The heroic warriors were once again travelling through Shao Khan’s caverns in twos. Liu Kang was now accompanied by Princess Kitana after the capture of Sindel. Each duo of warriors was desperately searching the caverns for a way of reaching Skeletor and Khan.
He-Man and Extendar made their way fearlessly down another dark tunnel, the walls covered by a glowing green fungus which gave the only available source of light other than that of He-Man’s power sword, which glowed brightly in his hand.
"I’m beginning to wonder if these tunnels really lead anywhere at all." said Extendar. "We could end up trapped."
"Fear not, Extendar." replied He-Man. "Remember that we guardians of Grayskull can never really lose. I will find us a way out of here."
"But Skeletor probably knows we’re here now. Evil-Lyn will have told him."
"I know- and that is a disadvantage for us, as it means we cannot spring the surprise attack on Skeletor that I would have liked. But we will still find a way to reach him."
"I can never doubt you, He-Man, but it’s sure gonna be hard to get outa here. I doubt if we could even retrace our steps to find that way we came in. We could even be going round in circles for all we know."
"I’m sure we’re not," said He-Man, "my power sword will tell me if we travel the wrong way. At the moment, the glow is very bright, indicating we are heading just the right way."
"Then let’s keep it that way," said Extendar, "I don’t wanna run into troub….."
All of a sudden, secret doors on both sides of the walls were flung open, and from each one came a black-clad ninja.
"You trespass on our caverns- we allow no-one past!" one of them spoke, and they both lunged into battle.
"You take care of that one Extendar- I’ll deal with this guy." said He-Man as one ninja began kicking at him violently.
This ninja seemed pretty confident of victory- but he’d underestimated He-Man’s strength. The several high kicks he delivered barely staggered He-Man, who threw one mighty punch at the ninja, knocking him straight to the ground.
The ninja rose to his feet again. "You’ve made a mistake- I’m no-one to be messed with!" he said, his angry voice muffled by his hood.
"If anyone’s made a mistake here- it’s you!" said He-Man, and kicked the ninja straight in the face, then blasted him with the power sword, before lifting him high above his head.
"No-one who fights for evil should even hope to defeat the power of Grayskull!" he said, and flung the ninja back into the secret tunnel he came out from. The ninja toppled back into a large snakepit, and there came the sound of biting through flesh, ripping of skin as the ninja perished among the poisonous snakes.
Extendar was faring well against the second ninja. Failing to realise Extendar could be anything more than a normal human being, the ninja had been stunned by Extendar’s power to extend his body. When he least expected it, he was punched in the face by Extendar’s fists as they sprung out from his wrists, then kicked across the cavern by Extendar’s feet. Realising he could not possibly defeat the super-powered cyborg, the ninja fled back through the secret tunnel he came out from.
He-Man went up to Extendar. "Now they were no trouble," he said, "though I doubt if Khan will be that easy to deal with. There’s probably a snakepit down there, like there was in the other tunnel."
But they heard not the sound of the snakes biting through flesh, but the sound of footsteps, banging as they ascended iron steps.
"There’s a staircase there!" exclaimed He-Man. "Let’s follow him- the staircase may lead to a way to find Sindel!"
"Right on, He-Man," replied Extendar, "but what about the others? Should we let them know first?"
"If we made them come with us, we may lose out- they may find something interesting in their exploration of the caverns. But make sure this passage stays open, so they can follow us if they find it."
So He-Man and Extendar entered the dark tunnel, and ascended the set of iron stairs which the ninja had climbed. At the top, they found a grand room, richly furnished and elegant. And in the center of the room was a glass dome. Inside the dome was Sindel, and there were bolts of energy encircling her.
"Sindel!" exclaimed He-Man. "What has Skeletor done?"
Sindel only just managed to speak: "He….. is… brainwashing me….. to be… queen of Outworld again….. you must….. save me….."
"Fear not." said He-Man. "I can break this glass dome with the force of my fist!"
He-Man smashed his fist against the glass violently, but he didn’t make a dent. The glass dome still stood in one piece.
"This….. glass is protected….. by Shang Tsung’s magic….. combined with that of….. Skeletor and Evil-Lyn….. it will….. not break."
"Then we must find them straight away before they can brainwash Sindel completely!" said Extendar.
But could they be too late? Sindel was already beginning to look evil….. her eyes were becoming darker, more bloodthirsty. They must act quickly!
"No….. I must….. destroy you! You….. are… my enemy!"
The power died down as the brainwashing spell was completed, and Sindel reached out her fist and smashed the glass! She fixed her eyes upon He-Man’s power sword and smiled evilly but enticingly. Then she let out her penetrating scream, which paralysed both He-Man and Extendar, and she shot a fireball from her mouth at He-Man, and he fell back and dropped the sword of power. Sindel swooped towards it, picked up the sword, then flew off with the precious sword in her clutches.
She had long left the room when He-Man and Extendar had recovered.
"We must go after her!" said Extendar. "Without your sword, we are lost!"
"My thoughts exactly." replied He-Man, and the two warriors ran out of the room to pursue Sindel. They ran through several dark corridors before coming to another large room. Sindel stood there with the sword in her grasp. She was fully evil now. But she was still as beautiful as before.
"Okay, I can’t beat you." she said. "You can have your sword back." she held out the sword, and He-Man and Extendar walked forward to reclaim it.
But they had not realised she was only leading them into a trap! Just as He-Man was about to take the sword from her, the floor below him gave way, and he and Extendar plunged down into a dank, foul-smelling dungeon, where skeletons hung from chains on the wall.
The warriors saw Skeletor appear, with Khan, Evil-Lyn and Shang Tsung at his side.
"Good work, Sindel." he said. "Now He-Man cannot trouble us any longer. We shall dispose of his friends in no time."
Then he looked down at He-Man. "How noble you must feel, you fool. Following your enemy all the way to this realm. Well I can let you know that you have only come here to meet your death. Stay in that dungeon and enjoy it for now, but once the tournament is complete you will suffer the most extreme of all torture and pain."
Then his eyes lit up an angry red. "How you must feel proud of the many times you have sneaked up on me when I am on the verge of victory! Do you not realise that you are dealing with a God? You have been a mere nuisance in my quest for domination of Eternia- and very soon, you will meet the fate you always deserved, you interfering bastard!" He took out his havoc staff and fired a bolt at He-Man, blowing him off his feet for a second. Then he slammed the trapdoor shut, locking He-Man and Extendar in the dungeon, away from light and sound.
Then Skeletor turned back to his fellow warriors. He shook Sindel’s hand. It was rare that the warlord should ever actually express congratulation towards another warrior, but he was so glad that this beautiful woman had trapped his most hated foe ever that he had to show his gratitude.
"I am grateful to you, Queen Sindel." he said. "Once this tournament is done with, and He-Man has perished, I will give you an extra special reward." And he knew that that reward would be to rule by his side. Once he had disposed of Khan, he would complete the brainwashing spell and wipe her of all memory of Khan.
Turning to Evil-Lyn, Khan and Tsung, he said "Now we must find where Blade, Saurod and Ninjor went. We need them to help us destroy the Earth warriors."
"Precisely." replied Khan. "I will find them- along with my ninjas and henchmen, so they can go down into those caverns and destroy those fighters! Then we can give this He-Man what he deserves!"
Skeletor looked forward to torturing He-Man more than anything else. But first, he would gladly watch the slaughtering of the Earth warriors, and make his plans for his future rulership of Outworld.

PART 12: EVIL WARRIORS ATTACK

 
The Earth warriors continued to patrol Khan’s caverns, unaware that He-Man and Extendar were trapped. They searched the dark tunnels for a possible exit, hoping to find a way to lead them to Sindel. But none of them knew that there were other beings in the caverns- searching for them.
Skeletor and Khan’s evil henchmen- Ninjor, Blade, Saurod, Scorpion, Baraka, Reptile and Ermac- stalked the Earth warriors through the caverns.
"We must find Princess Kitana." said Blade to his companions. "She can once again be trapped on Outworld- and this time He-Man will not be in our way."
"Even if I say it myself," replied Baraka, "Kitana is very strong and powerful. She is a match for us all. We must not get her near Sindel- in the last tournament she found a way to break the spell."
"Evil-Lyn says she has a cunning plan to capture the Princess," said Ninjor in his low, quiet voice, "but that is all she says."
"We can trust Evil-Lyn," hissed Saurod, "she rarely ever fails in these attempts."
"Then we shall stalk the other heroes," said Scorpion, "and my hated enemy Sub Zero shall kneel at my feet."
"If I don’t shred him to pieces first!" said Baraka, brandishing his long nails.
"You leave Zero alive." said Scorpion, "and he shall pay at my hands, for betraying his clan and his long dead ancestor!"
"We must kill Kang too-" said Reptile, "it was he who killed the original Sub Zero in his first Mortal Kombat."
"It would be wiser not to take on Kang-" said Ermac, "you know of how he has defeated Tsung and Khan in the past. Let him survive- so he will challenge Skeletor and be ripped to pieces!"
"Hush- I hear a sound." said Reptile. "Someone is approaching."
The evil warriors backed into a crevice, and watched the warriors pass. It was Sonya Blade and Jax.
"I’ve wanted to rip that woman apart for ages." said Baraka.
"Then let her pass," said Blade, "and we shall attack from behind!"
They waited for Sonya and Jax to pass. Neither of them saw the evil fighters hiding in the crevice.
"Let me take the woman!" said Baraka.
"And I’ll deal with the strong man." added Ninjor.
"Then attack!" commanded Blade, and the two warriors- the long-nailed, fang-faced demon and the shadow ninja speeded through the shadows until they reached Sonya and Jax.
Before the warriors could turn around, Baraka slashed Sonya across the neck with his nails. She spun around quickly, then Jax also turned round, failing to notice Ninjor, whose black dogi caused him to blend exactly into the darkness.
"Alright, creep." Sonya said to Baraka. "You want to face me, you got it."
"And you’re pretty stupid to attack alone when I’m here too!" added Jax.
Suddenly, Jax was smashed in the face by an unseen kick!
"Baraka is not alone….." came a voice out of the darkness. "You face Ninjor!"
And with that, Ninjor launched into the air and came down with a flying kick, hitting Jax on the jaw and knocking him to the ground. At the same time, Baraka and Sonya launched into a fierce battle, nails against Sonya’s powerful energy rings.
"I’m not to be defeated that easily!" said Jax as he got to his feet, and fired a double fireball from his bionic arms, hitting Ninjor in the chest. Ninjor responded with a ground roll, sweeping Jax off his feet.
The Kombat raged between the long-nailed beast and the warrior woman, and the shadow ninja and the bionic soldier. The other evil warriors watched unseen from the crevice in the wall, silently cheering their companions on.
Eventually, Baraka’s nails proved a match for Sonya- he threw himself on top of her and scraped her down the chest, producing a deep, bloody gash.
Sonya was unafraid, but she knew she risked death. Luckily, Jax noticed what Baraka was doing, and turned away from his fight to help- but when he wasn’t looking, Ninjor threw a high kick at him and Jax went flying across the cavern.
Blade emerged from the crevice. "Finish her!" he shouted to Baraka. Baraka lifted his nails, ready to perform his classic decapitation fatality. This was surely the end for Sonya…..
Not on your life! The other Earth warriors rushed into the cavern out of the blackness, having heard the sounds of battle.
"Away from her!" screamed Liu Kang, and threw a fireball at Baraka, knocking him away from Sonya.
"We’ll deal with these guys in no time!" said Sub Zero, preparing for battle.
"There are more of us than you think." said Blade, and the other evil fighters emerged from the crevice to face the Earth warriors.
"FIGHT!" Blade commanded, and the evil warriors launched into a vicious battle against their enemies. Sonya began throwing her energy rings at Baraka to keep him away- but she knew something was wrong. After stunning Baraka with a nine-hit combo, she took a glance around at the other warriors around her. And then she realised what was wrong- He-Man and Extendar were not there.
"Where’s He-Man?" she called out.
"He probably just hasn’t heard!" replied Sub Zero.
"Or he’s in danger." said Kitana. She turned back to her opponent, Ermac. "What have you done with He-Man?" she asked.
"That’s for us to know and you to find out!" Ermac replied, unleashing his mighty fireball at her.
Angrily, Kitana picked up Ermac and threw him violently against the wall. And as his body hit the wall, a secret door swung aside. It led into a long tunnel- with a spark of light at the end.
"That could be a way out!" said Jax. "Let’s follow it- it could lead us to Sindel!"
Suddenly a voice rang out from the tunnel. It was Sindel’s voice.
"Kitana….. help me! I am trapped here!"
"What a stroke of luck!" said Jax. "She is down there!"
"And she’s not evil yet either!" said Kang. "Let’s follow this tunnel!"
The Earth warriors all ran down the tunnel, forgetting the evil minions as they pursued them. Beating them was no longer important- first they must rescue Sindel.
They came to the end of the tunnel, which led out onto the shores of Outworld. Sindel was trapped in chains by the exit, looking weak and worn out.
"And it leads outside!" said Sub Zero. "Once we’ve rescued her, we’re out of this place!"
"I’ll get you free, mother." said Kitana, and stepped towards Sindel, unlocking the chains and releasing her.
"You’re free now, mother." she said. "You’re safe now."
"Thank you….." Sindel said weakly, "thank you for….. helping us out!" her voice changed dramatically, then her form changed, and she became the evil warrior goddess, Evil-Lyn.
"It was you all along!" exclaimed Jax.
"How observant, you fool." answered Evil-Lyn. Then she grabbed Kitana by the wrists tightly, and unleashed her force field on her. Kitana was instantly paralysed.
"Now we have both the captives we desire!" she said, "and you stand no chance of winning!" The evil warriors appeared behind their enemies, looking triumphant and victorious.
"And don’t say that He-Man will save you," continued Evil-Lyn, "as the great He-Man is in our clutches too!" Then she stepped aside and held her arms out, and said "Step outside, Earth warriors, and await your fate! And dare not try to attack me, as I will paralyse you too!"
Boldly, the earth warriors stepped out of the cave, and looked up onto the rocks over the shore. A huge thunderstorm roared violently in the dark sky, and lightning crackled strikingly through the air.
Standing high on the rocks was Shao Khan, accompanied by Skeletor, Shang Tsung, and Sindel- now clearly brainwashed!
"Mother!" Kitana called out from Evil-Lyn’s force field.
"Traitor!" answered Sindel. "How can you have dared turn against the great Shao Khan?"
It was no use trying to persuade her now. She was back on Khan’s side, and there was no stopping that.
"Victory is mine!" declared Khan. "The great saviour He-Man is trapped, along with his cyborg friend. There is no-one to save you now. You should surrender! But, of course you weak, pathetic fools will refuse to surrender to me as long as you live. So why don’t you challenge Skeletor! My supreme champion, who earlier today wiped out a whole group of warriors with one energy bolt! Challenge him, and meet your fate! You might as well die trying to save your world!"
The Earth warriors looked at one another. Now it really did look as though Khan had won. Liu Kang knew he could defeat Khan again, but would Skeletor prove a match for him?
They all knew they must continue the fight. First they must wipe out the other warriors from Outworld and Eternia.
"No matter what you say, Khan," shouted Kang, "we will still fight for justice!"
"Then fight for justice!" answered Khan. "Defeat this lot!"
And in answer, a whole host of Khan’s extermination squads came charging over the rocks, weapons at the ready!

PART 13: RAYDEN TO THE RESCUE

The extermination squads charged down over the rocks, brandishing their powerful weapons.
"It’s the same warriors who disfigured me." said Kabal, and, brandishing his spears, said "They will pay for what they did."
But Liu Kang looked worried. This was not how the tournament should be. In the past, it had always been one warrior against another- but this time, Khan was sending a whole army after them! And the Earth warriors were outnumbered by millions- there was no way they could defeat them. Sonya was already badly injured enough by the wounds inflicted by Baraka.
"This is not a fair fight, Khan!" Liu Kang called up to the Emperor. "You know this army will eliminate us within seconds- but the tournament should not be about whole armies fighting. Play fairly!"
"Why play fairly when I can destroy you all this easily!" sneered Khan. The extermination squads charged into battle, joined by the evil warriors who had pursued the Earth fighters in the tunnel. The Earth warriors launched themselves into battle, even though they knew they could never defeat so many warriors. Liu Kang knew he had to give in, and join the fight. He would have to face this army, ready to meet his death and watch his world from the heavens being consumed by Khan’s evil, and watch Kitana once again fall prey to Shao Khan.
He was just about to launch into battle, when suddenly the crackle of electricity filled the air, and the electric energy formed itself into the shape of Rayden. Rayden held up his hands and called a stop to the fighting.
The extermination squads ceased action on the call of Rayden.
"This is the worst I’ve seen you yet, Khan." Rayden said. "I thought it was bad enough when you started that tournament after Shang Tsung’s defeat in what was supposed to be the last tournament….. but this is your worst move yet. Call this a tournament? When you send your entire army after only seven warriors? I’d hardly call that a fair fight. This tournament is a disgrace- rather like you. I order you to disband these warriors at once!"
"You ridiculous fool, Rayden." replied Khan. "There’s nothing that these fighters deserve more than torture amongst my extermination squads!"
"And you were the bastard who told He-Man I was here!" added Skeletor angrily.
"Surely you’d know by now that you can never escape from the fighters of justice, Skeletor." replied Rayden. "I don’t know what you thought you were doing coming here in the first place!"
"You complete fool!" shouted Skeletor. "You must think you’re so clever, sending He-Man after me. But your move only payed off badly- He-Man is my prisoner! And how I would like it if you could join him!" With that, he fired a bolt of energy from his havoc staff at Rayden. But Rayden dodged aside, and it hit Scorpion instead. The ninja took a step back, yelled in pain and clutched his side.
"You’re no threat to me, Skeletor." said Rayden. "But if Khan won’t disband this army, I will."
"How can you break them up?" laughed Khan. "They will never obey an idiot like you!"
"I do not intend to make them disband by words." replied Rayden, and he spread out his arms and threw rapid bolts of electricity all around him, scattering the extermination squads about in all directions, sending some of them fleeing across the shore, others rushing terrified up the rocks to their master.
"Now they’re no match for my warriors." said Rayden. "I know you will only try to attack again, so I will teleport these warriors to a place of safety. But don’t for a moment think we’re gone for good- we’ll be back to find wherever you put Kitana!"
With that, he spread out his arms, and the whole band of warriors vanished in a cloud of electrical energy.
They emerged inside a small cove by the shore, overshadowed by a large rocky cliff above. Sonya was seriously wounded, and collapsed in a heap on the ground, her chest bleeding badly.
"Will she die?" asked Kang.
"I don’t think so." said Rayden. "Just make sure she rests, and let her recover." he ran his hand over the deep gash in her chest, from which the blood seeped, staining the sand of the shore and sparkling in the moonlight.
The other warriors gazed out onto the sea as it calmed down after Khan’s thunderstorm. The terrifying flashback crawled back into Liu Kang’s mind….. the dream he had had on the night of his brother’s murder….. as Shang Tsung battled with his brother in the temple of light, and as he killed him, shouted "Your brother’s soul is mine! You will be next!"
Since then, of course, Kang had defeated Tsung and Khan twice….. but could it all be over now? Sonya was too injured to fight, someone would have to look after her, and Khan had brainwashed Sindel again and now captured Kitana….. and he had those terrifying warriors from Eternia on his side….. while the only possible saviours of good, He-Man and Extendar, were imprisoned. Was all lost?
Kang wasn’t too worried about Khan- his main concern was Skeletor. Kang knew he could still defeat Khan, but perhaps Skeletor would be more powerful and would wipe him out?
Kang turned to Rayden. "Is all lost now?" he asked.
"All is never lost." replied Rayden. "As long as we still maintain our fighting spirit, we still have the chance of defeating Khan, however slim it may seem. Remember, He-Man may have been captured, but he is still alive, and from what I know of He-Man, a trap can never hold him for long. And not only has He-Man defeated Skeletor many times, but if he were to come face to face with Khan he would smash him to the other side of the universe. So we need to free He-Man and Extendar, and also find where Khan is keeping Kitana. It is unlikely that he would brainwash her like he did with Sindel- he would be more likely to simply torture her and use her as a slave."
Kang rose to his feet. "Then I must find Kitana at once, and see if I can rescue He-Man too! Once we have them free, He-Man can challenge Skeletor. After all, that was the only reason he led us into the caverns in the first place- so he could find Skeletor!"
"Perhaps it would be wiser to rest first." said Rayden, "and you can regain your strength."
"There is no time for resting." said Kang. "Every moment lost is a moment for Khan to become more powerful- perhaps he will even kill He-Man and claim his soul- and then he would be unstoppable! I must go now- and try my best to find the captives and free them!"
With that, he sprang off along the rocks, and was quickly lost from view.
"May the Gods protect him." said Rayden solemnly, proud of the young fighter.
Then he turned to the others. "And what will you do?" he asked.
"I agree with Kang that we shouldn’t waste any time." said Stryker. "So while he rescues Kitana and He-Man, I’m gonna challenge Blade and all those henchmen. Defeating them will make it a hell of a lot easier!" He took out his gun and got to his feet.
"If you’re going- I’m going too!" said Smoke, his slow, electronic voice suddenly becoming all fast and aggressive. "Perhaps I’ll be able to persuade someone to give me a new body!"
"You’re not going without me, Smoke." said Sub Zero.
"Or me for that matter!" added Kabal. He drew his spears, and the four warriors all prepared themselves for Kombat.
"I wish you luck!" said Rayden. "Jax- I think you should stay here and help Sonya to recover. It is unlikely the evil forces will find you here, but if they do, I’m sure you can deal with them."
"I sure can, Rayden." answered Jax. "You can bet on me!"
"I shall leave now," announced Rayden, "but remember- I will be with you whenever you need me!" The electricity crackled around him, and teleported him away.
"Good luck, you guys." said Jax to Stryker, Smoke, Sub Zero and Kabal. "I hope you thrash those bad guys."
"We’ll deal with them in no time!" said Sub Zero. "Now let’s go!" The four warriors made their way along the rocks, all fully eager and determined to challenge evil and rid the Outworld of its mad, dangerous and corrupted ruler, Shao Khan.

PART 14: THE ESCAPE

Throughout the dark regions of Outworld, thousands of warriors were slaughtered by the evil warriors. Absolutely none of the fighters who dared challenge Skeletor lived to speak of the experience. And the brainwashed Sindel, along with Shang Tsung, Evil-Lyn and the rest of the evil warriors ripped all the fighters who challenged them to shreds.
Skeletor had been approached by another ninja from another dimension in the hall of the Soul Chamber. Like most of the others, this ninja had virtually no skill. His battle techniques consisted merely of simple punches and kicks which didn’t even stagger the great warlord.
"You fool." he said, looking down pitifully on the ninja. "Did you really think you could win against Skeletor?"
"I am the greatest ninja in the universe! Call yourself a warrior?"
Mockingly, Skeletor answered "If you’re that confident, come and get me."
The ninja ran up to him and kneed him in the chest. Skeletor did not even react. He felt absolutely no pain.
"To defeat me, you need the most extreme of strength. And so simple attacks like that are no use! I feel insulted that you should think I would fall at such feeble attacks! You have incurred the wrath of Skeletor!"
With that, he fired a bolt from his eyes at the ninja, paralysing him. Then he launched himself forward, and punched the ninja in the face, following with a high kick and a blast from the havoc staff! The ninja lay motionless for a few seconds, but then he arose and began to move towards Skeletor again. Skeletor summoned all the evil power in his body, and let it emerge through his hands as the ninja ran towards him. His hands began to glow yellow, and burn with fury. Skeletor let the power build up, then once the ninja reached him, he unleashed the power, in the form of a blazing fireball, which blew the ninja to the other side of the hall in intense agony. The ninja lay screaming on the ground. He was defeated.
"FINISH HIM!" shouted Khan, stepping into the hall.
Skeletor walked up to the ninja’s fallen body, banging his havoc staff on the ground, shaking the whole room. Then he fired a bolt of energy from his fingertips, which spread over the ninja’s entire body, and began to eat away at his skin. The skin peeled off bit by bit, revealing the bones, which in turn began to crumble into a heap of ash on the ground.
"FATALITY." announced Khan, and the ninja’s soul began to rise from the ashes as a screaming spirit, entering Khan’s body, becoming a part of him.
"His soul is mine." said Khan. "And with every soul I claim, I become even more powerful."
Still not as powerful as me, thought Skeletor. That was another down- now it would not be long to go before he challenged Khan himself.
"I wonder where that fool Rayden teleported those weak warriors." sneered Khan. "We have not seen them yet. Perhaps they have seen sense and given up."
"Even if they return, they have no chance." said Skeletor. "And once they are down, I will kill He-Man using an even worse fatality….. one that he deserves after all the torment he has caused me! I cannot wait to kill that heroic bastard."
"Liu Kang shall also perish." said Khan. "He has probably realised by now what a pathetic fighter he really is. He will feel like just some lucky fool once this tournament is over- before I kill him."
"We have both suffered because of heroic fools." said Skeletor, "and my genius has never deserved this. But soon the tables will be turned….. in favor of evil."
"You have not won yet, Skeletor!" came a voice from the other side of the hall. It was Kitana, who Khan had trapped in a cage by the wall, which pulsated with evil energy, preventing her from using her powers to escape.
"Have we not won?" said Khan, walking up to the cage. "You cannot do anything now, while you remain trapped in there. You have betrayed me seriously, Kitana, having the nerve to leave Outworld for that idiot Kang. Once this tournament is over, you will suffer the penalty- and I think at your mother’s hands would be ideal!"
"Remember, I unleashed Sindel from the spell last time, Khan- I can do it again! Once I’m out of this cage, I’m free to act again!" She gripped the bars of the cage and shook them in fury.
"Then I shall make sure your power is fully drained!" Khan said, and turning to Skeletor, added "Let’s see how our other warriors are faring."
Kitana watched from her cage as the Emperor of Outworld and the Lord of destruction left the hall to go in search of their warriors. She knew she was not trapped in Khan’s clutches for good- she was just too powerful. If only this was a normal cage, so she could find some way of breaking through!
Just then, she heard a creaking from across the room. She looked around, and saw that the hidden entrance to the caves was opening slowly. Was this friend or foe? She waited anxiously as the door continued to creak open…..
And out leapt Liu Kang, looking determined and aggressive. He saw her at once, and ran towards the cage.
"Kitana! How can Khan actually believe he can hold on to you? I’ll get you free!"
"Hold on Liu- the evil energy in this cage prevents me from using my powers- so I can’t get free myself, and I doubt if you’d be able to break through either!"
"Maybe not." replied Liu Kang. "Not in this form anyway- but my animality should be able to do it!"
He flexed his muscles, and called upon all his inner power. A glowing sphere of light surrounded him, and his body changed shape, morphing into the huge, powerful Mortal Kombat dragon, which had famously defeated Kintaro in Kang’s second tournament.
Kang reached his dragon head down to the level of the cage, and bit through the bars, the evil energy causing no harm at all. After he had bitten several more bars away, the cage collapsed into a mere pile of wooden boards and sticks, and Kitana was free.
"Thank you, Liu." she said as Kang morphed back to his normal form. She rushed to him and hugged him for a few seconds. Then she said "We’ve no time to waste- we must find my mother and restore her memory- then she can help us defeat Khan!"
"I agree-" answered Kang, "but we also need to rescue He-Man and Extendar! They are our main hopes for winning the tournament- we must find where they are kept and set them free!"
"Then let’s explore this place," said Kitana, "and we don’t need to keep quiet- we’ll thrash every warrior who stands in our way!"
They made their way around the whole building, keeping watch for any place where He-Man could be trapped. At first they found no sign of him- until they entered one richly furnished room, with a smashed glass dome in the centre.
"Perhaps they kept He-Man in that dome?" asked Kang.
"I’d have thought a glass dome would be a bit too simple for He-Man to escape from. But he could be around here somewhere….."
Then she thought she heard He-Man shouting "I’m here!"
"Did you just hear that?" she asked Kang.
"Hear what?"
"I thought I just heard He-Man shout! Perhaps he’s nearby!"
"I heard nothing. Are you sure?"
"I’m right here!" came He-Man’s voice again, even louder this time.
"Now I didn’t imagine that!" said Kitana. "Did you hear it?"
"I think I did….. but where is he?"
"I’m right under you!" they heard He-Man shout. "There’s a hidden trapdoor in the ground- and we cannot escape!"
"Hidden trapdoor? Where?"
"In the left corner!" replied He-Man.
Kang stepped over to the left hand corner of the room, and blasted the ground with a fireball. The carpet and the floorboards beneath were instantly burned away, revealing a deep, dark dungeon beneath- and He-Man and Extendar were inside!
"Thanks!" said He-Man. "Now we can escape and find Skeletor and Khan- they stole the power sword- so that’s a loss to us- but no evil being can use it properly, so they can do no extra damage! We must find them!"
"How you gonna climb up to escape?" asked Kang.
"There’s no need to!" replied He-Man. "Extendar will get us out!"
At He-Man’s words, Extendar extended his whole body to its full size, until he completely filled the deep dungeon. He lifted He-Man out to the safety of the floor above, then he grasped the edge of the ground where the trapdoor had been, shrank to normal size and pulled himself out.
"Now we can search for Khan!" said Kitana.
"Not so fast!" came a voice from behind. They spun around to see Evil-Lyn, holding the sword of power, with Sindel at her side.
"Did you really think you could escape that easily?" she said. "Now I can trap you all in my force field- and He-Man does not have the power sword to help!"
The warriors were about to charge forward to attack her, but she was too fast for them- she held out her hand and fired her force field at them. All four warriors were instantly paralysed- and with no way of getting free!
Sindel smiled sexily and evilly at the sight of the heroic warriors trapped in Evil-Lyn’s force field. "Now, Kitana-" she said, "you shall get what you deserve for betraying the great Shao Khan!"
And she stepped towards her daughter, and shot a blazing fireball from her mouth…..