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Things are growing tense in the throne room. Most of these people have only met recently, though some have known each other for longer. They're all in this situation together and small groups have formed in various corners, discussing amongst themselves various topics; the siege, plans for dealing with the Dragon King, the finer points of batting undead. The recently conflict in Sun Do proved all of them as battle-capable, but they've yet to truly unite as a team. As Cao watches them from one side of the room, many thoughts linger in his mind, both about the situation outside the city walls and the one inside of himself.

Ever since he has calmed down from fighting the mummified soldiers in Li Mei's village, he has felt a dark soul stirring within him: Shao Kahn. He closes his eyes and the voices of his teammates fade as he looks inward, feeling the expanding influence of the former Emperor of Outworld. Ashrah has returned to the side of good, and so has taken her Light back; it is no longer within him to keep the Emperor at bay. Shao Kahn's will is strong, undoubtedly stronger than Cao's-the Emperor lived for countless millennia. In his own words, he would not be denied his return.

Cao wonders, then, what he is waiting for. The soul has been quiet and not attempting to take control, perhaps waiting for the right moment. He opens his eyes and looks around. This is the throne room of his city, and surely it has his enemies, but were he to take control now, surely he would be outnumbered. Cao's biggest advantage right now is that he is surrounded by allies who would overpower the weakened Shao Kahn. The Emperor feasts on souls, and has gained more power, evident through Cao's own physical transformation. He's gotten taller, stronger, but with his new powers is coming a cost that he may soon have to pay.

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>>46986167

He is worried. Not only for himself, but for all of his friends. He's never quite had anything like he does now, allies to stand alongside and fight with. They are noble, and some of them more than worthy of his respect, but still he distances himself from them out of fear that, at the given moment, he will lose control. His eyes stray to two people who stand far apart from each other; Ashrah and Skarlet. The blood construct would like nothing more than for him to lose himself to the persona of Shao Kahn and assume rulership of Outworld. Ashrah, grateful to him for what he has done, would like to see him remain normal. They are the only two in the room who know his secret. And then there is Cassie and Jacqui, whom he has promised to reveal his secret to at the right moment.

There are others here who would undoubtedly help him, but more than a few who could just as easily turn on him if they learned the truth. He's still a stranger to most of them. Even Takeda, with their recent bond over slaying an undead dragon, would still likely be wary of trusting someone if he knew they harbored the soul of Shao Kahn. He can't blame them. And then there's Kaito, the one who his journey started with, currently pacing back and forth deep in thought...

>A) Speak to Ashrah
>B) Speak to Cassie and Jacqui
>C) Speak to Kaito
>D) Speak to Skarlet
>E) Other (Write-In)

>>46986167
>B) Speak to Cassie and Jacqui

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>>46986340

Cao's eyes stray over to Cassie and Jacqui, who are discussing the siege with Vapor, Fireseed and Kung Jin. He approaches them, making his way past Frost and Tundra, walking up behind Cassie as she speaks.

"A full-on assault against the undead would be difficult," she says to the others; Kung Jin was apparently the one who suggested it. "They might not be as hard to kill as we thought, but they still outnumber us at least a hundred to one. Plus, if we take Kotal's soldiers out with us, each one of them that dies will come back on Onaga's side."

"That does present a logistics issue, alright," Jin agrees. "They're dead. They don't need to eat or sleep. Standing around and waiting is their best skill."

"And we're lacking some serious firepower," Jacqui points out. "We'd be fighting them at close range. Now, granted, a few good tanks and some artillery would help but we don't have those on hand at the moment."

Cassie looks at her friend and adds, "Dad's on the line with Special Forces back home. He's working it out; we might be able to expect reinforcements sooner than we think."

Jacqui looks over at Cao as he approaches and turns to face him. Cassie takes notice and does the same. Jin looks at Cao and asks, "What do you think? I'm all for taking the smartest option available to us, which seems to me to hold tight until reinforcements arrive. The shokan are marching south and we've got Earthrealm on the way."

>A) Agree; best to stay put for now
>B) Mention Frost's suggestion of scouting the enemy army
>C) Wait for the ghost, Minerva, to return with what she's found
>D) Ask to speak to Cassie and Jacqui privately
>E) Other

>>46986190
>>B) Speak to Cassie and Jacqui
sup Damashi?

>>46986523
>>B) Mention Frost's suggestion of scouting the enemy army
>>C) Wait for the ghost, Minerva, to return with what she's found

>>46986531

Nothing much, anon. My wisdom teeth are out, and I'm ready to run the whole weekend for the conclusion of Mortal Kombat Thief Quest.

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>>46986597
Who says I'm anon?


Been looking forward to this

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>>46986550

Cao rubs his chin. "Frost mentioned an idea to scout outside the walls. See how Onaga is setting up his siege camp. Get an idea of where to strike."

"A decent idea, but sneaking past the dead is easier said than done," Cassie points out. "A sentry that never blinks. We could've used some of those in the wars back home." She chuckles at her own joke but goes quiet when Jacqui speaks.

"Would you know a way out of the city?" she asks the thief.

"Through the aqueducts," he nods. "I know a few."

"I could go," Vapor says. "I'm nearly invisible at it is."

"There's also Minerva," Cao brings up the ghost. "She's flying around. Might be a good idea to wait and see what she brings back before making our move."

"If she comes back at all," Cassie says.

"She did before," he replies. "I think she will again."

As they discuss, Kaito suddenly speaks up to the room, having discussed a few things with Kotal, Sheeva and Johnny. "I think it would be best if we split the team up a bit," he begins. "We're not going to get much done if we all stay here debating about our next move."

Frost, ever bold and blunt, steps forward. "We should send a scouting team outside the city."

"I agree," Kaito says with a nod, making the decision for them. "Two, actually. One to size up the enemy and one to the Kove to link up with Mileena and the crew of the Dragon Wing. It's important we make sure that our only remaining port is safe; if need be, we can evacuate people there. And we still don't know where Onaga or Li Mei are."

Takeda steps forward. "I'll go with the scouting team."

"Me too," Fox volunteers.

"I know a thing or two about sneaking," Kung Jin throws in his worth.

Kaito holds up a hand. "We know your strengths. Takeda, I want you to head to the boat. Take Vapor, Ling and Fox with you." He turns to Cao. "Cao, you know a way out of the city, I imagine?"

>A) Scout the enemy army
>B) Head to the Kove
>C) Wait in the city
>D) Bring up Minerva to Kaito
>E) Other

>>46986777
>A) Scout the enemy army

>>46986777
>>A) Scout the enemy army

Best thief in Outworld

>>46986777
>A)

>>46986777
>>A) Scout the enemy army
Good thing no one seems too freaked out that we've from 4 inches and have inreased muscle mass. Everything is totally normal

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>>46986911

"I hunch."

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>>46986831
>>46986854
>>46986890
>>46986911

"I'll get us out of the city," he tells Kaito.

"Take Jin, Frost and Fireseed with you."

Skarlet steps forward. "I will go on the scouting mission with Cao's team."

Kaito looks at her. "We could use you here," he tells her.

Kotal is not in agreement. "I do not think this creation of Shao Kahn should be so trusted."

Cao looks over at Skarlet; she does not immediately react to the Emperor's words, but he knows that she has no love for him. Kaito, however, seems to know her and wants to openly defend her. "Shao Kahn is dead. I'm sure she has no reason to want Onaga ruling Outworld, right Skarlet?"

"I do not," she agrees, though she remains silent about who she truly wishes to see as Emperor. Still, her eyes dart over to Kotal and the two stare at each other with suspicion.

Kaito dissolves the tension by continuing, "I want others out on the streets. Cassie, Jacqui, Tundra, Lex, you four will be one team. Everyone else will stay here and help coordinate the others."

>A) Take Skarlet
>B) Take Ashrah
>C) Keep the team as it is
>D) Take someone else (Write-in)
>E) Other

>>46986985
>>A) Take Skarlet

I think Skarlet is better suited for this then Ashrah


>>46986943
I miss those movies... Not the third one

>>46986985
>A) Take Skarlet

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>>46987022
>not liking the sheer ridiculousness of the third movie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdC3DVZAIl0

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>>46987022
>>46987094

Cao looks over and nods at Skarlet, who walks over. Kung Jin, Frost and Fireseed walk over as the other teams begin to form in the room. Jin looks at Skarlet and asks, "So, you're a blood construct, right?"

"Yes."

"I've read about beings like you before, but I've never seen one in person. Is it true that you can form solid tentacle-like constructs out of blood?"

She narrows her eyes and looks at him. "Do you want to find out?"

Cao is quick to get in the way between them. "I think we should leave as soon as possible," he cuts in. "Frost, Fireseed, are you two ready?"

They both nod silently. As the team moves to leave the room, Cao hears someone walk up behind him. He feels a hand on his shoulder and turns to see Erron Black. "Emperor wants to speak to you."

Cao looks over the gunslinger's shoulder and sees Kotal speaking with Sheeva.

>A) Leave
>B) Speak to Kotal alone
>C) Thank Erron
>D) Take the team over
>E) Other

>>46987218
>B) Speak to Kotal alone
>C) Thank Erron
It pays to be polite

>>46987218
>>B) Speak to Kotal alone
>>C) Thank Erron
Erron is a bro. We drank with the man.
>>E) Other
Interrupt kotal before he can say anything. Say we know not to trust skarlet and we'll keep an eye on her

>>46987218
>>B) Speak to Kotal alone
>>C) Thank Erron

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>>46987243
>>46987252
>>46987279

"Thank you," he says to Erron before speaking to his scouting party. "I won't be long."

They let him walk over to the area near the throne. Kotal tuns away from Sheeva to note Cao's approach, but the thief speaks first. "Listen, if this is about Skarlet, I know she can't be trusted. I'll keep an eye on her."

Kotal puts his arms behind his back. "No, I had not intended to speak to you about her, but I am glad you understand that her presence complicates things. She was a servant, a creation, of Shao Kahn."

"So was Mileena," Cao says.

"Shang Tsung created her, but under the orders of Shao Kahn, yes. It matters little; Mileena has done much to prove her loyalty to bettering the realm. Skarlet has not been seen for twenty years. As a practitioner of bloog magik, I know that she can be very dangerous, so I am glad that you are being cautious."

"Then what did you want to speak to me about?"

"I merely wish to say that I wish you luck in your scouting endeavor. I have every confidence that you will succeed, as you have done so often. Onaga has issued his challenge, and he seems assured in his victory. If you can find anything, any hint of what he is truly hiding, I implore you to bring back this knowledge. Or, if you can, steal it away from him."

"Do you think that possible?" Cao asks.

He gives Cao a warm smile. "Were it any other thief, I would not think so."

Strangely, Cao is almost touched by the osh-tekk's words. His confidence in Cao is great to entrust him with such a task, just as he had with the matter of the Portal Stone. More than words would be needed. "If it can be done, I won't fail you."

"I know you will not."

>A) Ask Kotal some questions
>B) Speak to someone else before you leave
>C) Return to your team and discuss the plan with them
>D) Leave the palace
>E) Other

>>46987450
>>D) Leave the palace

>>46987450
>>D) Leave the palace
Lets bounce baby

>>46987450
>C) Return to your team and discuss the plan with them
also bloog magic sounds fun.

>>46987580

Kotal has a slut.

Slur!

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>>46987498
>>46987570

Cao returns to the others and they proceed out of the palace through the quickest route. Takeda's team does not linger far behind, intent on following him to the city exit. "So, rubbing elbows with the Kahn, huh?" Jin asks.

"I'm not rubbing his elbows," Cao replies with a cocked brow.

"Right, of course not," Jin snickers. "But it seems like you're on his good side."

"He often has a weird way of showing it," Cao admits. "He killed my father."

"Oh," Jin says, surprised. "Well... That's unfortunate."

"So why don't you kill him?" Fireseed asks.

"I think I'd get bored without him," Cao says, speaking more honestly than perhaps he had intended. He quickly changes the conversation. "Come on, let's get moving."

As he leaves the palace and heads towards the nearest entrance of the aqueducts, they pass by many soldiers and kahn guards, preparing weapons and armor for the coming battle. Captains move about, organizing the soldiers, and hinparian scouts prepare to mobilize. Cao has never seen the palace grounds so active with guards; the last time he saw this many, they were chasing him out of Hideaway Alley.

He takes his team to a well. They climb down, and then Takeda's team follows after. They walk for a distance underground before coming to a split; Cao instructs Takeda on where to go to end up not far from the Kove. His Shirai Ryu friend nods, thanks him, and leads his team out.

Cao and his team take a southern passage, heading towards a sewer outlet, but as they walk, the thief's ears pick up the sound of tiny feet along the ground. He stops and watches as up ahead a small lizardfolk emerges; upon seeing Cao, Speelock exclaims his name and runs up to him. "Cao! Cao!"

"Calm down," he instructs the runt, kneeling to look at him. "Where have you been?"

"Reptile! Reptile!" Speelock exclaims. "Chief Reptile!"

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>>46987823


"Reptile? What about him?"

"What is that?" Jin asks, but Speelock ignores him and speaks to Cao.

"Reptile gathering the lizardses! Reptile telling them to attack market!"

Cao scratches the side of his head. "Reptile? Do you mean Onaga?"

"Not dragon-man! Reptile! Reptile!"

"That's impossible," Cao says. "Reptile turned into Onaga. He can't be leading the lizardfolk if he's not Reptile anymore, why would they listen to him?"

"Maybe they recognize him inside Onaga," Frost shrugs.

"Not dragon-man! Not dragon-man!" Speelock insists. "Reptile!"

Jin offers an alternative. "Could there be someone pretending to be Reptile?"

Realization strikes Cao. "Chameleon," he whispers to himself. "He's taken Reptile's form!"

"Who?" Fireseed asks.

>A) Send Speelock to the palace with this news
>B) Tell Speelock to lead you to Chemeleon
>C) Tell Speelock to spy on Chemeleon; continue your mission
>D) Ask Speelock to elaborate on what Chameleon is planning
>E) Other

>>46987837
>>B) Tell Speelock to lead you to Chemeleon

Time to merc a nigga

>>46987837
>>B) Tell Speelock to lead you to Chemeleon
I hope he doesn't attack us with harmful chemicals

>>46987837
>B) Tell Speelock to lead you to Chemeleon

>>46987837
>E)
Have Speelok tell us where to find Reptile then off to the palace with him.
So we're thinking Khameleon?

>>46987837
>B

>>46987957
Chameleon. The male equivalent

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>>46987865
>>46987939
>>46987945
>>46988000

Cao looks back. "Another saurian. If he's like his sister, he can change. That must be how he's appearing to be Reptile."

"Reptile not Reptile?" Speelock asks.

"No," Cao says, turning back to the runt. "It's a Fake-Reptile. Take me to him."

"Not-Reptile down in the lizard pits! This way!"

"Lizard pits?" Frost says, slightly disgusted at what that might imply.

Cao nods. "Never been there myself. It's their spawning ground. They've been living there ever since Reptile lead them here from the Living Forest twenty years ago."

"I read about this," Jin says. "These lizardfolk are dumb, stupid things. Not like the true saurians." Speelock shoots him an irritated look. "Sorry... present company excluded?"

Speelock's expression quickly changes. "You bring presents?"

Frost manages to crack a laugh out of pity. "You weren't kidding."

"Speelock show you the way!" the little lizard says, taking them down a different corridor.

"What about our mission?" Fireseed points out.

Cao looks over his shoulder. "If Chameleon is going to have the lizardfolk attack the marketplace, that means they're after the food. Trust me, there's only ever one thing on their minds."

"If they steal all the food, the city will panic," Jin points out. "This might be a better idea to take care of now. But how many lizards are we talking, exactly?"

"All of them, maybe," Cao replies. "I don't know how many that is. Never had much a hang of counting."

"Many never come up before," Speelock says. "Many live down underground. Eat bugs and mushrooms that grow on walls!"

"Oh, lovely," Frost says. "So we have no idea how many there are."

"Watch out for their tongues," Cao warns them. "Last time I ran into a group of them, they managed to outnumber my sister and I and drag us away from each other."

"How'd you get out of that one?" Jin asks.

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>>46988232

"With a little help," Cao says, looking back at Skarlet. She silently walks along as she has done so since the palace, keeping her hands on her twin blades.

Speelock takes them down a series of passageways that grow increasingly more cavernous in nature. They encounter no lizardfollk; apparently, they're all somewhere else.

"So, what's the plan?" Frost asks. "We killing this guy, or what?"

"Chameleon is a worshipper of Onaga and was a guardian of his egg. He might know a thing or two. Let's capture him."

"I'm up for some torture," she quips, her mood elevated by the prospect of violence. "And hey, they're not even really people, so that's a bonus."

"Careful," Jin advises. "That's a slippery slope of thinking."

Frost grumbles about using her icey powers to give him something to slip on when they come to another passage. "Quiet," Speelock whispers. "We need sneak past snappy-heads."

"Snappy-heads?" Cao asks. "What is that?"

"Guards lizard home," Speelock says. "Sometimes eats lizards. Throw him dead bodies; keeps snappy-heads happy."

They come upon a larger opening in the caverns and can hear a ravenous beast eating its meal. They approach a rock and poke their heads over it. A large beast, with a single body and four limbs, with a long and twisting tail, feasts on a dead lizardfolk. With several snake-like heads nipping at the flesh.

"That's not just a snappy-heads," Jin says. "That's a hydra!"

"Cool," Frost says, not intentionally making a pun.

>A) Sneak by the hydra one at a time
>B) Sneak by the hydra in a group
>C) Attempt to distract it with a rock or a projectile
>D) Have one of your group distract the beast while the others slip by
>E) Other

>>46988257
>>C) Attempt to distract it with a rock or a projectile

Oh god, it's time to roll dice

>>46988257
>C) Attempt to distract it with a rock or a projectile

>>46988257
>>B) Sneak by the hydra in a group
Never split the party

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>>46988297
>>46988396

They duck behind the rock. "Alright, we need a distraction."

Fireseed moves to take out his bow, but Jin stops him. "Save your arrows, big guy, I got this one."

He holds up his dragon-headed bo and a silver string appears as he reaches for it to pull it back, having withdrawn an arrow from his quiver. He releases the drawstring and the arrow flies up and over the rock, hitting the wall with a clink and a small series of sparks. It gets the hydra's attention, but to their dismay, only a few of its heads look towards the arrow and the others scan around the room in all directions. They all quickly hide again.

"Shoot," Jin says. "That thing's got too many heads. For that to work. Any other ideas?"

>A) Fire more arrows and lead it away
>B) Attempt a manual distraction
>C) Try to sneak by the hydra
>D) Just straight-up run past it
>E) Other

>>46988572
>C) Try to sneak by the hydra
If you got it, flaunt it.

>>46988572
>>C) Try to sneak by the hydra

Shit

>>46988594
>>46988625

Let's have a 1d100+10.

Rolled 14 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>46988762

Rolled 99 (1d100)

>>46988572
Sneak sneakily

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>>46988831

Cao leads them around the cavern, hoping to sneak by the creature. They take the long way around, hugging the walls as they make for the entrances. Despite keeping to the shadows and moving as one, the hydra is too wily for them. Perhaps it smells them or otherwise can hear better than anticipated, for one of its heads turns and hones in on them, then suddenly all of them are there, hissing and snapping in their direction. Several sets of eyes look upon them and its many jaws open, drooling as it draws near. Cao reaches for his sword, ready to hack off a head or two, but to his surprise, Frost steps in front of him.

>>46988866

He tries to warn her as the heads snap, but she raises both hands and blasts a cone of cold at the hydra. It hisses in surprise, recoiling from the biting, freezing wind and backing up. Frost does not relent. Cao and the others watch as she shouts and advances with it, keeping pace as she continually blasts the monster with her powers. Frost's eyes glow white for a moment as more and more ice forms on its scales. With a final roar from the white-haired girl, the hydra completely freezes over, forming a twisting ice-sculpture of many heads with icicles hanging from it.

She pants and looks back. "Okay. Let's move on, shall we?"

>A) Smash it
>B) Head on
>C) Compliment her
>D) Tell Fireseed to plant bombs on it
>E) Other

>>46989058
>>A) Smash it

>>46989058
>A) Smash it
Totally smashed, and not just the heads.

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>>46989099
>>46989140

The group approaches the frozen hydra and quickly shatters it with a few attacks. Cao wants to bring out the Wrath Hammer, but keeps it hidden for now. They smash the heads, the body and the tail. This takes a bit of time, but unfortunately, also attracts some extra attention.

A lone lizardfolk scout, having heard the noise, approaches the cavemouth and peeks outside. He spies them and they him before he turns around the runs into the cave, intent on alerting his fellows! They drop the frozen chunks of hydra and charge after him!

>1d100 to stop him from warning the others!

Rolled 22 (1d100)

>>46989236
Spectral dagger to the throat

Rolled 8 (1d100)

>>46989236
One of the two archers needs to shoot him

Rolled 62 (1d100)

>>46989236
Chase it down

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>>46989256
>>46989286

Cao is quick to throw a dagger and both archers fire at the lizard in the darkness, but it slinks away from them, narrowly dodging all three. "After him!" Cao shouts, leading the charge into the cave. They follow him but he runs ahead of them, determined to catch that slippery snake.

>>46989332

And catch him he does. Cao runs faster than any of the others and sees the lizard pausing at the edge of a slope. He charges up to him and tackles him from behind, rolling down the slope in a tangled heap with the lizard scout. They roll past several large mud huts and down into the lizard pit, two stories into a large, circular arena of mud, slime and scales. Every lizardfolk looks on as the thief and the scout crash onto the floor, having rolled through several small wooden fences.

Cao pushes the lizard off of him and looks up, right into the eyes of what appears to be Reptile. The saurian who he knows to actually be Chameleon was apparently speaking to all of the others, as he stands in the center of this ring on a small mound of mud. He knows the raptor recognizes him from when they last met in the Lava Shrine.

He points at Cao. "Kill him."

The lizardfolk all cheer and reach for their weapons! Cao's mind races. Perhaps if he can prove this isn't Reptile...

>1d100 and an action!

Rolled 61 (1d100)

>>46989544
I'm at a loss to try and figure out how to reveal him, maybe we just punch him?

>Throw a spectral spear at him

Rolled 5 (1d100)

>>46989544
Try and get him to drop his disguise by shooting a fireball at him

Rolled 69 (1d100)

>>46989544
Shit talk chameleon while trying not to die.

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>>46989607

Cao immediately stands up and holds out a hand, forming a lance through the use of Shao Kahn's magic. He steps and hurls it at Chameleon, who, still in the guise of Reptile, vanishes in a puff of smoke.

"What?" Cao says, watching the lance pass through the mist. It strikes the ground beyond where he had stood. He knows that Chameleon and other saurians could turn invisible, but to teleport away...

Chameleon appears behind Cao, and before the thief can react, he kicks him in the back. Cao hits the ground. The other lizardfolk cheer for their supposed leader. At that moment, Frost, Fireseed and Kung Jin burst onto the scene, wielding arrows and freezing blasts. This distracts the lizardfolk gathered around the pit.

Cao turns around as he watches Skarlet leap at the lizardfolk, slicing into them as she makes her way towards her master. He looks at Chameleon before bringing up a hand and blasting a fireball!

>>46989724

The fireball strikes Chemeleon, whose body bursts into flame! Cao shouts in triumph but then is silenced as he watches the fires die out around his foe and he stands unharmed with a wide, sepentine smile.

"How?"

"I am reborn in the fiery light of the Dragon King," Chameleon says, still speaking with Reptile's voice and maintaining the disguise. "I have powers you cannot begin to know!"

He holds up a hand, revealing a palm that splits open. A snake's head emerges from that hole, with clear, milky eyes. Its spear-like mouth opens up and it hisses before he launches it at Cao, the snake appearing as though a biological rope with no immediate end!

>1d100 and an action!

Rolled 2 (1d100)

>>46989544
Uhh pull of his disguise scooby doo style? That's how Saurians work right

Rolled 8 (1d100)

>>46989846
grab the snake by the neck and pull Chameleon in

Rolled 47 (1d100)

>>46989846
Grab the snake and pull him into an orge powered uppercut

Rolled 60 (1d100)

>>46989846
Cut the snake and then cut him

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>>46989857

>Uhh pull of his disguise scooby doo style? That's how Saurians work right

You'd be surprised how close to the truth that is

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>>46989857
>>46989865

Cao shouts at the spear-like head of the serpent bites into his neck, striking him quicker than he could react. Chameleon wastes no time in pulling Cao up to his reach and holding him aloft with one arm, displaying incredible strength.

"You cannot hide in the shadows anymore, little thief," he hisses. "The Dragon King rewards his servants, and all others shall burn."

Cao chokes and struggles in his grasp, grabbing him by the arm. "I know... who you really are!"

"You know who I was. I am dragonborn now, reforged in the fire of my king's power."

He turns and throws Cao to the side, hurling him against the wall. The thief falls down and quickly rubs his bloody and bruised neck.

Chameleon holds up his hands and prepares to launch a powerful green force ball at him, the sphere forming between his palms and bubbling with energy.

>>46989871
>>46989878

He launches it at the thief, who draws his sword. He turns and slices the ball in half, destroying it and causing it to erupt behind him. He holds up the blade and points it at Chameleon before charging at him and swinging. The saurian's movements are swift and he misses each strike, despite his own speed and skill. He recalls when last they fought; he's like a completely different person now. Stronger, faster, with stranger powers. What manner of gifts did Onaga bestow upon him?

Chameleon bends backwards as he tries to slice him in half, causing his blade to pass harmlessly over his midsection. The saurian bounces back up and spits poisonous acid towards his face!

>1d100 and an action!

Rolled 76 (1d100)

>>46990048
Dodge that acid with a flip of our own. Then a spray of thrown daggers

Rolled 92 (1d100)

>>46990048
dodge and slice

Rolled 60 (1d100)

>>46990048
Grab his head and suck his soul out

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>>46990080
>>46990084

Cao sees the green mist of spit flying towards him and leaps backwards with a flip of his own, landing on the palm of his hand. His feet find the ground and with his body low, he springs back towards the saurian and slices at his face before he can react!

He cuts through the saurian's jaw, the head of his dadao blade taking off the creature's chin. His yellow eyes grow wide as green blood leaks out and his hands grab his face as he gurgles in pain. Cao lands alongside him and turns to look as Chameleon hobbles away.

"What's the matter? Tigrar got your tongue?" Cao asks with a smile.

But his smile fades when he hears the raptor's laughter. Chameleon straightens and points his face at Cao, revealing that his chin is regenerating! The saurian laughs as the flesh grows back at a rapid pace.

His mouth opens and his long tongue emerges, shooting out towards Cao.

>>46990093

The tongue wraps around his hands and pulls, but the thief holds his ground! Skarlet then dives into the arena, her blades green with lizardfolk blood, as the others continue to battle with the small horde. They continue to struggle against each other as Skarlet charges towards Chameleon!

>1d100 and an action!

Rolled 24 (1d100)

>>46990302
apply fire to face

Rolled 81 (1d100)

>>46990302
pull his face into the bottom of foot

Rolled 6 (1d100)

>>46990302
slice his tongue in half

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>>46990335

With his free hand, Cao raises it and blasts it into Chameleon's face, but again the saurian shrugs it off. Skarlet charges in and slices at him, but he sees the red woman coming and releases Cao's grip. He flips up into the air over her as she attacks, landing behind her and tripping her with a sweeping attack. As she hits the ground, Cao runs up.

>>46990402

He leaps, spins and smashes Chameleon in the face with his foot, sending the saurian dashing off to one side. The raptor's palms help him flip away as he shakes his head.

Frost and Kung Jin are back-to-back, using their abilities to fend off the lizardfolk. Nearby, Fireseed opens up with an automatic rifle, peppering the ground where Chameleon stands. A few bullets strike him and draw green blood; the saurian teleports away again in smoke. Fireseed takes a moment to reload before planting his boot on the face of a lizardfolk and stomping his skull into the ground.

Skarlet gets back up as Cao turns around. He sees Chameleon reappear nearby, once more shooting his tongue out towards him. He swings his sword and tries to cut the tongue in half, but it wraps around the hilt of his dadao and wrenches it out of his grasp. Chameleon takes the sword for himself.

Suddenly, Speelock leaps atop the false-Reptile's head, stabbing him with his tiny stone knife! Chameleon is distracted by the runt's sudden attack!

>1d100+10 and an action!

Rolled 68 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>46990546
Sweep the legs and then drop a heel on his nose

Rolled 44 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>46990546
Impale him with a spear, followed by a decapitation.

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>>46990636

Cao charges at Chameleon as he tears Speelock off and tosses him to one side. He turns and sweeps, deftly taking the saurian off his feet, before using his other leg to raise and smash the pretender in the face. Chameleon groans in pain and his disguise drops.

Speelock starts to jump up and down, shrieking, "Not Reptile! Not Reptile!"

The nearest lizardfolk stop and look on. Cao points at him. "He's pretending to be Reptile! He's fake! Look!"

Chameleon pushes Cao off and rolls to one side. He looks at the lizardfolk, who almost all stop fighting, confused. They aren't sure what to make of this new saurian.

"Fight, you fools!" he shouts. He looks around at them. "I said fight them!"

"Not Reptile! Not Reptile!" Speelock chants. Others start to follow his example.

Chameleon looks at Speelock, his green eyes burning with emerald fire. He looks upon the lizard who led these thieves here and raises Cao's sword high, intent on throwing it at him! Before Cao can stop him, he brings it and and throws it!

>1d100 to stop the blade!

Rolled 36 (1d100)

>>46990840
Oh god

Rolled 14 (1d100)

>>46990840

Rolled 64 (1d100)

"Speelock NO!"

Rolled 60 (1d100)

>>46990840
nooo

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>>46990866
>>46990879

Cao leaps forward, attempting to grab the hilt of the blade as it flies towards the small lizard, but his fingers only graze the metal. Speelock, shouting about the fake Reptile, is suddenly silenced with a painful squeak as the dadao meets his stomach. He is impaled as the head of the blade meets the ground behind him, holding him upright.

The other lizardfolk go quiet. There was never any love for runts of the little among their community, but Reptile loved all of them. Reptile was kind to all of his little brothers and sisters, because they were of his blood, made from his own genetic makeup. Even if they were not true saurians, Reptile treated them all as such.

This was not Reptile.

"Not-Reptile! Not-Reptile!" they chant, shouting and hissing at him. Chameleon looks around as they all point and scream.

"What are you fools doing? Fight them! Kill them!" One of them spits acid upon his back, burning him slightly. He turns around. "Who did that? Which of you filthy half-breeds dies next before you fall in line!?"

Cao ignores it all, crawling over to Speelock, who is choking. As the lizardfolk turn on Chameleon and come after him, he reaches out and touches the small lizard's hand. His small body is almost as large as the blade is long; his tiny organs and body won't survive this attack.

These are his final moments.

"Friend..." Speelock says weakly. "Did Speelock... do good?"

>A) Tell him it's going to be alright
>B) Tell him he did very good
>C) Tell him he's going to see Hua soon
>D) Say nothing
>E) Other

>>46991102
>>A) Tell him it's going to be alright
>>B) Tell him he did very good

Ah fucking hell, can anyone heal?

>>46991102

B

:,(

>>46991102
>>A) Tell him it's going to be alright
>>B) Tell him he did very good
>>46991102
In our eyes, he's the greatest saurian ever

>>46991102
>B) Tell him he did very good

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>>46991132
>>46991148
>>46991207

"You did good," Cao says, holding his hand. "Everything's going to be alright..."

Speelock doesn't look at the sword as he tries to keep breathing. It comes in short, small gasps. Cao can almost feel his small heart beating fast, but growing faint.

Nearby, the other lizardfolk attack Chameleon, who teleports away. Fireseed, tracking his movements, shoots an arrow at him. The nimble saurian catches it, thinking him the superior warrior, only for it to blow up in his hand and send him hurtling away.

The runt, his friend, speaks up, his voice a whisper. "Nobody like Speelock... Everyone kick Speelock..."

"Not me," Cao says, struggling to hold back powerful emotions welling up within him.

"Not you... You give Speelock koin! You... friend!"

He reaches up and gives Speelock a final affectionate pat on the head. The lizard smiles and closes his eyes before his hand goes limp and falls from Cao's grip.

Cao draws in a sharp breath and his shoulders buckle. A flash of events flies before his eyes; meeting Speelock, introducing him to his sisters, tracking down Hua with his help, getting stranded on Shang Tsung's island, to now. Throughout it all, he had been helpful and friendly, because Cao had done the same for him.

He can feel the tiny soul leaving the body. His magic allows him to sense it... even capture it, should he so choose.

>A) Let Speelock go
>B) Capture his soul
>C) Other

>>46991404
>A) Let Speelock go

>>46991404
>>A) Let Speelock go

Goddamnit man, I didn't need to tear up like this.

>>46991404
>A) Let Speelock go
Fuck taking his soul. He died and we have to let him go. Also step on Chameleons head several dozen times.

>>46991404
>A) Let Speelock go
No one will ever kick him again

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>>46991425
>>46991429
>>46991432

Cao lets go and feels the soul slip away. Speelock's soul is small and light; it floats away like a flower petal caught in the breeze. As carefully and respectfully as he can, he takes the sword and holds Speelock in place while he withdraws it. The blade is green with his blood and as he holds it, his hands tremble. They tremble with despair, and rage.

At the opposide end of the chamber, Chameleon realizes how south this situation has gone. He teleports away in a cloud, out of the chamber, turning invisible and scampering away.

The lizardfolk attempt pursuit but all trail of him is lost as he continues to teleport away. his justice will have to come later. Fireseed, Jin, Frost and Skarlet gather near Cao.

The lizardfolk who remain watch them in silence, not wanting to attack. The few lizardfolk elders of this community, the oldest among them, gather nearby and witness the outworlder holding the runt's body. Cao holds Speelock's frail body in his arms as he grits his teeth and tries not to shout.

>A) Leave him here
>B) Bury him
>C) Take him with you
>D) Tell them to treat their runts better
>E) Other

>>46991713
>>B) Bury him
>>D) Tell them to treat their runts better
>>E) Other

Hold back the tears

>>46991713
>C) Take his body
Deserves an honorable burial

C) Take his body

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>>46991805
>>46991900

Cao takes Speelock's body and heads towards the exit, with his companions followling along behind him. They are all silent; them and the lizardfolk. As the thief holds back his tears and fights the anger inside, he is glad that Speelock's death meant something and stopped the lizardfolk from storming the markets and eating everyone's food. They walk out of the caves, past the shattered body of the hydra and head back toward the aqueducts.

Jin walks up to Cao. "Hey, you alright?" he asks in a low voice.

"He was my friend," Cao whispers. "My little friend."

Jin gives him some room as they walk along, and the others do the same.

>A) Bring his body to the palace
>B) Find somewhere to bury him underground
>C) Hold onto his body for now and do your scouting mission
>D) Leave his body somewhere with the intent to come back for it
>E) Other

>>46992110
>>C) Hold onto his body for now and do your scouting mission

>>46992110
>C) Hold onto his body for now and do your scouting mission

>C) Hold onto his body for now and do your scouting mission
So it's pretty much agreed that we're going to brutally murder Chameleon right?

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>>46992145
>>46992155

Cao resolves to hold onto the body of Speelock for now. He wraps the body in cloth and puts it into his backpack. Once this is done, they head for the exit they originally were going to leave the aqueducts through, but as it turns out, one surprise would never be enough.

Cao leaps back as Minerva appears through one of the stone walls, her wispy form reacting to them with just as much surprise. "Cao! There you are! I've been looking all over for you!"

"Minerva," he says, calming down. "Are you alright?"

"I am," she nods, floating in front of them. The ghost girl looks at the others for a moment, specifically Skarlet, before looking back at Cao again. "I'm back from looking around!"

"What did you see?"

"The Dragon King wasn't outside," she says. "Only his army! I looked all around but there was no sign of him. Until I started flying high and then I saw him."

"Where?"

"He left. I think after he shouted at Kotal Kahn. He flew south like a bird."

"South... into the Wastelands? Why?"

"He wasn't alone when he came back," she says. "There's an army marching north, carrying torches and great big burning bonfires."

"What? Who?"

"I stayed away from the Dragon King, but I got a good look at the things. They were scary! Sharp teeth, and boney spikes coming out of their arms!"

"Tarkatans," both Jin and Cao say at once.

"This is bad?" Frost asks.

"If they're marching for Onaga, it is," Cao says.

"There's something else," she says. "Onaga was carrying someone."

"Li Mei?"

"No, not a woman, one of those things. Tarkakatans. He was carrying him by the chest, holding him in one arm."

Cao is silent. "Their leader." He looks back at Jin. "The tarkatans have always followed only the strongest."

"Now what?" Frost asks. "What do we do?"

>A) Continue your scouting mission; keep Minerva close
>B) Continue the scouting mission and send Minerva away somewhere
>C) Report back to the palace; send Minerva to scout
>D) All return to the palace
>E) Other

>>46992381
>>A) Continue your scouting mission; keep Minerva close

>>46992381
>A) Continue your scouting mission; keep Minerva close

>>46992381
>>B) Continue the scouting mission and send Minerva away somewhere
Send her to report back to the palace.

>>46992381
>>B) Continue the scouting mission and send Minerva away somewhere
What this guy >>46992577 said

I'm just eating some noodles, it's a tie at the moment.

>>46992967
I'm >>46992458

I'll change to >>46992577

Sorry for the hold up

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>>46992577
>>46992623
>>46992993

"Minerva, go to the palace. Tell the Kahn and the others what you saw. This is important."

"Okay, I will! What then?"

"Just wait there for me," he tells her. The ghost nods and slips away.

"You keep interesting company," Jin says.

"Story of my life recently," Cao mutters and they continue on. They reachs the exits, a runoff pipe that pours into a small ditch. They jump down and climb up the slope, stopping near the top to look over and out.

They can see the mummified army of the Dragon King in formation not far from the city walls. They are immobile, facing the city with spears in hand. The army is stretched thin so as to stretch as far around the walls of the city as possible; from where they are, they cannot currently see either end of it.

As they observe, they note that the tarkatans are setting up camps behind the undead lines. Large pyres are being burnt, creating ominous pillars of black smoke that stretch up into the sky.

Fireseed takes out a pair of binoculars and looks through them. Jin studies the undead carefully, noting every detail he can.

"We can sneak closer," Frost points out. She leads Cao's eyes to the ditch's runoff point, a small river that goes past the undead lines. He sees what she means; they could use that to carefully sneak back behind the undead.

As he looks on, he hears the flapping of wings from above. They all look up and see the Dragon King flying over the city walls, leaving the city. "What was he doing in the city?" Cao wonders aloud.

"Likely delivering a message," Jin surmises.

They watch him land near the tarkatan army and approach the largest tent. He walks inside and out of their view.

"Looks like that's his digs," Fireseed says.

"Let's sneak closer," Frost urges.

"Too dangerous, I think," Jin says. "We should take what we've learned and head back."

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>>46993166

>A) Leave
>B) Use the river to sneak closer
>C) Cao goes on alone
>D) Use the Black Dragon holographic disguise device that you've had on you all along and haven't had much cause to use it (and not just because the QM forgot it existed for a stretch) to mimic a mummified soldier and sneak closer
>E) Other

>>46993177
>>D) Use the Black Dragon holographic disguise device that you've had on you all along and haven't had much cause to use it (and not just because the QM forgot it existed for a stretch) to mimic a mummified soldier and sneak closer

Oh you

>>46993177
>B
>D
Because lost idiot undead leading a few allies doesn't sound too unreasonable.

>>46993177
>D) Use the Black Dragon holographic disguise device that you've had on you all along and haven't had much cause to use it (and not just because the QM forgot it existed for a stretch) to mimic a mummified soldier and sneak closer
I kinda assumed they took it back after the job at some point.

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>>46993193
>>46993247
>>46993296

Cao is suddenly struck with inspiration. He remembers something he has kept on his person but hasn't taken out in quite a while. Opening his backpack and remaining stalwart in the face of Speelock's wrapped-up body, he reaches inside to the very bottom of his pack and takes out the Black Dragon holographic disguise generator. He slips it around his wrist and turns it on.

"What is that?" Fireseed asks.

"Watch and learn," Cao says, pointing it over the slope at an undead. He scans it and soon enough the hologram is projected over him, making him perfectly resemble a mummified soldier, provided the hologram is not distorted.

"Nice!" Jin says. "What are we going to do with it?"

"I have a plan," Frost says, inspiration striking her with this new device. "Cao will deliver us to the Dragon King!"

"...And then what?" Jin asks.

"We pretend to be on his side, duh," she says as if it is obvious. "We get close to him and bam! We're in a prime position to mess him up."

"I don't know if that is such a good idea," Fireseed says.

"I know a few words that might appease him," Jin offers. "I have a silver tongue, you know."

>A) Cao goes in alone
>B) Sneak in; don't go with the delivery plan
>C) March them into Onaga's tent
>D) On second thought, leave
>E) Other

>>46993371
>>A) Cao goes in alone

>>46993371
>B) Sneak in; don't go with the delivery plan
Fighting Onaga now is suicide. We can't take him as we are.

>>46993371
Oh god, well really, just grabbing a few important papers and what have you ought to be enough to throw a decent wrench in his plans right?
Maybe piss in his tea or something. Unless anyone just happens to have a lot of highly lethal poisons on hand...he said realizing he was surrounded by ninjas.

>>46993371
>>A) Cao goes in alone
I just had a really shitty day from what should've been a fun day at the fair. The tears finally come through when I come home to find a deceased speelock .

>>46993493
You want to talk about it anon?

>>46993555
My day or the death of our little buddy? Because my day would require having a lot of foreknowledge of my past and current situation in life

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>>46993391
>>46993493

"I'm going to go in alone," he says to them. "Use the river, get as close as you can, but I need a look for myself."

Jin and Fireseed agree. Frost is disappointed that the more dramatic plan won't be used, but this is probably safer, if duller. Skarlet turns into blood and pools near Cao, following him closely as they sneak up to the river.

They cross down it, keeping low and moving slowly so as not to be seen. Cao stops eventually and gives them the signal to hold before he climbs up onto the riverbank and makes his way behind the enemy lines of undead.

Fortunately there are more than a few undead walking around and patrolling, and even a few solitary soldiers. This makes it easy for him to blend in and walk along towards the main tent.

Cao posts himself near it when he hears sounds coming from within, along with the smell of cooked meat. He isn't close enough to the front of the tent to see, but he can listen.

"You are the most powerful, my king," a female voice purrs. "The tarkatans proved useful in the last war. They will win you this city."

"Mindless beasts fit for slaughting cattle," a loud, low voice grumbles. "I could have the city now, if I wanted. I only desire to see this pretend Emperor crushed utterly. But I am in no hurry."

"Be it sooner or later, you will have what is yours," she says. He guesses that it must be Li Mei. He looks around before sidestepping near the entrance. He steals a glance inside. The tent is lit by a large fireplace, and inside, lounging upon a set of massive pillows, is the Dragon King himself, gourging on a large leg of meat. Juice runs down his chin as Li Mei, scantily clad, is splayed out onto one of the pillows, her upper half pressed against his chest while one of his arms lazily cups her behind. She looks quite small in his large, three-fingered hand. Her hands rub his chest, feeling his scales as she continues lavishing praise upon 'her king' while he relaxes.

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>>46993713

'Traitorous dragon-whore,' he thinks to himself.

At least they are distracted. Cao looks inside and sees what appears to be a large, black chest behind the Dragon King. It is massive enough to contain a man; he can only wonder what could be inside such a chest.

And then of course, there is the rumbling within him. Shao Kahn. The sight of Onaga sickens and disgusts him, but revealing himself now, so far behind enemy lines, with no backup... the Emperor within keeps himself quiet, for now.

>A) Stay and listen
>B) Try and enter
>C) Head back to the others
>D) Search around the camp
>E) Other

>>46993741
A) Stay and listen

>>46993741
>A) Stay and listen

>>46993741
>>A) Stay and listen

>>46993741
>D
I heard someone say sabotage. Right?

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>>46993756
>>46993766
>>46993773

Cao decides to stay and listen. Li Mei continues talking to Onaga.

"What next have you planned, my great and wise king?"

"For now, I am content to sit and enjoy my meat," he chuckles. Cao isn't sure which he is referring to, the actual meat or her. She doesn't seem to mind either way, actively continuing to massage his draconic muscles. Onaga allows her to take a bite out of the met in his other hand and she makes a show of it, ravenously tearing off a chunk to his amusement. She smiles as she chews with half of the bite sticking out of her mouth before leaning up to allow him to bite the other half. The sight makes Cao sickened, but curious.

At that moment, however, the tent lights up with green energy. Cao is surprised to see a portal opening, one that looks very familiar. Li Mei is surprised but Onaga is calm, continuing to lounge while his tail idly pats the ground at his cloven feet.

Sure enough, none other than the Brothers Chi exit the portal. The portal closes behind them as Onaga looks up.

"Ah, guests," the Dragon King says in an amused tone. "What have you made of my offer?"

Torn is the one to speak. "The situation in the Netherrealm has changed. Our lieutenants are dead and Noob Saibot, along with his Army of Darkness, have taken our citadel."

Outside, Cao blinks a few times as he thinks about his encounter with Ashrah and then them. 'Shit. Is that my fault? I think that's my fault...'

"And?" Onaga asks, leaving the question open.

Torn sighs. "And as we now know you are the one who possesses the Netherrealm Kamidogu, you are the best position to invade Earthrealm and free Lord Shinnok from his confinement within the amulet. Without our Netherrealm citadel and the resources at our disposal, we cannot hope to rescue him."

"Noob Saibot could," Onaga points out.

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>>46994133

"Noob Saibot no longer serves Lord Shinnok!" Nak says. "He has proclaimed himself Wraith King of the Netherrealm. He intends to rule in Lord Shinnok's stead!"

"As you should have," Onaga says. "I've no intention of allowing Lord Shinnok out of his amulet. When I conquer Earthrealm in good time, I will take his amulet and wield it for myself."

"I would suggest you reconsider," Zarr says. "We are prepared for another offer."

"I am listening," Onaga replies, sounding rather disinterested.

Torn says, "We still maintain a host of oni and demonspawn, along with powerful souls. We will lend them to your armies to command and help you conquer Earthrealm, if, when the time comes that Shinnok's amulet is in hand, you bestow it upon us."

"And why would I give you an artifact capable of harming me?" Onaga asks.

Nak speaks. "We will free Lord Shinnok and reconquer the Netherrealm from the pretend-king Noob Saibot. Shinnok will grant you great power in return for freeing him, more than you could gain otherwise."

Onaga listens to their words and considers them. He pushes Li Mei off, who slinks to the side, as he stands up. His horns nearly scrape the ceiling as he towers over them and stretches out his impressive wingspan.

He turns, however, and approaches the black chest. He opens it up and takes out something Cao cannot see.

"Your offer entices me," Onaga says. "I would make good use of an army of demons and the oni warlords."

"We stand to benefit much from working together, Onaga," Torn says.

"Only, I have one small grievance with you," he says as he turns around. "You have not once called me Emperor."

In his hands is a strange artifact, a five-pointed red ruby bound in black metal. It glows with an unholy power and before the Brothers Chi can react, he blasts them with red light. Cao has to shield his eyes from the dazzling display of power, as does Li Mei.

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>>46994150

The Dragon King laughs as the red energy overtakes them completely, forcing them to fall onto their knees and grow closer. Cao squints and sees the Brothers Chi... start to merge.

Onaga ceases his attack, leaving a single being behind in the smoke. As it clears, a lone figure can be seen, with white skin and dark tattoos covering his arms and scalp. Onaga sets the red artifact back into the chest and closes it. He turns back and speaks.

"Rise... Quan Chi."

The man stands up, breathing heavily. He stretches out his arms and feels his strength. "At... last!" he says, letting out a deep breath. "My lungs are whole. My blood is pure. My mind is one."

"And whom have you to thank for this?" Onaga asks, walking back around to inspect the demon.

Quan Chi looks up at Onaga. "Not Lord Shinnok, he whom rendered me into those three fools to begin with."

"A fool to not recognize your worth," Onaga says. "I would never be so foolish."

"No, you would not," Quan Chi says before he kneels in front of Onaga. "And for this, and my gratitude, I pledge my service to you, Onaga, the Dragon King, True Emperor of Outworld."

"Yes," Onaga smiles. "Rise."

>A) Continue staying and listening
>B) Leave
>C) Attempt to sneak into the tent
>D) Run inside and attack them
>E) Other

>>46994171
>>B) Leave
Quan chi can smell living beings a mile away. Time to bounce

>>46994171
>B
missed our shot.
Any ideas on what now?

>>46994171
>B) Leave
good intel though.

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I'm going to hit up bed and get up nice and early so I can play more with you guys.

I know this is a weird time to be running, with this recent /qst/ business. Seems like the fates conspired; if I didn't get my teeth out last weekend, I would've ran the final two episodes of Thief Quest then and we wouldn't be running in this uncertain period.

Personally, I want to see both of these final episodes on the sup/tg/ archive where they can rest alongside their brothers. After this weekend, assuming action isn't taken by the end of it and we're forced to move, I don't know.

After these last two threads of Thief Quest I'm going to see where the /qst/ situation goes. If we have to move, we'll move, but I want these threads on sup/tg/ to complete the Thief Quest archive in one easy-to-read location.

I'll see you guys in the morning.

>>46994435
Thanks for everything Boss.

>>46994435
Sounds good Damashi

Bump

>>46996544

Bump

We'll be resuming in just a bit.

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>>46994281
>>46994301
>>46994376

Deciding that he's overstayed his welcome, Cao quickly edges away from the opening of the tent. He moves as unsuspiciously as he can, but he hears the deep voice of Quan Chi speaking from behind.

"Wait... Something..."

"What is it now?" Onaga asks.

"I feel something, or someone."

'Damn!' Cao thinks to himself. He looks over and sees a formation of undead and quickly hops into the back of it, standing completely still. Quan Chi steps out of the tent and looks around, as does Onaga.

"I sense it as well," Onaga says, no longer distracted by his meat and his woman. "A corpse."

"But not one of yours, Emperor," Quan Chi says. He looks at the formation Cao is in.

He realizes they are talking about Speelock, in his backpack!

>A) Remain in hiding and stand still
>B) Run and make a break for it
>C) Signal to the others to attack
>D) Present the body of Speelock to Onaga
>E) Other

>>47000394
>E)
He can see our formation but not us right? Try to dump the body real quick. I know it's cold but as long as we have it on us they can home in and we can't handle this fight.

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>>47000841

Cao closes his eyes and curses his fortune. He wanted to bury Speelock somewhere, to give him a nice sendoff. He reaches into his backpack and takes out the body wrapped in cloth.

'It's just a body,' Cao thinks to himself, knowing that Speelock's soul has left it.

He sets it on the ground and moves off, through the formation before any of the undead can react. Because he looks like them, they do not; they are not incredibly clever things.

Cao makes it to the river and jumps down into it. He turns as the hologram dissolves around him and looks back over the bank.

Quan Chi approaches the formation and looks around, stopping only for a moment when his eyes look upon the cloth. He picks it up and inspects in.

Onaga approaches from behind. "What is that? A baby?"

Quan Chi opens it. "No, my Emperor... one of the lizard-creatures from the city, by the look of it. A small and sickly one. A runt. Perhaps worthy of a dissection..."

A strange look comes upon Onaga's face. Perhaps it is whatever little bit of Reptile is left in him, but he looks upon the corpse of Speelock with an almost reflective and contemplative face. But Onaga is the dominant one, and so this affection is misplaced and quickly corrupted into something worse.

Cao watches as Onaga holds up his hand. The large, three-fingered claws glow green as a ray of light extends to Speelock's body, enshrouding it in the same emerald splendor. Cao watches in horror as the body is lifted up into the air, twisting the turning... and changing.

>>47000841
I think they're looking right at us so that plan wouldn't work

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>>47001282

Onaga does to Speelock as he did to Chameleon and as he will do to more; he resurrects the lizardfolk, altering the body. Speelock’s scales, always a dull green, now shine a bit brighter. His muscles are a bit bigger, though he is still small. The biggest change, however, comes in the form of two wings that sprout from his back, thin membranous things that quickly spread out and form. Onaga smiles as this new creation is made, resembling almost a diminutive version of himself.

Speelock reawakens with a cry, his wings flapping as the magic leaves him. He hovers in the air, his new little tail swishing around. Onaga laughs as the small lizard goes to perch on his arm like a bird. He opens his mouth and a small bit of flame emerges. “How amusing!” Onaga says. “My own tiny Dragon Prince. What is your name, small one?”

“Speelock!” he chirps.

“Speelock? What a repugnant name.” Onaga pauses in thought before saying, “Your new name shall be Taka. What is your name?”

“Taka! Taka!”

Onaga laughs once more as he turns back to his tent with his new pet and Quan Chi following along.

>A) Regroup with the others and come up with a plan
>B) Try and rescue Speelock
>C) Return to the city
>D) Promise to yourself to free Speelock from Onaga’s control
>E) Other

>>47001294
>A)
>D)
I hope Onaga gets hit by a bus

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>>47001371

As Cao looks on, he silently apologizes to Speelock. He had no way of knowing, but had he not brought the body right to the Dragon King's front door, this wouldn't have happened. He closes his eyes and promises that Speelock will be free of being little more than the Dragon King's pet or jester.

He moves back to the others. "What happened?" Jin asks.

"I have valuable information, but I lost Speelock's body. He brought him back and turned him into something else."

"We should attack," Frost says.

"No, that's stupid," Jin says, earning her ire. "We can't take on the Dragon King out here, surrounded by an army of the dead. Let's head back to the city."

"We should attempt to sabotage the tarkatan camp," Fireseed suggests. "Plant bombs. Burn down their siege weapons."

Cao thinks for a moment.

>A) Head back to the city
>B) Sabotage the tarkatan camp
>C) Attack the Dragon King
>D) Stay out here and gather more intel
>E) Other

>>47001576
>B)

Sounds like something we can actually pull off right now.

>>47001371
Ditto, he'll get our fist.

>>47001576
>B)
If they have siege weapons yeah they need too go.

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>>47001686
>>47001731

"Alright, let's do that," he agrees. "If they have siege weapons, they'd be good to get rid of."

"Hold it," Jin says. "One thing I've read about tarkatans is their sense of smell. I don't know about you guys but I use shampoo. We should mask our scent before going in there."

"How?" Frost asks, even as she stands in the muddy bank of the river.

Several minutes later, they're all covered in mud and ready to roll. Cao hoists himself further up the bank with the others following closely behind. Of course, Skarlet is still nearby, ready to assist if need be. They reach the tarkatan camp and peek their heads over to look.

The tarkatans work quickly, but their structures are crude, wrought of bone, wood and stone. They whip each other and snarl, threatening one another with their boney blades.

"Those are definitely siege towers," Jin says, pointing to one side. Large wooden structures on wheels are being constructed, with ladders and hooked ropes. Large piles of raw materials can be seen that they brought up from the south to use in building. "That's a good place to start."

Cao's eyes are drawn to the heart of the tarkatan camp. There, upon a mound of mud, bones and broken blades sits a lone tarkatan, their leader. He has heard of the tarkatan leader before, named Tortek, but this... is something else. This tarkatan is much spikier than the others, with a thick brow over burning eyes. His mottled skin is bumpy and protrusions of bone jut out at odd angles, especially around his arms.

He's been resurrected into a new form, like Chameleon and Speelock, by Onaga.

>A) Focus on destroying the siege towers and supplies
>B) Attempt to attack the leader
>C) Stay and observe for a while
>D) Split up to deal maximum damage to different parts of the camp
>E) Other

>>47001876
>A)
It's all we need for now. Unless anyone thinks we could take Tortek our self...

>>47001876
>D)

Does anyone in our group know how close Tortek and Kaito were?

>>47001876
>A) Focus on destroying the siege towers and supplies
If we split up and get caught we'd be outnumbered even more than we already are

>>47002142
>Does anyone in our group know how close Tortek and Kaito were?

No, not particularly. Well, Skarlet maybe.

>>47001876
>>D) Split up to deal maximum damage to different parts of the camp
The siege towers should be 1st priority however

>>47002021
>>47002142
>>47002205
>>47002493

Still tied up.

>>47001876
>>A) Focus on destroying the siege towers and supplies

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>>47002021
>>47002205
>>47003031

Kung Jin looks in the direction he is looking in and asks, "Is that Tortek?"

Skarlet forms alongside them. "No. I've seen the one called Tortek; he had a nosering. That is Baraka."

"I thought he was dead," Jin says.

"You are behind an army of the dead," Skarlet deadpans.

"Let's just focus on those towers," Cao says, drawing their attention back to them. "We're going to smash them, blow them up, destroy their stocks of wood and then escape."

"I like it," Jin says. "How do we go about it?"

Cao looks at the tarkatans working on the siege towers. They are thin, with metal muzzles in their mouth. They drag the materials to the towers and secure them any way they can; with rope, nails, or other materials.

Cao thinks for a moment about the best way to proceed.

>A) Have Fireseed plant bombs on the towers and make use of his explosive arrows
>B) Use Jin to spread flames with his dragon-headed bo
>C) Have Frost freeze the base of the towers in order to smash them
>D) Use Skarlet to sneak around and carefully pick off tarkatans when no one is looking
>E) All of the above
>F) Other

>>47003144
>>A) Have Fireseed plant bombs on the towers and make use of his explosive arrows
>D) Use Skarlet to sneak around and carefully pick off tarkatans when no one is looking

>>47003144
>E)

Also, once we're done here, now that we know it's Baraka...I think we can take 'im.

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>>47003291
>>47003307

"Skarlet, start picking them off, specifically around the towers. Make sure no one sees you."

She nods and dissolves into blood, sinking into the soil to do her work. Cao looks over at Fireseed, who prepares his own bombs and nods.

They sneak towards the towers and prepare to do their work.

>1d100+20 to sneak around and place explosives!

Rolled 54 + 20 (1d100 + 20)

>>47003712
hopefully no fuckups like this
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ry4oiluyPFs

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>>47003776

With Skarlet picking off the workers one by one, they move in and begin placing explosives and bomb-tipped arrows around the siege towers. They soon make their way over to the piles of supplies and do the same. Kung Jin discovers a useful tool; a few barrels of burnable oil used for lamps, torches and the like. He and Cao work together to drag them across the ground and position them near the towers before opening and spreading the oil around. They create a series of trails that will ensure maximum damage to the building materials. Due to Skarlet's quick work, appearing behind the tarkatans and gutting them only to drag them away, silent and deadly, they are not discovered.

After this is done, they regroup and prepare for their next move.

>A) Leave, make for the river and detonate
>B) Do not detonate until you are near the city
>C) Stay in the camp and detonate from a safe distance
>D) Other

>>47004118
>A) Leave make for the river and detonate

>>47004118
>C)

We have the opportunity to take one of Onaga's generals out of the picture, and I think it's a safe assumption Baraka will be the weakest one, even with the buff.

>>47004118
>>C) Stay in the camp and detonate from a safe distance
Lets take the chance. I feel like we should have a heart to heart with skarlet in the near future as well.

>>47004118
>A) Leave, make for the river and detonate
safer,and we would still see the boom

>>47004118
>A

Can't risk being in the camp while the detonation happens, it'll be swarmed with undead and tarkatans

>>47004288
We do need to have some alone time with her, not even sexy some time.

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>>47004203
>>47004315
>>47004321

"Let's go," Cao quickly urges them, and they make their way back to the river with Skarlet in tow. They hop inside and slide down the slope, blending into the riverbed.

Cao nods at Fireseed, who takes out the detonator and wordlessly presses the button. They all were prepared for it, but still the explosion that follows rocks them and causes them to flinch as the siege towers and materials go up in flame in a brilliant explosion that could be seen from the city walls. They watch as the towers fall, bursting and shattering, igniting in flames as the oil burns. The trails they left seep over and across to tents and other supplies, and even tarkatan warriors are not spared from the attack, flailing and screaming as the fires find them and set them alight.

Baraka storms over, his eyes burning as hot as the flames that now consume the siege towers. He roars and stabs the foreman to death, bathing his arm-blades in blood, as the undead and even Onaga himself, drawn by the noise and commotion, go to investigate.

"If we had a chance to escape back to the city, this is it!" Jin urges, with the enemy distracted by combating the flames.

It is true, the enemy's eyes are temporarily drawn away from the walls... and Onaga is not inside of his tent.

>A) Head back to the city
>B) Remain outside near the camp to continue spying
>C) Make for Onaga's tent
>D) Head for the Kove to link up with the other team
>E) Other

>>47004509
>A) Head to the city
Let's not head to Onaga's tent, I don't think we want to piss fate off at the moment

>>47004509
>>C) Make for Onaga's tent

Take skarlet, let everyone else leave. We still have the disguise projector.

>>47004509
>C)

>>47004556
I agree with this.

The best chance to defeat Onaga is to steal his Kamidogus. We're a thief, this is our bread and butter. Take the stealthiest person, let everyone else take off safely.

>>47004509
>>47004556
This

Really hope Quan Chi isn't there

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>>47004556
>>47004597
>>47004605

"You all go!" he tells them. "Skarlet, with me."

"What are you doing?!" Jin asks, and Frost shares his wild look.

"I'm getting into that tent and I'm stealing that Kamidogu," Cao says. "Go! Now!"

Using the disguise device, he assumes the appearance of the undead once more and hops over the riverbank. With all of the commotion and the undead moving about, it's all too easy to head across the field to Onaga's tent.

Frost attempts to follow, but Jin and Fireseed hold her back and they make their way back to the city.

Cao approaches the tent and looks into the opening. There he sees not Quan Chi nor Speelock, but Li Mei, quickly armoring herself up. She wears purple and silver armor styled like the Dragon King's. She had been lounging with her king when the explosion happened and so is now attempting to ready herself for battle. Her helm and sword lie on a nearby table.

The black chest is in the back, unlocked.

>A) Head right to the chest
>B) Attack Li Mei while Skarlet goes for the chest
>C) Both attack Li Mei
>D) Have Skarlet attack Li Mei while you go for the chest
>E) Go for her sword and deny her a weapon
>F) Other

>>47004702
>F
Wait for her to armour up and leave. If she knows we have the Kamidogu, Onaga will waste no time destroying the city. We can wait and maybe implicate Quan Chi somehow.

>>47004702
>A) Go for the chest
Not her chest, she's a filthy reptilefucker

>>47004749
>>47004702
Although if no-one supports my idea change my vote to D

>>47004749
I agree with this

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>>47004749
>>47004928

Cao posts outside the tent, waiting for Li Mei to arm and armor herself. She slides on the helmet and picks up her sword, charging out of the tent, assured that with such dutiful undead on guard, the treasure will be safe.

'Sucker,' he thinks to himself as she runs out.

He runs inside and opens the chest, discovering only one relic inside, and it is not the one he saw before. This one is orange, like a brilliant topaz, in the shape of a spiral.

'Where is the Netherrealm Kamidogu?' he thinks to himself. 'The hell realm is this anyway?'

Either way, he picks it up and slides it into his backpack. 'One less for the enemy,' he thinks to himself before running out of the tent.

>A) Stay here in the camp
>B) Make for the city
>C) Head to the Kove
>D) Head south, to the Living Forest
>E) Other

>>47005028
>B

>>47005028
>B) Make for the city
I hope the one we just got isn't a decoy or a bomb or something

>>47005028
>>B) Make for the city

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>>47005063
>>47005065
>>47005101

Cao wastes no time and runs back to the river, jumping inside and wading through the water while the hologram deactivates. Skarlet forms alongside him and together they make it back to the pipe they originally crawled out of that leads to the aqueducts. They find the others there waiting for them.

"What happened?" Frost asks as he draws near.

"I have one of the Kamidogu," Cao says. "Not the one I saw earlier, but a Kamidogu still. Come on, let's get this in the city."

They make their way into the pipe until now they are once more in the underground tunnels, heading back into the heart of Z'unkahrah.

"This was amazing," Frost says, her mood considerably lightened. "We kicked damn fine ass out there."

"Good work," Fireseed compliments Cao.

Jin laughs. "Yeah, I can only imagine the look on Onaga's stupid dragon face when he---"

Jin stops speaking and so does everyone else. Cao keeps walking for a few steps before he stops and looks back.

All of them are utterly frozen still; even their faces are the same as they were when they were walking and talking.

Cao approaches them and waves a hand in front of their face. "What the hell happened?" he wonders aloud, trying to move them and finding that he cannot. Even Skarlet is still, unable to turn into blood.

"Don't mind them," a voice from the shadows speaks. Cao whips around and sees a strange man in strange clothing approaching. "I just needed a private moment with you."

"What did you do to them?" Cao demands.

"Nothing at all," he says. "In fact, they're all perfectly fine: it's the flow of time that is frozen."

"What?"

"I stopped it so we could have a little chat. Not a complicated spell for a cleric such as myself."

"Who are you? What do you want?"

"Names are not important. What is important is that you have something I have been missing for some time now... and I would enjoy to have it back."

>>47005423

>A) Tell me who you are
>B) If you mean to speak to me, you can do it in front of the others
>C) The Kamidogu?
>D) Attack him!
>E) Other

>>47005442
> A and B

>>47005442
>A) Tell me who you are
>B) If you mean to speak to me, you can do it in front of the others
>C) The Kamidogu?

>>47005442
>>A) Tell me who you are
>>B) If you mean to speak to me, you can do it in front of the others

>>47005442
>A
>B
>C

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>>47005459
>>47005463
>>47005493
>>47005544

'The Kamidogu!' Cao is immediately on his guard. "If you mean to talk, you can do it in front of them!"

"But I am in front of them," he chuckles. "I just don't care about them in the slightest. I prefer this, you and I! For you, however, you I have wanted to meet for some time now."

The man paces in a circle and Cao keeps his eyes tracked on him. He walks in a curious manner; everything about him seems slightly off and it makes him nervous. "How do you know me?"

"Anyone with half a brain and their ear to the ground should know you by now," he replies. "You've been quite busy of late. Outworld is finally stirring, the realm is breathing once more, begging to be awoken..."

"What are you talking about? Who are you?"

"A simple man with simple goals," he smiles. "Outworld thrives on conflict. It has slumbered since its last war, wallowing in peace. What has been acheived? Nothing."

"Peace sounds nice," Cao says. "It's an acheivement of its own."

"Oh, yes, that's the way it seems, isn't it? Peace. Blades dull, strong men grow fat, flowers bloom. No conflict, no edge to sharpen a sword upon, no growth. Stagnation. Like a corpse left to bake in the desert sun, Outworld has been free from conflict... until now. Thanks to you."

"To me?"

"Don't play coy, we all know this is your fault. And I applaud your actions where others would judge! I think you've done wonderful work, truly. Outworld is alive again! What exciting times!"

"You're mad," Cao says.

"That's a matter of perspective."

>A) I'm not giving you the Kamidogu
>B) So you want Outworld to be thrown into war?
>C) Whose side are you on?
>D) What do you plan to do with the Kamidogu?
>E) Other

>>47005796
>B)
>C)
Get to the point Havik

>>47005796
>A
>B
>C

>>47005796
>B and C first, then A

If Onaga stole it from him in the first place, that proves he can't keep it safe.

>>47005796
>>B) So you want Outworld to be thrown into war?
>>C) Whose side are you on?
>>D) What do you plan to do with the Kamidogu?

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>>47005875
>>47005972
>>47005995
>>47005998

"So you want Outworld to be thrown into war?" Cao accuses him.

"War is conflict, conflict breeds strength and strength is power," he says. "Outworld needs conflict. It is too large to remain a sleeping giant. It needs war."

"Whose side are you on?"

"I serve neither side in this conflict," he says. "I serve neither gods nor men. In many ways, I am like yourself: a free agent."

"I don't think we're much alike," Cao says with a shake of his head. "So if you mean to appeal to that, it's not going to get me to give up the Kamidogu. You're not getting it from me."

"It's better in my hands."

"If Onaga stole it from you once, all that proves is that you can't keep it safe."

"Ah, but you misunderstand. I did not have the Kamidogu when it was stolen from my realm. It was protected, yes, and the thief who plucked it from my realm paid the cost. Now I have a chance to return it to where it truly belongs, and in exchange, I will grant you information that will prove vital to the defense of your city."

"Vital how?"

"I know of another enemy of yours that you do not," he says with a wide smile. "One who only recently made their play."

"The demons of the Netherrealm," Cao says, thinking he knows it.

"Wrong," the man wags a finger. "A fourth army is going to join with Onaga's. And after that... a fifth."

"What? Who?"

"You would know if you would but relinquish what belongs to my realm to me."

>A) Refuse
>B) Probe him for questions
>C) Attempt to trick him into telling you
>D) Hand over the Kamidogu
>E) Other

>>47006422
>C

>>47006422
>C

We could just throw out names and see how he responds, I mean who's even left to pick a side, the Shokans and Centaurs?

>>47006475
Centaurs and Reiko. Probably a wildcard too. ORDERREALM OUTTA NOWHERE

>>47006593
Yeah, he's probably referring to Hotaru and the Seidan Guard, but that's metagaming, in-character Cao doesn't know who that is.

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>>47006442
>>47006475

"Reiko and the centaurians," Cao guesses, trying to gauge his reaction.

"They've been posted west of your city well enough for you to already know. They haven't joined Onaga. Reiko is a useful fool who believes his blood is to reign over all of Outworld; he doesn't want to help Onaga. And the centaurians follow him because the alternative is even worse."

Cao attempts to discern his meaning, but cannot quite understand it. "The shokan? They wouldn't betray Kotal Kahn. They march south even as we speak."

"Are they?" he asks with a smile. "Are you sure they are marching? Have you seen them?"

"We have been told," Cao says. "And they are Kotal's allies."

"Much like the tarkatans were in Outworld's last war, mm?"

"The shokan are too honorable to betray their oaths."

"True, and you can always rely on an honorable foe to be just as reliably foolish as they are honorable. But the shokan are distracted. Something else has is keeping them at bay."

"What is?"

"Come now, you'll need to be more clever than that," he cackles. "I've enjoyed our talk... but now our talk ends."

He steps closer and his brow furrows. Cao watches as his face begins to bubble, the lower half melting away, dribbling off his chin. "Now you will return to me the Kamidogu of Chaos, or else you shall never know what is to come... until it is much too late for you, little thief."

>A) Attack
>B) Refuse
>C) Question
>D) Give up the Kamidogu
>E) Other

>>47006791
>B

Nothing he said ever actually gave us reason to believe he can keep Onaga from stealing it back again.

>>47006791
>>47006851

Also, his face just came off. That's not creepy or menacing or untrustworthy at all...

>>47006791
>B

Be prepared to fight though

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>>47006851
>>47006964

"Absolutely not," Cao says, preparing himself for a fight.

The man, surprisingly, steps backwards, chuckling at something Cao does not understand. "Your loss."

He steps into the shadows and vanishes.

Suddenly Jin's voice comes back. "---sees that we waltzed right into his camp and---woah!"

He stops, walking nearly right into Cao, who looks back. The flow of time has been restored. "Why'd you stop?" the shaolin archer asks. "Something wrong?"

"Did any of you... notice something, just now?" He looks at them all, and Skarlet too.

"No," Frost replies. "Why?"

"...Nothing," he shakes his head. "It was... nothing."

He resolves to keep it a secret for now until he can speak to someone who knows what the hell just happened.

>A) Head to the palace, report your findings
>B) Hide the Kamidogu somewhere
>C) Try and find Cassie and Jacqui's team on the streets
>D) Keep the Kamidogu on you and do not reveal it to anyone
>E) Other

>>47007198
>D
>A

>>47007198
>A
>D
Let's at least wait until we are in a safer place before telling anybody about it. Dont want any unwanted listeners

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>>47007249
>>47007370

Cao quickly hurries back to the surface and heads back to the palace. Upon entering it, he and his team go straight to the throne room. Kotal Kahn is here, along with some of his advisors. Notably, the other New Defenders are not anywhere to be seen, nor are Ashrah and Johnny Cage.

Kotal turns. "Cao, you return. What have you found?"

"We fought a saurian follower of Onaga in the lizard pit and stopped him from turning the lizardfolk against the city. He was disguised as Reptile. He could do this because Onaga is using his magic to bring his lieutenants to life and granting them new powers," he says. "The tarkatans have marched north to join Onaga. I think he killed their leader and resurrected another: Baraka."

"Are you certain it was Baraka?"

"I saw him myself."

Kotal closes his eyes. "Yes, this I know. Onaga flew over the walls of our city and to my palace, dropping a broken body upon my balcony."

Cao looks over and sees stains of blood on the floor. "What happened?"

"It was Tortek. Kaito was the one who elevated him to the position of leadership among the tarkatans. They were friends." Kotal remains stalwart as he turns to one side. "He is atop my temple now, with his friend's body, giving him a proper funeral pyre."

Cao is quiet for a moment. "There's more. The Brothers Chi came before Onaga and offered an alliance; he rejected them. But that's not good news. He used the Netherrealm Kamidogu to fuse them into one being: Quan Chi. He pledged his service to Onaga."

"This is most distressing," Kotal says. "I had long thought Quan Chi never again to walk the realms... He will bring great strength to Onaga's cause."

"And demons," Cao says. "The Brothers Chi had demons and oni. Now Onaga has them."

"That makes three armies," Kotal says. "Our numbers are now smaller than theirs."

"We destroyed their siege towers and set fire to their raw materials," Cao says. "Might buy us more time."

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>>47007640

"Commendable," Kotal replies. "Is there anything else?"

Cao thinks on the Kamidogu in his backpack. "No, that is all." He looks back at his team, telling them wordlessly to keep quiet about the item in his backpack. "What else has happened?"

"The shokan have not yet reached Z'unkahrah," Kotal says. "Sheeva has grown concerned. I have used the Portal Stone to send her to her people's homeland where her own mystic, Breeti, can relay any news to her."

>A) Tell him about the encounter with the strange man
>B) Tell him that you have learned something is distracting the shokan army
>C) Head up to see Kaito
>D) Go somewhere and wash off this mud
>E) Find a place to relax for a bit
>F) Confer with Kotal what your next move should be
>G) Ask to speak with him in private
>H) Other

>>47007664
>>B) Tell him that you have learned something is distracting the shokan army

>>47007664
>A
>B
>C

>>47007664
>>G) Ask to speak with him in private
We need to tell him about Havok & the Chaos Kamodgu. He might know more than Cao does

>>47007664
>>A) Tell him about the encounter with the strange man
>>B) Tell him that you have learned something is distracting the shokan army
If he just sent Shiva off, she could have walked into a trap. Additionaly as Baraka is back, it would make sense for Goro to be as well

>>47007664
>A) Tell him about the encounter with the strange man
>B) Tell him that you have learned something is distracting the shokan army
Man first Speelock and now Tortek? This fucker is going to die worse than Shao Kahn did.

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>>47007689
>>47007696
>>47007725
>>47007758

"I had another encounter, this one was more strange," he says to Kotal.

"When?" Jin asks.

"It was magic, down in the aqueducts. He used some kind of stange spell to stop time and speak with me."

"What did he say?" Kotal asks.

"He alluded to a lot but said nothing. He mentioned that the shokan are going to be distracted, and that two more armies are joining Onaga; Reiko and the Centaurians are not them."

"This is troubling," Kotal says, folding his arms and stroking his chin. "Onaga already outnumbers us, but if two more armies seek to join his cause..."

"Do you have any idea who they could be?" Cao asks.

"I suspect one," he says. "The shokan. Not Sheeva and Duroc's folk, but the others, the exiles. The ones who stood with Shao Kahn. Onaga represents perhaps their best chance to destroy King Duroc and reclaim their ancestral homeland. And if Baraka is back, whose soul was in the clutches of the Netherrealm... I know of another soul who belonged to them once during Shao Kahn's invasion." He opens his eyes and says, "Goro."

Jin steps forth. "Goro?! He could be back?"

"Worse," Cao says. "He could have been resurrected by the Dragon King." He looks up at Kotal. "When did you send Sheeva off?"

"Not long ago, but she has yet to return."

"What if she's in trouble?" Cao asks. "What if Kuatan is under attack?"

"This could be why we have not heard from them," Kotal realizes.

>A) Ask to be sent to Kuatan immediately
>B) Find someplace to set the Kamidogu and hide it, then leave for Kuatan
>C) Entrust Kotal Kahn with the Chaos Kamidogu
>D) Recruit more members of your team and then head to Kuatan
>E) Do not travel to Kuatan; it could be something else
>F) Other

>>47007935
>>D) Recruit more members of your team and then head to Kuatan

>>47007935
>D

>>47007935
>>C) Entrust Kotal Kahn with the Chaos Kamidogu
Lets make sure that is safe first of all
>D) Recruit more members of your team and then head to Kuatan
We need the shokan's help to break the siege, so we need to help Kuatan

Also how many days out of the 3 Onaga gave us before he attacked?

>>47008102

We're about halfway through the first day.

>>47008001
>>47008039
>>47008102

Alright, we have Kung Jin, Fireseed, Frost and Skarlet with us currently.

People still in the city are:

>Cassie
>Jacqui
>Tundra
>Lex
>Samantha Stryker
>Erron Black
>Ashrah
>Ferra and Torr
>Kaito

Who do we want to take with us, assuming we need to leave some of them behind to help defend the city in case something happens?

>>47008449
Let's get Ashrah, the rest can stay.

maybe Kaito if he's done mourning.

>>47008449
>>Erron Black
It might be fun to have some more cowboy bonding time.
>Ashrah
>Kaito

Also we might leave Kung Jin and Fireseed behind as their ranged specialties would benefit the group remaining to defend more.

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>>47008485
>>47008679

"I'll go to Kuatan," Cao says. "Jin, Fireseed, maybe you two should stay here. You might be able to help defend the city."

Jin shakes his head. "With all respect, if Goro's around, I want a chance to face him."

"Why?"

"He killed my ancestor, the Great Kung Lao, five hundred years ago. If he's on the Dragon King's side, I want that chance for Kung to take him down."

"He can go, I'll stay," Frost shrugs. "I could use a break."

>A) Agree with Kung
>B) Disagree; take Frost

>>47008946
>>A) Agree with Kung

>>47008946
>A

>>47008946
>>A) Agree with Kung
Can we talk with skarlet in private tho?

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>>47009059
>>47009132
>>47009354

"Alright," Cao nods. He looks at Frost and says, "You're good to stay here, then?"

She nods. Fireseed goes to stand near Kotal, who sends for Ruby to get the Portal Stone. Cao says that he's going to go get Ashrah, and perhaps Kaito.

He, Skarlet and Kung Jin climb the stairs that lead to the exterior of the zigarrut-like structure. There, they ascend to the top of the pyramid. They find Kaito, Johnny and Ashrah there, standing in front of a blazing funeral pyre.

Ashrah and Johnny both linger back as Kaito stands near the flames, silently staring into them. Upon the burning wood is a body, tarkatan, with his arms folded over his chest. The human stands solemnly, with a tarkatan arm-blade in one hand. Cao watches this scene and realizes that Kaito must be experiencing something similar to what he felt when Speelock died; he knew not the extent of Kaito’s friendship with this tarkatan, but it must have meant something greatly to him. And given Kaito’s nature, the thief knows that he must treasure his friends dearly.

He walks up to Ashrah, whose own face is stoic yet saddened by the sight. Johnny can’t quite look at the fire himself. The demon reaches up and places a hand on Cao’s shoulder. “Dark times yet linger ahead,” she says. “We may find ourselves in this position again yet, with other friends.”

“We might,” Kaito says, drawing their attention. He slides the arm-blade into the waistband at his hips and turns around. “But not if we destroy the Dragon King, like we destroyed Shao Kahn.”

A pang of anger runs through the core of Cao, who struggles to keep himself under control. Kaito doesn’t notice as he approaches and Cao speaks up to distract himself. “We need to go to Kuatan. Sheeva and the other shokan may be in danger. We think Goro may have returned.”

Kaito seems shocked at that news. “That guy again?”

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>>47009374

“The Dragon King is resurrecting many dead warriors to help. Quan Chi is returned and now serves him as well.”

“Damn,” Kaito says with a sigh. “Alright. Let’s go.”

As they walk down the stairs, Cao wonders what he should do about the Kamidogu still in his pack.

>A) Keep it on you safe
>B) Store it somewhere in the palace
>C) Place it in Shao Kahn’s sanctum
>D) Give it to Kotal Kahn
>E) Give it to Kaito
>F) Other

>>47009387
>>E) Give it to Kaito

duh

>>47009387
E

Have Sonya put it on Earthrealms Moon or just shoot it into space

>>47009387
>>D) Give it to Kotal Kahn

>>47009387
>>C) Place it in Shao Kahn’s sanctum
One of the safest places for it most likely

>>47009636
That migjt work since would Onaga even know to look there and would he even be able to get it?

>>47009636
>no Onaga quest where Onaga, Quan Chi and Li Mei hijack a NASA space shuttle and travel into Earthrealm's outer space to retrieve the kamidogu

>>47009692
>Dragon King Adventure in SPACE

>>47009387
>D) Kotal

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>>47009636
>>47009683
>>47009692
>>47009743

I'd fund it

>>47009469
>>47009636

Cao looks at Kaito as the group descends the steps of the pyramid. "Kaito... I've heard stories. You used that Kamidogu of Edenia to free it, didn't you?"

"I found it for Kitana and her family," Kaito nods. "Yeah, me and old Sub-Zero... we walked south through Kuatan and had a dandy time there. That's when I met most of my shokan friends there now."

"Well, I think you will know better than me what to do with this," he says as he takes out the Chaos Kamidogu.

"What is that?"

"The Kamidogu of Chaosrealm," Ashrah says. "How did you find this?"

"Nicked it from Onaga's tent when he wasn't looking," Cao says.

Kaito laughs and slaps him on the back. "Nice work!" He takes it from Cao's hands and inspects it. "I'll make sure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands."

"Funny," Cao remarks as he snickers. "This started with me stealing some koins from you and now I'm handing you a Kamidogu."

"What a strange path we tread," Kaito replies with a smirk. He opens his own pack and slides the Kamidogu into it.

In a few minutes, they're back in the throne room. Kotal has the Portal Stone ready to send them to the shokan city of Kuatan. Erron Black is here as well, ready to leave with them at the Emperor's command.

"Are you prepared?" Kotal asks.

>A) Head to Kuatan
>B) Actually... (write-in)
>C) Other

>>47009770
>>A) Head to Kuatan
Let's rock n' roll

>>47009770
>A)
Les go

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>>47009810
>>47009829

Upon entering the yellow portal the stone creates, they find themselves entering into an active war zone. The shokan city is under siege; with most of their army away, the traditionalist shokan have attacked! Rising up from the underground, swarming out of the cobalt mines, the two groups of shokan face each other.

They run into the main hall only to discover Breeti, the shokan mystic, is wounded and bleeding. Kaito approaches her and helps her sit up. "Breeti, what happened?"

"The king... in danger..." she says. "Sheeva is battling Kintaro, but Toron and Gorbak..."

"Gorbak? I thought he was dead!"

"It was a ruse," she whispers. "Go! Help them!"

>A) Search for Sheeva
>B) Search for King Duroc
>C) Search for Jagara
>D) Follow one of the others
>E) Other

>>47010061
>B) Search for King Duroc

>>47010061
>>B) Search for King Duroc

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>>47010216
>>47010311

Leaving Ashrah with Breeti to help her with her wounds with her light magic, the group runs to a large split in the hallway leading in four directions. The sounds of battle come from each; Erron Black is the one to suggest splitting up. He takes off alone, suited to playing the role of a lone gunman, leaving Kaito to head in one direction with Kung Jin while Cao and Skarlet head in another.

They enter a large dining hall and discover a shokan, wearing a red vest and holding two long, thin punching blades that he uses to pierce a royal guard through the chest. He kicks the other shokan off the table and looks upon Cao and Skarlet.

"What have we here?" he asks, using a dining cloth to clean his blades with his other two free hands. "Some more fools sent to die?"

"Aren't you a little small to be a shokan?" Cao asks the thin, young man.

"I am Prince Toron, son of Goro!" he claims. "Who are you to question me?"

"I'm the guy who kicks prince's asses," Cao says. "Ask Rokuro."

"No need. Father and Grandfather are dealing with him and my traitorous uncle as we speak." He points his blades at Cao. "A pity you won't be around to see the restoration of the true kingdom of the shokan!"

He roars and charges at them both!

>1d100 and an action!

Rolled 87 (1d100)

>>47010481
Dodge into a sword parry into a sweep.

>No other rolls
Christ guys

Rolled 1 (1d100)

>>47010481
Have kung jin shoot him in the eyes and then cut off his head

>>47010722
>Stopping in the middle of a quest to move
At least let this session end before you get assblasted

>>47010705

Skarlet teleports away in a burst of blood, leaving Cao to dodge the initial attack. Toron does not relent, even as Cao rolls away; the shokan chases after him intent on impaling him with his piercing blades.

Cao brings out his sword and turns around in time to parry the attack, knocking both blades to one side. He follows through his momentum and turns, going low and sweeping out his legs from under him. Toron goes down, allowing Skarlet to reappear nearby and leap upon him, stabbing him in the shoulder.

The shokan grunts in pain but won't go down so easily; he blasts a fireball at both of them with his lower set of arms. Both Cao and Skarlet dodge the attack, jumping back as Toron rolls backwards onto his feet.

>1d100 and an action!

>>47010481
Stab him in the stomach then kick the sword deeper in

Rolled 86 (1d100)

>>47010768
Distract him while Skarlet slices his tendons

Rolled 27 (1d100)

>>47010768
Throw a spectral spear at him while Skarlet gets in.

Rolled 20 (1d100)

>>47010820
Fuck I guess I'll roll for this>>47010768

Rolled 82 (1d100)

>>47010768
Toss some of the silverware around the dining hall at his face then chop off one of his arms

>>47010835

Cao charges in but only does this to get the shokan's attention. Toron turns towards him, allowing the nimple Skarlet the opening she needs! She dashes across his backside, using her twin blades to slash his tendons of his legs. Toron falls to his knees, shouting in pain, giving Cao a chance to attack himself.

>>47010846
>>47010848

As he runs in, intent on impaling the shokan prince, Toron brings up both of his blades and blocks his attack, diverting it upwards. His lower arms shoot up and punch Cao in the gut, knocking some of the wind out of him as the attack sends the thief backwards. He hits the dining table as Toron gets back up, roaring.

"I am SHOKAN!" he shouts. "I am the blood of Goro! I am a dragon and you are but a worm!"

With his free hands, he blasts a large fireball towards Cao!

>>47010915

Cao rolls onto the table, picking up a large silver platter and uses it as a shield! The fireball blasts it, melting it a bit. Cao discards it before picking up more of the silverware and throwing it at Toron! The shokan, distracted by this, fails to react in time to Cao leaping off the table, bringing his sword up high and chopping downwards!

His dadao connects solidly with Toron's upper right limb, digging into the shokan's flesh! He slices cleanly through it!

The arm falls to the ground as the shokan shouts in pain, clutching his bloody stump with his lower left hand. "Gah! You... you... YOU INSOLENT CUR! RRRAAAAGH!!"

He desperately swings at Cao as the thief leaps away. The prince stands there, panting and grimacing in pain, but refusing to surrender.

>1d100 and an action!

Rolled 56 (1d100)

>>47010997
Chop off the other arms.

Rolled 8 (1d100)

>>47010997
Have Skarlet stab him in the back then impale him with a spear and steal his soul

Rolled 29 (1d100)

>>47010997
Distract him while skarlet finishes him off.