Disclaimer: I own nothing that doesn't belong to me.

Author's Note 6/10/2014: For those of you who have already read this and for those of you who have just stumbled across it I have changed the names of my characters for personal reasons. I know that that is a taboo for writers once their work is up, and I do not normally do this, but I'm breaking the rules this once because it's important to me. The names have not changed by that much; they still sound close to the same phonetically, so I hope that this does not ruin the reading experience for any of you. I apologize in advance for the inconvenience, and ask that you remain patient with me.

Chapter One

"So," Scorpion growled. "Would someone care to tell me why the hell we're here?"

"If we knew that we would've already informed you," Sub-Zero replied. Ermac said nothing, content with quietly leaning against a tree. The three of them were in the middle of the Living Forest and had been there for several hours. Though he wouldn't voice it aloud, Sub-Zero thought it strange for Raiden to ask them to meet here of all places. This was Outworld. Shao-Khan's domain, and therefore not exactly a friendly place for any of them, especially Raiden. The sun had set a few hours ago and the Living Forest was living up to its name. Faces glared at them from all directions, mouths open in silent laughter. The whole scene was rather eerie.

Scorpion let out a huff and leaned back against his own tree. "He'd better hurry up. I was on Quan-Chi's trail when he summoned us and I'd like to catch up with him before the bastard disappears again." Sub-Zero remained silent, lost in his own thoughts.

The only reason Raiden would have for calling the three of them together again would be to tell them more about their unknown enemy. He had been hot on the trail for whoever was working behind-the-scenes with Quan-Chi and Shang-Tsung, but they kept eluding him at the last minute. Maybe though, just maybe, they had slipped up. Sub-Zero quickly focused his mind on something else when his thoughts began straying to her. It had been three years since he'd watched her walk through that portal and back to her world. He'd gotten better at pushing all thoughts of her from his mind, but occasionally one would sneak up on him. Sub-Zero chanced a glance at Scorpion, then Ermac. Neither of them seemed different, and he wondered if they even thought about their former students.

He was pulled from his thoughts by a loud clap of thunder and a bright flash of light that had him covering his eyes on instinct. When he opened them again he saw Raiden now standing in the center of the small clearing they had chosen for themselves.

"I see all of you have made it," Raiden said. "Excellent! Now we can get started."

"Have you learned anymore about the one behind the two sorcerers," Sub-Zero asked as he stood up, Scorpion and Ermac following.

"As a matter of fact I have." Raiden gave a small smile. "I've tracked them all the way to Outworld, but I lost their trail shortly after I came here, though I doubt that they've left."

"What makes you say that," Sub-Zero asked.

Raiden spread his arms wide, gesturing to the area around them as he said, "Why would they leave? Outworld is their domain. It's where they're strongest."

"So you expect us to fight them where they are most powerful," Ermac asked, breaking his long reign of silence.

"No, not quite," Raiden smirked. "I'm afraid you won't be around to make it that far." All three warriors tensed at the thunder god's words, regarding him warily.

"What do you mean 'we won't be around'," Scorpion asked cautiously. Raiden turned to look at him and for the briefest of moments Scorpion saw his eyes flash green.

"This isn't Raiden," Scorpion growled. "It's Shang-ARGH!" He felt pain erupt behind his eyes and fell to the ground clutching his head.

"A pity you've become so good at sniffing me out," Raiden said before he morphed back into Shang-Tsung. Sub-Zero started to crouch into a fighting stance, but was surprised to find he couldn't move, and judging by the look on Ermac's face—well, what he could see of his face—he was encountering the same problem.

Looking back at Shang-Tsung, Sub-Zero growled, "What is the meaning of this?" but the sorcerer just laughed in reply.

"Isn't it obvious," a new voice said, and the warriors looked to see Quan-Chi walk out from the shadows.

"You," Scorpion growled. The pain in his head had subsided, but he was unable to move from his kneeling position on the ground.

Quan-Chi looked down at him and smirked. "It's been awhile hasn't it, Scorpion? I see you've finally learned your place: groveling before me." The ninja specter let out a low growl.

"Why don't you release me and we shall see who learns their place." Quan-Chi was about to retort when a feminine voice cut him off.

"Now boys, it's not nice to harass captives while they're so helpless." Three new figures walked into the clearing, all of them wearing long black cloaks with their hoods pulled up. The figure in front stepped forward and studied each of the warriors before reaching up and pushing back their hood.

All three warriors eyes widened in surprise as they looked at the woman standing before them. She was stunningly beautiful, with defined features and long, wavy black hair, but what drew most of their attention were her eyes. They were a brilliant shade of green, giving her an almost ethereal aura. She studied the three of them again before a small smirk found its way onto her dark purple lips.

"So, you three were the ones to train Raiden's chosen warriors." Her eyes strayed off to a sound in a nearby tree but soon returned to them. "I see Raiden took no chances in his pick of skilled tutors, and for that I must thank him." Her smirk deepened at the confused looks on the faces of the men before her before she continued. "By beating me he showed me that trying to win the Mortal Kombat Tournament to invade Earthrealm was a futile idea. I realized that in order to achieve my original goal I must think bigger," she paused. "Much bigger."

"You speak in riddles, woman," Scorpion growled. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Now, now, if I told you that it would put everything I've worked for at risk. Not that you'll be much of a threat to it when I'm through with you," she said as she raised her hands in what looked like a silent prayer. For a moment nothing happened. Sub-Zero was just starting to wonder what the strange woman was up to when the pain hit. He doubled over with a gasp, too in pain to notice he could move again, before falling to his knees. It felt as if all the life was being drained out of him, leaving his body on fire. It took several moments for him to realize that the ragged screams he was hearing were his own, and through his slowly diminishing vision he could see Ermac and Scorpion writhing in the same pain. The agony hit its high, and Sub-Zero felt his body collapse before his mind followed.

The woman watched as the three men finally succumbed to the pain before lowering her hands. The spell she had cast was still running its course, and would be for a while, rendering them useless until that time, and even afterward.

"My Lady," One of the cloaked figures drew closer and bowed before continuing, "What should we do with the bodies?" The woman remained silent for a moment, studying the three unconscious figures before her.

"Send them to the Netherrealm," she declared. "Let that finish them off." With that said she turned to the two sorcerers at her back. "Now gentlemen, I believe it's time we get started."

Authors note: First off I want to apologize for taking so long to get this out. My life has been rather hectic and I just sort of fell out of my Mortal Kombat phase, but I'm trying to remedy this now. I don't know when I will get to write more of this, I'm going back to college soon, but I will do my best to work on it when I can. I'm trying to clean up my writing style, but I think I still butcher the English language when I write so if you see any mistakes feel free to point them out. This story is titled after the song Animal by the Neon Trees, neither of which I own.