(SCENE: OUTWORLD) (POV: 3RD PERSON)

Cassie, Eri & the group are following behind Li Mei through the streets towards Kotal Kahn's fortress. "You know, I expected Outworld's skies to be purple or something." Jacqui says. "Don't believe everything you see online." Kung Jin says.

"What makes you the expert?" Cassie asks. "The Shaolin Archives. My Uncle Kung Lao made me study in anticipation for possible conflicts in Outworld." Kung Jin explains.

"Hope you don't substitute it with experience." Cassie says as Eri nods in agreement. "Yeah, I'm the only one here with real experience in Outworld." Eri says as Kung Jin stops to look at them.

"So what makes you two our leaders?" He asks as they stare each other down. "Guys, focus on the mission." Takeda says as they continue walking. "Anyways, since Outworld's our ally, why didn't they help against Netherrealm? Against Quan Chi, Shinnok & his-" Takeda questions as Kung Jin interrupts him.

"Revenant copies? Like Jacqui's dad?" Kung Jin asks as Jacqui took offense to that. "Asshole." He says as Li Mei defuses the situation. "Oscar didn't what any other realms to be involved with Earthrealm matters, so he wanted us to avoid their realm until Shinnok & Quan Chi were defeated. Besides, Outworld needed rebuilding once Shao Kahn was destroyed and the Realms unmerged." Li Mei explains.

Suddenly, many Osh-Tekks and Tarkatans surrounded the group as Erron Black & Baraka stepped forward. "Ah, the Earthrealmers and the adopted spawn of Luonto." Baraka says. "Easy, fang face, we ain't here to harm them, just take them to the Kahn." Erron Black says as to not spark a conflict.

Takeda uses his telepathic powers to read Erron Black mind. "I can read you. You're not from Outworld." Takeda says. "I'm from Earthrealm, like you all. From Texas more specifically. But my Employer, Kotal Kahn, is from Outworld, so I'm from Outworld." Erron Black says.

"Enough talk, let's go see Uncle Kotal." Eri says as the group head to Kotal's fortress. They reached a plaza that appears to be the epicenter of what appears to be an execution occurring.

A Osh-Tekk Warrior is reading off a scroll while two others are near a stockade with a guy in it and another warrior holding a large saw weapon. "In these times of war, we are required to view every resource as a weapon for our Emperor to use at his descretion. To take without his leave is to steal from the hand of Kotal Kahn himself. Therefore, having found guilty of theft, you shall be put to death." The Osh-Tekk warrior reads off the scroll aloud as the two warriors remove the stockade and grabbed the man.

"I was hungry! I-" The man tries to explain himself, but the Osh-Tekk warrior ignores his pleads. "Your sentence will be carried out, immediately!" He exclaims as Kung Jin's face holds one of horror.

"Death? For petty theft?" He asks in shock as he turns to Erron Black & Baraka. "Remember where you are." He says. Kung Jin decides to do something as he rushed through the crowd.

"Kung Jin! No!" Eri exclaims. Erron Black takes aim at his revolver and was about to fire when Cassie intercepted him while the rest of the group takes on the other Osh-Tekks & Tarkatans.

The weapon wielding Osh-Tekk was about to cut off the thief's head when Kung Jin shot him in the shoulder. Two Osh-Tekks & a Tarkatan charged at Kung Jin, but he took them down without much effort.

Meanwhile, Cassie and Eri were fighting against Erron Black & Baraka. Cassie blocks Erron's strikes and even a few of his shot, but got knocked down by the head of his revolver. Eri was the same as Cassie as she gets barely dodge his blades and got knocked down by a kick from Baraka.

The two then rushed after Kung Jin. While all this was going on, the crowd went into a full blown riot frenzy. Two men tackled the Osh-Tekks off the stage. Kung Jin then cuts the thief free with a Chakram weapon attached to his weapon.

"Get out of here! Go!" Kung Jin orders as the they ran away. Kung Jin was about to leave as well, but Erron Black & Baraka stopped him. "You'll pay for your interference, Monk!" Baraka exclaims as he brought out his blades. "And we'll be your debt collectors." Erron Black adds on as he & Baraka attack Kung Jin.

While Baraka' blades & savagery and Erron Black's weaponry & tactics are near unstoppable, Kung Jin's speed & magical bow and arrow granted him the win. "Guess this debt would go unclaimed." Kung Jin says.

Both the Osh-Tekks and the Tarkatans were defeated, but the sound of heavy footsteps are heard as the people started running away in fear. A voice of a little girl yelled out as the group turned to see Ferra/Torr approaching. "Let's play, Torr." Ferra says as Torr roars and charged at the group.

"You couldn't just ask for a pony like every other girl?" Cassie asks. "Or maybe some fairy godparents?" Eri questions. "The archives never mentioned symbiotic pairings." Kung Jin says as he loads an arrow into his bow.

Yelling in Outworld tongue, Ferra commands Torr to attack the group. Jacqui tries to attack the duo, but Torr blocks her and lifts her up in the air to slam her into the ground. But Kung Jin shot his arrow at Torr's shoulder, making him let go of Jacqui.

Takeda tries his luck, but fails as Torr blocks his attack, swept him up & smashed him into the ground. But before he could hit him again, Kung Jin shot his shoulder again, stopping him from attacking Takeda.

Eri is up next as she attempts to attack him with her Dadao sword, but Torr blocks the strike with one of his arms and punches her in the stomach with the other, forcing her to drop her weapon & drop to her knees. Torr then rises his arms up in the air as he prepares to smash Eri, but Kung Jin fired an arrow at Torr, stopping him from attack.

Cassie attempts to use her Shadow Kick against Torr, but he caught the kick. "Break get face!" Ferra orders as Torr did just that by punching her across the face. He then grabs her and hoist her up to Ferra's eye level as she takes out her claws. "Ferra cut!" She yells as she prepares to stab Cassie with her claws.

Kung Jin stopped her by shooting her in the shoulder with his bow, knocking her off Torr's back. Torr approaches Kung Jin as Ferra recovers and hopped back onto his back. "You here make trouble, Skinny?" She questions while growling like a rabid animal. "Trouble make you!" She exclaims as she and Torr fight Kung Jin.

Torr's brute strength & Ferra's quickness made for a difficult fight, Kung Jin's more intelligent mind bested the feral child & the mindless brute. "Love to learn more about ya. Too bad you two are insane." He says as Ferra struggles to free herself from underneath Torr's massive body.

He rushed to his teammates aid. "You guys all right?" He asks as they only groan in pain. Suddenly, more Osh-Tekks & Tarkatans came rushing onto the scene and surrounded the team as D'Vorah appears and approaches them.

"The Earthrealmers, yes? This One must learn more of your diplomatic techniques." She says as Eri steps forward. "D'Vorah, we're here to talk with Kotal Kahn." She says.

"You and your friends interfered with Outworld matters. The penalty is death." She says. "I'm sensing a theme." Cassie whispers. "But since you're here about the matters of Reiko & are accompanied by the Daughter of Luonto, we will consult the Emperor. You will await for him here." D'Vorah explains as she left to get Kotal Kahn.

Once she was gone, Cassie turned to Kung Jin with an angry look on her face. "You wanna take this opportunity to tell us what the shit fuck you were thinking?!?" She questions in anger. "Yeah, Earthrealm & Outworld are on thin ice with one another after Shao Kahn's rule and we sure as hell don't need another Earthrealm/Outworld war." Eri scolds.

"I gotta wonder why you'd risk interrealm war for a beard thief." Takeda says as Kung Jin turns to them. "Because not all thieves are irredeemable." He answers as his face appears to be showing pain.

(Flashback: 5 Years Ago)

Doors from an ancient Shrine opens up as Kung Jin enters a room while dressed in all black. He carefully walks into said room to find it filled with paintings of several different people, but once he reached the end of the room, he sees a giant painting of Oscar, Raiden & the others after their slaying of Shao Kahn.

Kung Jin approaches the painting as he spots a small jade statue. He grabs it and ran out into a familiar place: Raiden's Sky Temple. He was about to leave when a familiar voice stops him.

"It has more sentimental than monetary value." Says the familiar voice as Kung Jin turns around to see Raiden & Fujin. "Nevertheless, we would appreciate it if you didn't steal it." Fujin says politely as they approached Kung Jin.

"It's a family heirloom. One my family shouldn't have given to you lot." Kung Jin says as the statue started sparking. It then disappeared from Kung Jin's hand and reappears in Raiden's. "Your family honored me with this heirloom in the aftermath of Shao Kahn's defeat." Raiden says.

"That heirloom has been passed down from generations in the Lao bloodline and the Lao family only! It does not deserve to be in your unworthy hands!" Kung Jin yells in anger.

"You go too far, Kung Jin." Fujin says as Kung Jin shook his head at this. "No, not far enough." He says as he battles against the two gods.

The fight ended quickly as Kung Jin looked at the defeated gods with shame. "Just let me go." He says with guilt in his voice as he prepares to leave when another familiar face stops him, this time being Oscar Luonto.

Raiden & Fujin joins him at his side, confusing Kung Jin as to how they're able to bounce back so easily. "Blood of Kung Lao." Raiden says. "Descendant of the Great Kung Lao." Fujin says. "A common thief." Oscar finished.

"Do you think you can walk unimpeded into my Temple and walk out again without my complicity?" Raiden asks as Kung Jin manages to realized what was happening. "You two wanted me to attack. Why?" Kung Jin asks.

"To release your anger. Make you amenable to reason." Fujin says as Kung Jin started feeling immense guilt. "And make me feel like shit." Kung Jin says. "Self loathing has always been an unfortunate part of your makeup." Raiden says as Oscar gives him a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "But there is a way for you to change that. One that worthy of you & will honor your ancestors. Follow in Kung Lao's footsteps, go to the Wu Shi Academy & become a Shaolin." Oscar explains.

"I can't. They won't accept me. They know of my interests." Kung Jin says with sadness & pain in his voice. "They don't care about interests nor what your heart desires. They only care about what's in your heart." Raiden says as Kung Jin shook his head at this.

"It's too late for me." He says as Raiden takes out the jade statue and hands it to Kung Jin. "It is never too late, Kung Jin. I am sure your Uncle Kung Lao will happily accept you." Raiden says.

(End Flashback)

Returning to the present day, Kotal Kahn has arrived to assess the damage. "You all have now put me in an unpleasantry position." He says as he turns to Cassie and the group.

He then steps onto stage and placed a hand on the stockade. "You all know very well I cannot let you all go punishment free. It will paint a bad image onto my rule and spark many to join the rebellion against me." Kotal Kahn explains.

"Uncle Kotal, I know what we did was bad and we shouldn't have done it, but it wasn't-" Eri started talking when Kung Jin interrupted her. "Kotal Kahn, the fire that burns the sun, we're here because we share your concerns about the missing item. We intend no I'll against your rule." Kung Jin explains.

Eri felt worry & concern as she turns to Kotal Kahn. "You may forge words like silver, but your actions betray them. And I do recall an Earthrealm expression: 'there are more honor amongst thieves than diplomats'." Kotal Kahn says.

"I've had the questionable fortune to be both, Emperor. But I'm telling you the truth." Kung Jin says. Kotal Kahn doesn't appear to be moved by this. "Your pleads don't hold enough words, but you all shall not die. Instead, you will be sentenced to imprisonment." He says.

"Kotal Kahn! Under Outworld Law, I claim the right of Defense by Kombat." Kung Jin says, shocking Eri & confusing the group. "What?" Takeda questions. "You're gonna fight a duel?" Jacqui asks.

"To absolve us of all accusations. Denying the request brings dishonor upon the accuser." Kung Jin says as Kotal Kahn raised a brow at this. "You know much of Outworld, archer." He says as he steps down from the stage. "Know also: the duel ends in death." D'Vorah says as Kung Jin & Kotal Kahn takes their places.

"You have won know. Merely a few more seconds of freedom." He says as he & Kung Jin battle. Kotal Kahn's many years of combat experience and self recovery abilities when basking in the sunlight made him difficult to handle. But Kung Jim's speed won him the match.

"And now, Emperor?" Kung Jin asks as Kotal Kahn recovers. "The charges against you are void! I say to all that Earthrealm means Outworld no harm!" He announces as he gets on his knees. "Now kill me. Be done with it." He says as he awaits his execution.

"Jin, if you even think, i'll-" Eri starts saying with anger, but Kung Jin stops her and approaches Kotal Kahn. "Instead of your life. I claim your services. Together, we can retrieve the amulet from Reiko faster if we work together." He says as he extends a hand out to Kotal Kahn.

He accepts the hand as Kung Jin helps him onto his feet. "Emperor, they cannot be trusted." D'Vorag says to Kotal Kahn. "D'Vorah, I have long been indebted to them, ever since Oscar freed me from Shang Tsung's Flesh Pits." Kotal Kahn says.

"You honor us, Kotal Kahn. Our gratitude is wide as the ocean." Kung Jin says as Cassie approaches them. "I'll talk with General Blade. Tell her of our progress." Cassie says.

(Here's Chapter 18 done. Since Kung Lao is alive in this, I've decided to shift Kung Jin's path to thievery towards something a bit more......personal to him. Also, I will make a change in a previous chapter, kinda forgot to include the group's changes in both appearances & attires since the 25 Years Time Skip. Anyways, next chapter will be a small portion of Sonya & mostly D'Vorah.)