Later that night in a quarry carved on a mountainous terrain, littered with construction vehicles, On a nearby hill, the Lin Kuei cryomancer Kuai Liang, better known as Sub Zero, lies on his belly overlooking the quarry with a spyglass. His gaze focuses on an underground entrance built into one of the rocky hills of the quarry. Several converted cyborgs are carrying equipment further into the complex.

As Sub Zero continues to observe, a yellow garbed ninja sneaks up behind him. Sensing his approach, Sub Zero looks away from the spyglass and turns around just as the ninja pulls out his ninjato sword. He is unable to do anything more as the faster ninja brings his sword to bear, pointing it in his direction. Sub Zero finally gets a good look at the ninja and his face sags in bemusement.

"Your hearing is failing, Sub Zero." Hanzo says.

"I recognized your footsteps, Hanzo." Sub Zero informs.

The ninja is indeed Hanzo Hasashi, once known as Scorpion, but no longer. Hanzo puts his sword back in its sheath as Sub Zero gets to his feet.

"Where's Sektor? I will not let him threaten my clan again." Hanzo asks.

"The old Cyber Lin Kuei factory was defunct, buried beneath this quarry, until the time disruption. Now, Sektor's returned and reactivated it. He's building an army by processing Lin Kuei warriors kidnapped from my temple." Sub Zero explains.

"I can see why you need me." Hanzo says.

Sub Zero then points to the entrance.

"We could enter through that tunnel, but a frontal assault would be..." Sub Zero says before being cut off.

"Bloody." Hanzo says.

"...needlessly dangerous." Sub Zero corrects.

Sub Zero then hands Hanzo his spyglass.

"There's another entrance, less populated." Sub Zero informs.

Hanzo initially looks in the wrong direction, prompting Sub Zero to gently move his sight to the side entrance he refers to.

"And the rest of your plan?" Hanzo asks.

"We get help on the inside." Sub Zero says.

The two Grandmasters look to the quarry and say no more. At the side-entrance, a single Cyber Lin Kuei stands on guard. Sub Zero and Scorpion sneak up behind it and stab it repeatedly, Scorpion with his kunai, Sub Zero with a constructed ice dagger. Once the multiple stabbings bring the cyborg to its knees, the Grandmasters finish the job by simultaneously stabbing the cyborg through the joints connecting its neck to its shoulders. With the guard dead, Sub Zero and Scorpion run down the entrance way into the complex.

Inside the factory itself, Sub Zero and Scorpion enter a large room and take in the spectacle before them. Sub Zero's eyes widen as he glances over machinery designed to convert living humans into cybernetic monstrosities. He walks past human heads stuffed into glass tubes and sealed in an unknown liquid.

Under his feet are bloodied corpses with their skin flayed off their bodies. He spots a badge covered in blood and bends down to pick it up. Despair sets on his face as he realises the badge is one of the Lin Kuei's, meaning the corpses around him are of his own clan. Hanzo puts a reassuring hand on Kuai Liang's shoulder.

"We'll avenge your clan." Hanzo assures.

A whirring sound then catches the Grandmasters' attention and they run for cover as the doors behind them open. Two new figures enter the room. The first is a cyborg covered with a yellow paint job, and the second is the hooded woman seen at Kronika's side. The woman is carrying a vial of Jinsei, which she puts into one of the machines in the room.

As she does so, a nearby buzzsaw comes to life and starts bisecting a body strapped to a circular operating table. Another buzzsaw chops the head off a flayed corpse, and another device brings forth an unactivated cyborg body. Both the Grandmasters observe this process, looking toward the yellow cyborg.

"Cyrax is your inside man?" Hanzo asks.

"He was converted against his will. If we disable the behaviour inhibitors that control him..." Sub Zero says before being cut off.

"...He will turn on Sektor." Hanzo says.

"All Cyber Lin Kuei are linked to a common network. Cyrax can shut them down from within." Sub Zero explains.

"Who is the woman?" Hanzo asks.

"I don't know. Focus on disabling Cyrax. He's the key." Sub Zero says.

As they walk, Cyrax looks over to the woman.

"We require additional candidates for cyberization." Cyrax informs.

"Once delivered, how long before the next generation is ready?" The woman asks.

Just as she finishes her sentence, she is blasted in the back by an ice ball from Sub Zero and frozen solid. As the Lin Kuei Grandmaster finishes a slide and strides forth, Cyrax charges in to attack. But before he can get close, Scorpion teleports in from behind and grapples Cyrax in a full nelson hold.

As Hanzo struggles with Cyrax, the ice surrounding the unknown woman cracks and she breaks free. Her hooded garment is destroyed in the process, revealing that she is in fact a cyborg as well. She turns to face Sub-Zero, who's face narrows in disgust.

"Frost." Sub Zero realizes.

Frost generates some ice magic of her own and blasts the ground near Hanzo's feet, forcing him to let go of Cyrax. As Hanzo regroups, Sub Zero approaches Frost.

"I gave you a home. I was your mentor. Yet after all this, you ally with Sektor? He corrupted the Lin Kuei!" Sub Zero says.

"YOU corrupted our clan when you made peace with this Shirai Ryu filth! With Kronika's help, I will restore the Lin Kuei's honor." Frost informs.

"Keep Cyrax alive. We need him." Sub Zero says.

As Scorpion walks off to the side, Sub Zero walks toward his now former pupil.

"There is no future in which you are fit to lead the Lin Kuei." Sub Zero informs.

"You always doubted me, Sub Zero. Held me back. Kronika sees my true potential." Frost says.

They then fight. Frost displays not only a frightening control over her latent ice powers, but entirely new abilities as a result of her cybernetic upgrades. She is stronger and faster than ever before. But Sub Zero's experience and power proves to be more than Frost can handle, and she is soon defeated by her master.

"You deceive yourself, Frost." Sub Zero says.

Scorpion blocks multiple strikes from Cyrax and hits a double palm blow that forces him back. Cyrax readies his buzzsaw gauntlet and swipes, narrowly missing Hanzo's neck. The Shirai Ryu Grandmaster evades two more swipes before hitting a second double palm blow that sends Cyrax staggering. Cyrax quickly recovers just as Frost stands up again.

"Help Cyrax. I'll discipline your former pupil." Hanzo says.

As Sub Zero walks off to the side, Scorpion strides towards Frost.

"I should have killed you the day Sub Zero invited you to our temple." Frost says.

"You tried and failed." Hanzo points out.

"Not this time. Now... you die." Frost says.

They then fight. Frost's ice powers have only been magnified by her cybernetic upgrades, and they make her faster and stronger than she was when she first faced Hanzo at the Lin Kuei temple. But Hanzo's control over hellfire is a natural counter to her cryomancy, and despite her best efforts Frost is once again defeated by Scorpion.

"Sub Zero can decide your fate." Hanzo says.

Sub Zero blocks several strikes from Cyrax, but is forced to backpedal when the cyborg swings his buzzsaw hand out. Sub Zero blocks a right hook and punches Cyrax in the gut, lands a follow up punch to his face and a roundhouse kick that sends the cyborg staggering.

Cyrax rights himself and faces down the two Grandmasters. Behind him, several more cyber Lin Kuei, all in white armor as opposed to Cyrax's gold, activate and jump down from their restraints.

"The upgrade, Cyrax. Is this Kronika's doing?" Sub Zero asks.

"To better serve her, Sub Zero. We defend Kronika as she rewrites history." Cyrax explains.

The cybernetic Lin Kuei advances toward Sub Zero and Scorpion. Both men ready themselves.

"So you're nothing but pawns?" Hanzo asks.

"We act to secure the Lin Kuei's glory in the New Era." Cyrax says.

"Take the others." Sub Zero says.

As Sub Zero walks off to face down Cyrax, Scorpion charges the other cyber assassins. The nearest one steps into a fighting stance, but Hanzo teleports behind it and slams into the cyborg on its left with a flying kick, instantly disabling it. Scorpion teleports again, this time to the other side. He sweeps another cyborg and disables it with a fist to the chest.

Again he teleports, this time judo-throwing the first cyborg to the ground. He punches it in the cranium to disable it, teleports again and takes out a fourth cyborg by swiping his chained kunai twice across its chest. He then throws the kunai at a fifth cyborg, embedding the weapon in its chest.

"COME 'ERE!" Hanzo yells as he pulls on the chain, hauling the cyborg across the room and into the final cyborg, taking them both out.

He then teleports away in a flash of hellfire to see off any reinforcements. During this time, Sub-Zero and Cyrax approach one another.

"You've been enslaved, Cyrax. First by Sektor, now by Kronika. It ends today." Sub Zero says.

They then fight. Cyrax's cybernetic upgrades and his formidable arsenal would be more than a match for any normal human, but Sub Zero has beaten him before, and he has only grown in strength and power since then. Taking care not to cause too much damage, Kuai Liang Soon overpowers his ex-comrade and defeats him. Scorpion rejoins him just as the fight draws to a close.

"You will be freed." Sub Zero assures.

Cyrax rises again and more cyber Lin Kuei appears to confront the grandmasters.

"I'll deal with Cyrax." Hanzo says.

As Scorpion walks off toward Cyrax, Sub Zero generates ice from the water vapour in the air around him. After gathering it close into his hands, he extends his palms toward the cybernetic assassins. The ice pours out like a blizzard and all of the cyborgs are instantly frozen solid.

During this time, Scorpion and Cyrax face each other down.

"You will be forced to serve." Cyrax says.

"I've been down that road, Cyrax. Never again." Hanzo replies.

They then fight. While Cyrax's skill as an assassin and his lethal weapons are only amplified by his cybernetic upgrades, Scorpion's power over hellfire and his skill in battle remain unmatched. Using as minimal force as possible, Hanzo Hasashi manages to overcome Cyrax's assault and leave him defeated on the ground.

"No one should be a slave." Hanzo says.

The two Grandmasters then approach Cyrax's beaten form. Sub Zero generates more ice from the air and uses it to weaken part of Cyrax's back armor. He pulls a section of metal off, exposing the circuitry below.

"Hurry, before we face more Cyber Lin Kuei." Hanzo urges.

"He'll need a moment to initialise." Sub Zero informs.

Sub Zero fiddles with the circuitry. After a moment, Cyrax's eyes light back up. Suddenly, Scorpion is struck from behind by a flash of dark magic. The magic dissipates as quickly as it formed, leaving no visible sign that it was ever there. Sub Zero and Scorpion look around, falsely presuming they are dealing with an invisible opponent.

"Sektor? Show yourself!" Sub Zero demands.

Instead of Sektor, a new figure teleports in front of them with another swirl of dark magic. Kuai Liang recoils in surprise, but steels himself at the sight before him. It is his brother, the man once known as Bi-Han and Sub Zero before him, but now known only as the wraith Noob Saibot.

"Recognise me, little brother?" Noob Saibot asks.

"Bi-Han?!" Sub Zero asks, suprised.

"Yes. It is I." Noob Saibot replies.

"You were killed - swallowed in a storm of souls." Hanzo says.

"Quan Chi's creations do not die easily. Kronika offers me a new clan to lead." Noob Saibot informs.

He then shifts into a fighting stance. A shadow clone of himself jumps out of his body to his side, standing in the same stance.

"Its shadow will darken the realms." Noob Saibot says.

Scorpion and Sub Zero both jump into fighting stances as well, with Sub Zero preparing another ice ball.

Sub Zero breaks off his ice attack.

"Leave Bi-Han to me." Sub Zero says.

As Scorpion moves to side to check over Cyrax, Kuai Liang walks toward his brother.

"You always mimicked me. But you make a poor Grandmaster." Noob Saibot says.

"I uphold the Lin Kuei principles I thought you shared." Sub Zero says.

They then fight. Since his death, Bi-Han's dark powers have continued to grow stronger, but Kuai Liang's own powers were always stronger than his. After an intense exchange, it is the younger and current Sub Zero who emerges victorious.

"We share blood. We are not brothers." Sub Zero says.

Noob Saibot then rises again, ready for round two.

"I've beaten your brother before." Hanzo says.

Sub Zero moves off to the side to watch over Cyrax as Scorpion steps forward and prepares his kunai.

"Quan Chi unleashed your vengeance. Without him? You are weak." Noob Saibot says.

They then fight. Bi-Han may have gained immense new powers following his death and enslavement by Quan Chi, but he is facing the man who overcame and destroyed the Netherrealm sorcerer. Hanzo Hasashi's skills and experience in battle gives him the edge in the fight, and eventually victory.

"My strength is more than vengeance." Hanzo informs.

By the time the fight has finished, Cyrax awakens and begins to pull himself back to his feet. He gratefully takes a helping hand up from Sub Zero, and as he stands he takes a look at his robotic hands, realising what has happened to him.

"No! He ripped out my heart, made me a machine..." Cyrax realizes.

"Your soul is intact, Cyrax. Trust me, I speak from experience." Sub Zero says.

"Kuai Liang, is that you? You look so old." Cyrax says before he then looks over at the man who walks over to Sub Zero. "And... Scorpion?" Cyrax asks in confusion.

"We'll explain later. For now, know that we share the same goal: the Cyber Lin Kuei's destruction." Hanzo says.

"We need your help, Cyrax." Sub Zero says.

"I can disable their communications network. It'll shut down this factory and every Cyber Lin Kuei connected to it." Cyrax explains.

Across the room from them, a multitude of missiles are launched, homing in at a rapid speed in their direction. Moments before impact, Cyrax fires out his digitized trapping net, which catches the missiles and detonates them before they can wipe out the threesome.

There is no mistaking who fired the missiles. Sub Zero and Scorpion get into fighting stances, while Cyrax merely stares down the robotic nemesis walking into the room. His cyborg form is coloured dark red, and he retains his higher thoughts, twisted as they are by his methods.

"Frost warned me that you two had become allies. I did not think you capable of such dishonour, Sub Zero." Sektor says.

"Aid Cyrax. Sektor is mine." Sub Zero says.

Scorpion then motions to Cyrax and they run off to one side. Sektor shoots out a blast of flames from his wrist gauntlet, but Sub Zero shoots a ray of ice that solidifies into a miniature glacier when it contacts the flames. After a few moments, the flames absorbed by the ice cause it to explode outwards, almost causing Sub Zero to stagger, but he quickly faces Sektor once more.

"I've taken your head once, Sektor. I will do it again." Sub Zero says.

"The past you know is no longer set. The Cyber Lin Kuei will usher in Kronika's New Era." Sektor says.

They then fight. Sektor remains as deadly as he ever was when Sub Zero faced him in the past, with his numerous gadgets and weapons only enhanced by his cybernetic augmentations. But it is still not enough to overcome the cryomantic strength of Sub Zero, who once again is able to defeat his nemesis.

"The Cyber Lin Kuei are finished." Sub Zero says.

Sektor then returns to his feet, readying another dose of flames and rockets.

"I'll stop Sektor. Help Cyrax." Hanzo says.

Sub Zero and Cyrax both move off to one side. Sektor then shoots out a blast of flames from his wrist gauntlet, and in response Scorpion merely flexes his arms and takes the blast full on his chest. After a good five seconds, it becomes clear that Sektor's fire has no effect on a man who can control the fires of Hell itself. Nonetheless, the cyborg still keeps at it.

"You started this fire. Selling out your clan so Quan Chi would slaughter mine." Hanzo says.

At these words, Sektor finally stops the barrage and prepares to fight conventionally.

"He should have killed you as he promised. Now I finish what he could not." Sektor says.

They then fight. Even with his cybernetic upgrades and abilities, Sektor is no match for the skill, speed and powers of Hanzo Hasashi. Fighting with a fury not seen since he killed Quan Chi, Scorpion leaves Sektor a broken mess on the ground before him.

"For Harumi and Satoshi." Hanzo says.

With Sektor defeated, Cyrax places his hand on a computer interface. The scanner quickly grants him access.

"I'm in. I'll reformat the system drives and shut us all down." Cyrax informs as he takes his hand off the interface and looks to Sub Zero. "Goodbye, Kuai Liang." Cyrax says.

"It is not the end. I will find a way to restore you. Anything is possible. Hanzo and I are living proof." Sub Zero assures.

"Please, don't bring me back as a machine. I can't live like this." Cyrax says.

"Machine or man, you have a warrior's soul. As long as I am Grandmaster, the Lin Kuei will welcome you." Sub Zero assures.

"Then until we meet again." Cyrax says as they then shake hands.

Cyrax then walks over to a section of the wall and tears it off, exposing several large wires. He grabs two and rips them apart. Immediately, warning lights flash throughout the complex and Cyrax falls to the floor, his cybernetic body sparking and falling non-responsive. Electricity sparks shower throughout the rest of the facility.

In the confusion, Frost runs over to Noob Saibot, who is kneeling over Sektor's unresponsive form. The three of them are engulfed by one of Kronika's sand tornados and teleported from the facility.

"They've escaped! We should pursue." Hanzo suggests.

"First we speak with Raiden." Sub Zero says.

As the facility continues to shut down, both Grandmasters look down on Cyrax's motionless form, saying nothing more.

Inside of Kronika's Keep, three figures stride down one of its passageways, Geras, Kano and Erron Black.

"Our lady Kronika'll get all the service she needs. But I can't quote a fee until I know the job." Younger Kano says.

"You will see." Geras says.

They then enter a room with Sektor's body on a table.

"Can you restore him?" Geras asks.

Kano looks over Sektor, using his metallic eye to shoot out infrared rays and scan the cyborg's inner workings. Several areas of Sektor appear on a nearby monitor showing damage in multiple areas.

"There's some frame damage, circuitry looks good." Younger Kano says before he!deactivates the eye scanner. "But it looks like someone did a software wipe. Fixing that won't come cheap." Younger Kano informs.

"Once he is repaired, can he be replicated? Hundreds of times? Thousands?" Geras asks.

Kano and Erron exchange looks, then lean toward each other to converse.

"That's a tall order." Younger Erron Black says.

"But anything's possible, with the right help." Younger Kano says.

"Serve Kronika and she will provide." Geras offers.

Another voice then cuts into the conversation.

"Take the deal. Trust me." The voice says. The voice is all too familiar, and the man who walks into the room is none other than Kano, looking twenty-five years older but every bit as rugged and malicious as his younger self.

"Otherwise, who can you trust?" Kano says.

Young Kano walks over to his future namesake, and both leaders of the Black Dragon admirably size each other up.

"You weren't kidding. S'like a mirror, reflecting the past." Kano says.

"How about that? Over fifty and still a ripper." Younger Kano says as he punches his older self on the shoulder, which is not even felt by the elder.

Erron then coughs loudly before the two Kanos can get any more intimate.

"There's still the matter of our fee." Younger Erron Black points out.

"We get paid in the New Era. Kronika'll make sure the Black Dragon come out on top. Not only in the black market... in every market." Kano explains.

"Right then. Let's get to business." Younger Kano says.

Meanwhile at the Special Forces headquarters, Sonya is chatting with Jax over cups of coffee. Nearby, Jacqui is typing on a communications device. On the screen, the device displays "Calling Dad" over a picture of Jacqui and her father, the elder Jackson Briggs. The call is then interrupted with a red bar displaying "Call Failed". Jacqui ends the call, looking concerned and agitated at not being able to reach her father. The older Johnny Cage walks over to her.

"Reach your dad yet, kid?" Johnny asks.

"The network's still down. I hate being so far away. Dad must be climbing the walls." Jacqui says.

"Be patient. You'll get through." Johnny assures.

They both then look over to the younger Jax.

"I know my dad's still alive, but... it's like I'm seeing a ghost." Jacqui says.

"You and me both. But they aren't ghosts. Oh... they're definitely real." Johnny points out.

"Can this get any more bizarre?" Jacqui asks.

At a farm in the countryside, amidst the sunset of autumn, the name "BRIGGS" is displayed on a nearby postbox, which is full to the brim with unopened mail. Behind it is a house that is in need of some paint work.

Inside the hallway of the house, on the walls are pictures of a young Jax in his military uniform, an older Jax posing with his daughter, then two separate pictures of Jax and Jacqui wearing boxing gloves in fighting stances.

As more pictures of Jacqui as a child posing next to her father appear, along with a child's drawing of Jax pounding the ground to send the sorcerer Quan Chi into the air, sounds of kitchen objects can be heard being moved around. Two more pictures of Jax and Jacqui in full military dress with an American flag draped behind them can be seen, along with one final picture of Jacqui as a child, her arms around her father's neck (and holding a cuddly toy dog with shades and a beret).

With this last picture, the elder Jackson Briggs can be seen, frantically searching a nearby desk, before slamming it shut in frustration. He walks over to his refrigerator and hauls it up effortlessly with one hand, feeling under it with the other but finding nothing.

"Oh, come on, damn it!" Jax says.

He lifts up the seat of his armchair, finding nothing once more, then turns to some papers on another desk. He quickly moves them apart and locates an identical communicator to the one Jacqui had earlier. He activates it at once.

"Come on, come on..." Jax says.

On the screen, the device displays "Calling Jacqui" over the picture of child Jacqui with her arms around her father seen earlier. The call is interrupted with a red circle which displays the words "Connection Failed" beneath it.

Jax begins to shake in nervous anxiety. Frustrated, he hurls the device across the room and sits down in his armchair. Far from relaxing though, he leans forward and puts his head in his hands, falling into despair.

Hours later, Jax has fallen asleep in his chair, a beer in his hand and leftover pizza on a nearby table, the only light is coming from the television across the room flickering with static but showing nothing else.

As he sleeps, the beer slowly tilts from his relaxing hand and begins to fall, spilling its contents toward the floor... until time stops and the bottle's motion with it. With a swirl of sand magic, Kronika teleports into the room and walks toward Jax.

"Jackson Briggs." Kronika greets.

Jax awakens at the sound of his name, but makes no effort to confront the intruder in his house. Kronika looks at him with what appears to be pity and remorse.

"Do not fear. I have come to offer you a new life, a better life." Kronika offers.

"That's awfully generous, seeing as we've never met." Jax says.

"We have not met, but I know you. How valiantly you served, how horribly you have suffered. That was not my plan for you." Kronika says.

"Your plan?" Jax asks.

"You were to retire distinguished, not in disgrace. Years from now, General Jackson Briggs. More importantly, your daughter was not to serve, nor endure the same tragedies you have." Kronika explains.

She then looks at the pictures on the wall.

"Your home should be filled with grandchildren. Help me and it will be." Kronika offers.

Jax looks to her, his face uncertain but pondering the weight of her words.