.

SOLDIER: "In these times of war, we are required to view every resource as a weapon for our Emperor to use at his discretion."

The scene cuts to a closer view. A man has been bound in the stocks, and two soldiers pull him out and restrain him.