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For a moment, Cao was not himself. Upon touching the hammer of Shao Kahn, he was temporarily transformed into the former Emperor. But after a moment, he reverted back to his normal self, frightened, confused, his wounds healed, faced with a suddenly subservient Skarlet.

She kneels in front of him, bowing her head. "My lord Emperor Shao Kahn, long have I awaited your return. I knew you would not abandon me or your people, that it was only a matter of time. I have ever been your faithful servant and continue to be. I am forever sorry that I harmed you, but you are indeed the one true Emperor of Outworld and thus could easily defeat me. I am yours, oh Emperor, to command, as before and as it shall always be."

Cao pants heavily as he says, "What the hell are you talking about?!"

She looks up, a bit confused. “What is the matter, my Emperor?”

“Stop calling me that!” he demands.

“As you wish, my Emp—my lord.” She bows her head again.

He holds up a shaking hand, looking at it in confusion. What happened? All he could see was red… and he heard that deep voice in his mind. He steadies himself. “My name is Cao.”

“No, you are Shao Kahn,” she insists. “You may not know it yet, but you are the Emperor reborn.”

“I am not! I am not Shao Kahn!” Cao shakes his head vigorously.

“But you are,” she replies, remaining calm despite his disturbed condition. “Within you is the soul of Shao Kahn; it is bound to you. Your Wrath Hammer helped reawaken his power within you. I saw it for myself with the eyes you gave me: the spirits locked within the artifacts of this chamber fled to you when they heard their master’s call, and then you took the form of the mighty Shao Kahn.” She continues to kneel and smiles. “Soon, you will remember everything, and the conqueror shall rise again.”

>A) Insist you are not Shao Kahn
>B) Ask her how this could possibly be
>C) Demand to know who she truly is
>D) Attempt to pick up the Wrath Hammer
>E) Other

>>45923423
>>B) Ask her how this could possibly be
>>C) Demand to know who she truly is

You should probably announce this on Twitter.

>>45923441

I did

>>45923423
>>C) Demand to know who she truly is
>>D) Attempt to pick up the Wrath Hammer
But try to summon it to your hand.

>>45923449
Surprise Thursday thread is best surprise for a newly unemployed man.

>>45923423

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>>45923441
>>45923479

Cao looks at the blood warrior suspiciously. "Who are you?"

"I am Skarlet. You created me from the blood of a thousand battlefields as your personal assassin and weapon. I have waited here for twenty years knowing your rebirth would eventually come. I have protected your innermost sanctum with my life ever since the invasion, my Emperor."

"I told you to stop calling me that," Cao replies, his eyes still wide and manic.

"Forgive me," she bows her head again. "I only desire to serve you."

"Stop," Cao shakes his head. "Stop, stop, stop! I didn't make you, I didn't ask you to wait here for twenty years!"

"You do not remember it, this I understand," she nods. "But in time, you will, and you will remember me as your most faithful and loyal servant. While all others fled or failed or betrayed you, I remained."

"Right, and I'm sure Shao Kahn really appreciates that, but I'm not him!" Cao insists again.

"When were you born, Cao?" she suddenly asks. Before he can reply, she says, "Perhaps right around the time of Shao Kahn's supposed demise?"

"...Yes," he slowly replies.

She smiles. "In upon your birth, the soul of the Emperor, far too powerful to become the plaything of any petty sorcerer or afterlife, found its way to home, to Outworld. To you."

"That's not possible," Cao mutters.

She reaches out and places a hand on his chest. "The Emperor has been apart of you since your birth. You are the vessel of his rebirth."

>A) Why me?
>B) Does that mean I'm going to turn into Shao Kahn?
>C) I don't believe you.
>D) Is that what the power I've felt is?
>E) Other

>>45923403
>apparantly somehow missed part of last thread
>we somehow got shao kahns hammer
>we shao kahn now
i'm ok with this.

>>45923630
>>A) Why me?

Not gonna lie, I have no desire to become Shao Kahn.

>>45923630
>>A) Why me?
>>E) Other
We should probably mention that the kiss we gave her didn't mean anything... It was just to throw her off guard... Yeah.

>>45923630
>A) Why me?
Awakening as Shao Kahn is just going to paint the biggest target in all the realms on Cao. No one would dare to let Shao Kahn rise again.

>>45923630
>>A) Why me?
mind you guys even as his reincarnation, we now have all the rights in the world to go smash the blundergod into paste.

>>45923885
Leave raiden alone. He is not that bad in this setting of MK.

>>45923885
Cao himself has no direct beef with the Blundergod; he's in charge of Earthrealm, not Outworld. When Raiden finds out Cao is the potential new vessel for Shao Kahn, Cao will immediately be marked for death.

>>45923944
to be fair, alot of the time raiden is the direct reason most of the problems in MK happens for one reason or another and i'd rather get rid of him before he makes things go to shit in one way or another.
its the same reason why raiden will probably attempt to kill cao on sight really, its preventative measures.

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>>45923703
>>45923838
>>45923846
>>45923885

Cao blinks a few times before asking, "If what you say is tru, then why me? Surely he must have had a better way to come back to life..."

"Your birth coincided with your death. As you died, so too were you born."

"Stop talking like that," Cao says. "Like I did things before I was born. I didn't."

"As you wish," she says. "Shao Kahn's soul as bound into your body. He found within you an able shell, one that would hide him until the time came to rise."

She steps back. "The time has come, and your transformation is beginning. You have felt it, have you not? The power? The lust for battle?"

His eyes widen a bit at those last words. "Lust for battle..."

"Yes, you hunger, do you not?" she asks. "For battle, for blood, for conquest. You seek to tear down this foolish pretend empire that has sprung up and return Outworld to its proper state, ruled by the one true Emperor."

"I don't want any of that," he replies.

"Do you not seek the demise of Kotal Kahn?"

Cao blinks for a moment. "I always wanted him dead, but not for that reason."

"One reason or another, it makes no difference. He is a usurper, as are the traitors of Edenia. You will rise to destroy him and them and rule over all, as is your destiny."

"No!" Cao shouts, surprising her a bit. "Do you have any idea how many enemies Shao Kahn had? No one in all the realms called him an ally!"

"This is true," she says, kneeling again, "but countless knew him as master, Emperor, lord, tyrant and more. Just as I do." She bows her head. "What would you ask of me, my Emperor? Please, command me. It has been so long since I have been able to serve you in person."

Cao cocks an eyebrow. He's never been in this kind of situation before.

>A) You want to follow my commands?
>B) I refuse; you're free, go do what you want
>C) Kill yourself
>D) You're going to continue protecting me.
>E) No, this is all wrong! I am NOT Shao Kahn!
>F) Other (Write-in)

>>45924034

>tru
>as bound

*true
*was bound

Christsake man get it together already

>>45924034
>A) You want to follow my commands?

>>45924034
i'm gonna go with the pragmatic approach of highjacking shao kahns powers while still being a dickass thief here, so lets keep her guys.
>D) You're going to continue protecting me.

>>45924034
>>F) Other (Write-in)
Just lay on your back for a while and look at the ceiling. Ask her what powers she has.

All because literally all the shit hit the fan FOR TWO DAYS STRAIGHT when Cassie and Jacqui ran him over.

>>45924034
>B) I refuse; you're free, go do what you want

File: 1456772186030.gif (3.96 MB, 200x200)

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>thursday MKK

>>45924034
>A) You want to follow my commands?

>>45924240
This gif... Why THIS specific gif? G-mantle that you?

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>>45924066
>>45924080
>>45924086
>>45924137
>>45924240

Cao sits back a bit and looks at her. "So, you're going to follow my commands?"

"All of them."

"And continue protecting me?"

"With my life."

"Well... then go free. I refuse your service; you are released, go do what you want."

She smiles. "I think not, my Emperor. I am not bound to you by anything more than choice. I chose to remain here and guard your sanctum of shadows. I knew this day would come, and I have kept it ready for your return. I made these choices, just as I choose to serve you now."

"But I'm not Shao Kahn, I'm Cao. We are two different people. Even if I transfomed, I don't remember it."

"You are two and the same," she replies. "Serving one is serving the other. Thus, I serve you now, Cao."

He looks her up and down a bit. "So... what can you do?"

"I was made to be your most potent weapon, master. I am made of blood, infused with the prowess of many warriors. I feed upon the blood of my enemies and grow stronger by spilling it."

She strikes a kombat-ready pose. "I am ready to kill at your command."

He feels his stomach, where she previously had stabbed him. There's no doubt she can be effective in that regard. Cao looks her up and down, at her pale, smooth skin, bright blue eyes, deep red hair and athletic form. He's never quite seen anyone like her, except for perhaps that time he glimpsed Princess Mileena when she stepped off the boat with Kaito. She's certainly comparable to Mileena in... other ways, as well.

But this news of Shao Kahn... His eyes drift to the side. It can't be true, can it? Could the soul of the conqueror of worlds be within him?

>A) Attempt to pick up the Wrath Hammer
>B) Command her to do something
>C) Order her to wear something else
>D) Ask her some more questions
>E) Other

>>45924315
>C) Order her to wear something else
Dress up like a nice puritan girl, Cao doesn't need to be tempted by anymore of these lusty barflies

>>45924315
>>D) Ask her some more questions
Is there any other exits to this place?
Could you heal people with your blood powers?
Why did Shao make you look like that??!?

>>45924315
>D) Ask her some more questions
How do we get out of here?
What was Shao Kahn...really like?

>>45924354
Don't ruin nitaras surprise!

>>45924415
this, this is a good one.

>>45924388
>>45924415
Sorry for the info dump, Dam.

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>>45924388
>>45924415
>>45924479

"Is there any way out of this place?" Cao asks.

"Many," she replies. "This tomb was sealed by your magic. Now you can command it."

She approaches him and helps him up, pointing his hand at a nearby set of massive doors. "Focus," she says. "The souls of the subjugated are within you now, fueling you. Draw on their power. Become their master, as you were before."

Cao listens to her and holds out his arm, focusing intently. He can feel something stir within him, a strange power that is altogether different and yet familiar, as though he always had it but never knew. His hand begins to glow green.

A symbol appears upon the doors and they open, the stone slabs sliding apart to reveal a stairway.

"Shao Kahn was a master of the dark arts, of soul power and sorcery. In time, you will remember everything, my lord."

She steps away and Cao looks at her again. "Why did he make you the way you are?"

"What do you mean?" she asks. "I was made to be a deadly warrior."

"No, I meant like... your clothing."

"I never asked my lord why he chose my form."

"What was he really like?" Cao asks.

"Shao Kahn was power. He took what he wanted and ruled over all. None could match him in strength; entire worlds fell before the might of him and his armies. He asked nothing of his servants, he demanded. Countless followed him out of fear, loyalty and respect."

She speaks of him with such reverance, fondly, almost as if she is proud to have been his servant.

"What was he to you?" he asks.

"My creator, my master, my Emperor," she replies. She looks at him and smiles. "And now you have returned, and I may serve again."

>A) Don't you want anything else?
>B) Do you own other clothing?
>C) So are you made out of blood, or are you solid?
>D) Attempt to pick up the Wrath Hammer
>E) Other

>>45924704
>>A) Don't you want anything else?

>>45924704
>>A) Don't you want anything else?
>>C) So are you made out of blood, or are you solid?
"I know a lady that could just eat you up."

>>45924704
>A) Don't you want anything else?
>C) So are you made out of blood, or are you solid?
>D) Attempt to pick up the Wrath Hammer
>E) Other
If you're going to follow me around, then new rule: absolutely no one is allowed to see you unless I ask for you.

>>45924704
>D) Attempt to pick up the Wrath Hammer
we warrior god now.

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>>45924758
>>45924759
>>45924771
>>45924784

"Don't you want anything else?" Cao asks. "Other than just to serve?"

"Not to serve," she corrects, "to serve you, my Emperor."

Cao averts his eyes, still very uncomfortable with that term. He changes the subject again. "So, are you made out of blood, or solid?"

She reaches out to his hand. "So I feel as though I am not solid?" she asks. "I become blood, but I am flesh and bone all the same. I am just as you are, but with the power to take on a flowing form."

"That's amazing," Cao replies, feeling the back of her palm.

"You made me this way," she says with a smile.

He looks away and sees the hammer and helmet, what he came to retrieve. She sees him look at them. "Go to them," she encourages him. "They are yours. I have kept them ready for you."

He slowly approaches the hammer as if drawn to it. He touches the handle before gripping it, preparing to life.

>1d100 to lift! (first roll counts!)

>>45924704
>A) Don't you want anything else?
>D) Attempt to pick up the Wrath Hammer

Rolled 19 (1d100)

>>45925233

>>45925261
YOU FUCK.

Rolled 38 (1d100)

>>45925233

>>45925281
In Cao's defense, he's still rattled at the idea that he is Shao Kahn reincarnate and that he has his own personal femme fatale ninja assassin at his beck and call, whether he wants her or not.

Rolled 64 (1d100)

>>45925233
FUCK DA POLICE, WE ULTRA POWERFUL NOW!

>>45925261
Hopefully all this means is that we have limp noodle arms.

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>>45925261

Cao grips it with both hands and yanks! He lifts the hammer up a bit before its weight causes him to nearly collapse. The head of the hammer hits the floor and causes it to crack.

"This thing weighs a ton!" Cao says, barely holding the handle up.

Skarlet walks over and gets alongside him, gripping the hangle and helping him to lift. He breathes hard as she lets go and he barely remains standing, sweating before he has to drop it again. "Worry not," she says. "It will come to you again in time. Your strength will return."

The hammer is too damn heavy to be practical. How did he ever wield it?

He looks back at the helmet and tries putting it on. It's too big for his head and doesn't fit, slumping to one side.

Cao feels silly, like a child in adult's clothing. "I'm pretty sure I'm not Shao Kahn," he says.

Skarlet puts a hand to her lips and fights back a giggle. "As I said, it will come in time. I personally witnessed your transformation and know you have the power within yourself."

"But this thing is damned heavy," Cao feels the need to repeat himself. "I can't even lift it normally. How am I going to get it out of here?"

"Use your power to banish it," Skarlet says. "Focus. Shao Kahn would summon his hammer only when he needed it---all other times he would simply will it away."

Cao looks down at the hammer and tightens his grip, focusing hard. He taps into the same power as before and the hammer glows green before turning bright and vanishing.

"Your powers are reawakening," Skarlet says with a smile. "Soon, you will be able to lift the hammer and wield it with all the power you once did."

>A) Ask her what else Shao Kahn could do
>B) Tell her to hide and only reveal herself when you ask
>C) Give her another order
>D) Ask more questions
>E) Leave with the helmet
>F) Other

>>45925483
>>E) Leave with the helmet

>>45925483
>E) Leave with the helmet

>>45925483
>>D) Ask more questions
Who was better looking? Us or Shao?

>>45925483
>A) Ask her what else Shao Kahn could do
>B) Tell her to hide and only reveal herself when you ask
>E) Leave with the helmet

>>45925483
>B) Tell her to hide and only reveal herself when you ask
>E) Leave with the helmet

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>>45925511
>>45925644
>>45925695
>>45925712

Opening his backpack, he takes the helmet off and puts it inside. Once there, he puts the backpack back on and looks back at Skarlet.

"If you're going to come with me, then I need you to remain hidden. Only appear when I command it."

"As you wish," she says. "But my lord, there is another artifact that belongs to you."

She points across the room and Cao turns to look. A statue, that of a hooded priest, holds in its hands a silver staff, topped with a red orb. "What is it?" he asks, approaching it.

"This is the Staff of Shao Kahn," she says. "Your staff. The Wrath Hammer is a weapon of war, but this is a tool of your sorcerous might, of rituals and rites. Contained within is dark power belonging to you and you alone."

"Can I use it? The same way I use the Wrath Hammer?"

"Of course, my lord."

Cao reaches out and touches it. The power surging through it is immense. He can feel magic radiating from the red orb atop the staff.

And yet, he's not sure if it is right. If what Skarlet says is true, and you are truly the vessel of Shao Kahn's rebirth, would keeping this staff be good or bad? Perhaps he should destroy it... then again, it might be useful.

>A) Leave the staff here
>B) Destroy the staff
>C) Take it with you
>D) Ask Skarlet what powers it may contain
>E) Other

>>45926030
>C) Take it with you
>D) Ask Skarlet what powers it may contain

THIS IS OURS BY BIRTHRIGHT OF BEING THE REINCARNATION OF SHAO KAHN.
if we are to highjack his powers then we will actually need his powers to go cause shenanigans.

>>45926030
>>A) Leave the staff here
Nope

>>45926076
do you really want Kotal kahn of all people to have this?
cry some more.
also:
>blowing up a shao Kahn Artifact
>this will not cause any harm what so ever nope siree
ISHYGDDT

>>45926030
>C) Take it with you
Fuck it, may as well go all the way.

>>45926099
Better idea... LETS GIVE IT TO TURANA!

Guys, look at it this way, I think this might be a chance to start learning two new variations

>Street Brawling
>Dark Magic (Staff and spells)
>Emperor Reborn (Shao Kahn-style attacks and Wrath Hammer)

Eh?

>>45926030
>B
Nope, not being reborn in my body, motherfucker.

>>45926158
anon plz.
plz no, just fucking no.
i just want to play an overpowered thief that simply wants to slap kotal kahn and the elder gods collective shit in.
thats all i really want.

>>45926030
>>A) Leave the staff here

>>45926030
>A) Leave the staff here
Nah senpai

>>45926259

StrikeZone and Damashi are both cool

>>45926259
>the tripfag tries to ruin the quest

Been here since thread one. Cry some more.

>>45926297
What?

>>45926297

>Calls me SZ
>SZ posts less than a minute after my post >>45926295

What's it like to be a faggot

>>45926259
We still having budding Demigod powers... The more Shao khan shit we take the more we risk turning into Shao khan. I for one want to return to hour kinda friend vampire and do "things."

>>45926071
>>45926100

>>45926076
>>45926213
>>45926235

Well, it was tied, but >>45926215 backed out, so I suppose we're leaving it here.

Writing.

>>45926320
If we're leaving it here, then at least we can always come back for it later.

>>45926373
Sorry Damashi, I should leave my trip off. Don't want to cause you any problems.

>>45926403
I hope that you have a good day tomorrow and all your dreams come true.

>>45926403
Sup rage-sperg anon? You've been awful quiet since the Mileena thing.

>>45926402

Hey man, I really don't care. Some people get way too upset about trips. I don't want to encourage it, lest a bunch of shitposting follows saying that it's nothing but a circlejerk by the same people, but I don't mind knowing if it's you that posts.

>>45926403

I would rather have posts with trips than posts like this.

>>45926533
>egregiously retarded since

I'm shadowrunning super hard about the staff, sorry if you think it's dumb. I have to respectively disagree.

>>45926561
ok then.

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>>45926373

"No... No, I don't think so," Cao says, putting it back into the statue's hands.

"My lord?" she asks. "Do you not wish to use your sorcerous powers?"

"I'm NOT Shao Kahn," Cao says, looking back at Skarlet. "I don't want to risk it."

"You cannot run from this, Cao," Skarlet says. "Sooner or later, your destiny will reveal itself. It is only a matter of time."

Before he can reply, she melts into a puddle of blood, vanishing into the floor. He sighs and heads towards the exit, pausing to pick his dadao back up. He looks at the way he entered the room, holds up his hand, and seals it.

Once he is through the doors he had opened, he looks back and holds up his hand, sealing the last entrance with the green power. He looks at his hand as the glow fades.

Shao Kahn... Conqueror of worlds. Ruler of realms.

Could he truly be harboring such power within himself? Can he control it? Will it overwhelm him and destroy him, overwriting his personality with that of the Emperor?

Will he truly be Cao anymore if he loses control? He wasn't the last time it happened.

He feels different. Stronger, but he isn't sure he likes it. Is there a way to remove this power from his body? Shao Kahn's soul must be powerful; how could he hope to remove it or bend it to his will?

How long does he have as himself?

The top of the stairs opens up to a secret passage leading into the catacombs beneath Kotal Kahn's palace. Upon walking through, it closes behind him. Shao Kahn must've built this place with all of its secret paths and rooms... But even though both guardians of the artifacts are now gone, at least the sanctum and the Staff of Shao Kahn are now locked away.

It's late now. The city is mostly asleep. Perhaps Kotal Kahn is, too.

>A) Head to your sisters
>B) Contact the Black Dragon
>C) Get to a safe location
>D) Hunt for Nitara
>E) Explore Kotal Kahn's palace
>F) Other

>>45926658
>>C) Get to a safe location

>>45926658
>>C) Get to a safe location

>>45926658
>C) Get to a safe location
>B) Contact the Black Dragon

>>45926658
>>C) Get to a safe location
Need a good place to call up the dragons. How big is the tracker we got? Can we put it in a pouch on our backpack to make it look like we got bugged?

>>45926766

That's only if we want to reveal it. It's small enough to be easily concealed.

>>45926679
>>45926694
>>45926738
>>45926766

Alright, give me a 1d100+10 to sneak out of the palace.

Rolled 84 (1d100)

>>45926891

Rolled 37 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>45926891

Rolled 23 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>45926891

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>>45926930
>>45926935
>>45926997

Cao sneaks out of the catacombs and assumes the identity of a guard. Just when he is about to escape, however, he is halted when a diminutive voice calls out to him.

"Hey you, skinny guard! Wait there!"

Cao turns around only to see the half-wit and the half-pint, Torr and his rider Ferra, approaching. "You! Go to kitchens and get food! Emperor hungry for late night snack. Bring to us!"

Cao blinks a few times and stands still before Torr smashes a hand against the ground. "Move, skinny! Move!" Ferra orders.

Cao quickly scampers in the direction of the kitchens.

>A) Sneak out
>B) See if you can tamper with Kotal Kahn's meal
>C) Personally deliver the meal yourself
>D) Bring the food to Ferra and Torr quickly without any trouble
>E) Other

>>45927371
>B) See if you can tamper with Kotal Kahn's meal
We may not beat Kotal Kahn in a fight, but we can definitely fuck with him.

>>45927371
>>D) Bring the food to Ferra and Torr quickly without any trouble
Hit on adorable tiny rider. She knows the pain of being short.

>>45927371
>>B) See if you can tamper with Kotal Kahn's meal

>>45927371
>D) Bring the food to Ferra and Torr quickly without any trouble

>>45927420
Hell yes we can. This.

>>45927420
YEAH

PUT A CAT HAIR IN HIS WATER

>>45927703
Like singular? Just one?

>>45927846
yes

it's more infuriating if it's just one hair that destroys the pleasure of drinking water

>>45927371
Surely op will deliver.

>>45928879
happens all the time

most likely unclogging a sink or changing a lightbulb for a woman as they are stupid and cannot do anything

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>>45927420
>>45927451
>>45927677
>>45927703

Cao knows his hologram has a limited timer, but the opportunity to mess with Kotal Kahn's food only comes once in a great while! He rushes into the kitchen, where great slabs of meat are hung, cut and cooked. The head chef, a small dwarf of a man, meticulously prepares the meals and sets them on golden trays.

He is distracted while Cao comes in, working on cutting up a large bird. The thief looks down at the try and thinks what he could do.

>A) Hair in the food
>B) Too much seasoning
>C) Spit all over it
>D) Look for poison
>E) Other

>>45930143
>A) Hair in the food

>>45930143
>A) Hair in the food

>>45930143
Do outworlders have dandruff? Ruffle your hair all over dat shit.

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>>45930156
>>45930178
>>45930295

Cao is about to ruffle his hair all over the food, when he hears a sleeping taigore nearby, lounging with a half-eaten chunk of meat discarded from the butcher block. It grows softly as it chews on the meat in its sleep.

>A) Take some hair from the car
>B) Ignore it and ruffle your hair over the meal
>C) Have Skarlet fetch some car hair
>D) Look for something else
>E) Other

>>45930407
>>B) Ignore it and ruffle your hair over the meal
It has to be us. We haven't bathed in a while anyway.

>>45930407
>B) Ignore it and ruffle your hair over the meal

>>45930448
>>45930454

Cao ignores the sleeping creature and ruffles his hair all over the food when the chef is not looking. Snickering to himself, he takes it and prepares to leave.

>A) Deliver it to Ferra
>B) Take it to Kotal Kahn yourself
>C) Leave it somewhere
>D) Give it to another guard
>E) Other

>>45930545
>A) Deliver it to Ferra

>>45930545
>A) Deliver it to Ferra
She said bring it to her, don't disobey orders.

>>45930545
>>A) Deliver it to Ferra
Man we gotta get outa here and get shit done.

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>>45930583
>>45930589
>>45930605

Cao hurries back to Ferra, handing her the tray, before heading out of the palace and towards a safe place. He reaches the catacombs beneath Countess Mira's estate and takes out his radio as his holographic disguise fails.

He turns it on and speaks into it. "Black Dragon? This is Cao. Black Dragon?"

A moment later after he takes his finger off the button just like Trevor explained, a voice radios back. "Have you completed your objective? Over."

"Yes! I have the items. Uh, over?"

They radio back. "Tomorrow morning, northeastern corner of the Z'unkahrah interior wall. Bring an update about Kotal Kahn's whereabouts. Black Dragon Out."

The radio feed closes and Cao turns off the radio. Well, the Emperor hasn't left the city yet, so that's easy. Now to just wait...

>A) Sleep
>B) Find Ashrah's bracelets
>C) Head to the northeastern corner and wait
>D) Head back home to Sanra and Hua
>E) Other

>>45930783
>B) Find Ashrah's bracelets

>>45930783
>>D) Head back home to Sanra and Hua
Tell skarlet to hang back a bit so Nitara doesn't go hog wild when she first discovers a blood cocktail of a person.

>>45930783
>>B) Find Ashrah's bracelets
Spose we can get these as well.
>>45930855
Dis me.

>>45930783
>B
>D

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>>45930847
>>45930855
>>45930933
>>45931144

Heading over to the place where he previously hid Ashrah's bracelets, Cao takes them out and dusts them off, putting them into his backpack.

"Skarlet," he calls out. A moment later, she materializes.

"My Emperor."

"I want you to wait here for a bit. There's a bath full of blood down that way if you're into that kind of thing, but I need to go handle something. I'll come back for you."

"Is that wise? You'll be without my protection."

"I'll be fine," he says to her. "Just stay here until I come back."

She seems a bit disappointed. Even so, she says, "I will do as you command, my Emperor."

She bleeds away as Cao climbs out and makes his way towards the aqueducts. He climbs down into them and heads home to find his sisters, giving them both a hug.

As he sits up against a wall and listens to Hua and Sanra talking to each other, occasionally nodding or replying whenever they speak to him, Cao's thoughts are taken away with worry over this Shao Kahn business. What will become of his sisters if he loses himself? Will he even remember them? Will shreds of himself remain within the reborn Shao Kahn?

No. No, don't think like that. He hasn't won yet and nothing is certain. There must be some way to rid himself of the Emperor's influence...

>A) Sleep
>B) Seek out Nitara
>C) Attempt to reach out to Ashrah for guidance
>D) Reveal the truth to Hua and Sanra
>E) Other

>>45931273
>C) Attempt to reach out to Ashrah for guidance

>>45931273
>>B) Seek out Nitara
i just really want to tell her about skarlet and see there meeting.

>>45931273
>C
She was the first person outside of family to do anything for us. And she did so with no expectation.

>>45931273
Maybe after the next post we should pick up tomorrow when more people are playing.

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>>45931353
>>45931598

Cao closes his eyes and runs his hands alongside Ashrah's hat. He searches within him for the Light she left behind, seeking guidance and clarity in this troubling moment.

'I'm frightened... I'm going to lose myself.'

Her voice comes to him, serene and angelic, soothing his fears.

>”Every day of my quest, I feared losing myself. To base temptations, to the lust that once ruled my life. Every day I feared falling back to what I once was and losing what I had strived to become.”

‘But how did you go on? Knowing that you could be lost?’

>”Because I knew there was a better way. I did not let the fear of falling stop me, I let it push me on. I used it to keep myself going because I knew that if I did not, it would control me. Paralyze me. And so I made peace with it, understanding that I may never truly be rid of it, yet striving to a higher ideal. You, too, can do this, Cao…”

‘But how? How do I reject something that is bound to me?’

>”There is always a way, Cao… Each darkness has a light. Seek you the blade… My blade… it will guide you.”

‘Ashrah? Where are you? Ashrah…’

The warmth fades and her voice is gone. He awakens suddenly in the middle of the night, with his sisters fast asleep, but he feels wide awake and energized.

>A) Seek out the blade
>B) Prepare to meet with the Black Dragon
>C) Search for Nitara
>D) Spend some time with Sanra and Hua
>E) Other

>>45931729

Yeah, I'll go to bed. We'll be resuming tomorrow after work---keep the thread bumped

>>45931778
>>C) Search for Nitara
Time to give into more base temptations! Cao needs a break after nearly dying let's leave the sword alone for now.

>>45931881
>Time to give into more base temptations!

Cao has a surprisingly high list of girls to choose from, it's nuts

>>45931778
>A
This for some redemption

>>45931778
>A) Seek out the blade

>>45931778
>A) Seek out the blade
We can drop off the shokan earrings to our future wife too!

>Nobody ordered Skarlet to get on her knees and suck it

I'm surprised at your restraint

>>45931778
>D)
>C)
>>45931906
Yeah this guys got some anime harem protagonist mojo working for him or something.

>We are Shao Kahn

I'm actually really afraid of this. At the same time, I think it would be fucking amazing to harness his powers.

We're going to become Shao Kahn, aren't we?

>>45931947
>>45931957
>>45932053
>>45932235
All you bastards show up when the thread is ending because of lack of activity.

>>45932419
Not if I can fucking help it. Shao khan is ugly as shit. We will tell no one and never lose our alladin charm. I propose we use our powers as little as possible unless really needed.

>>45932495

Well, Skarlet knows.

I say we kill her.

>>45932446
we're vampires

>>45932546
If we tell skarlet to keep her trap shut I'm sure she won't say anything.

>>45932446
Not my fault Damashi runs when I'm at work. Seriously Damashi always runs when I'm busy I feel like it's some kind of karmic punishment.
>>45932419
I really want to harness the power and pull some crazy shit.

>>45931778
>>A) Seek out the blade

Bump for justice!

Bump for Damashi!

Bump for the once and future Cao Khan!

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http://strawpoll.me/7051152

i hope we have a thread or at least a portion of a thread where we play as Shao Kahn

>>45940216
If that happens I hope a bit of the Edenian Royal family are there too see it. Maybe Raiden too. Hell half the cast of mk9.

Home early.

We'll be resuming in just a bit; writing now.

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>>45931947
>>45931957
>>45932053
>>45933620

It's still night when Cao heads out onto the surface, above the aqueducts. He judges he has a few hours until he needs to meet with the Black Dragon. Most of Z'unkahrah is still asleep, so moving through the streets is easy.

There is great conflict within him. Fear battles hope as the power he came to realize in Shao Kahn's sanctum grows in his body, housed within him since birth and only now coming out. He wonders if it was because of his experiences south of the Living Forest, with Cassie and Jacqui, as they battled the warparty of vehicle-raiders, amazons and more, that stirred it from its slumber. But regardless, it has now awoken and its power is great and frightening.

Ashrah's sword... She said it could purge darkness from within one's self. He was skeptical of it, but could it perhaps rid him of Shao Kahn's soul? Could its power rid him of the Emperor's influence?

It's worth a shot, he figures. He knows D'Vorah took that blade when she killed Ashrah, likely back to the palace. He hadn't seen it any times he had been there, but then again, he hadn't been actively looking for it, either.

It's strange. Before recently, he avoided even going near the palace, but now he's an expert at infiltrating it. Using the hologram device and moving when none can see him, Cao makes his way to the palace and swiftly makes it inside. But where to start looking...

>A) Armory
>B) D'Vorah's nest
>C) Kotal Kahn's chambers
>D) Trophy room
>E) War Room
>F) Other

>>45942470
>>A) Armory

>>45942470
>D) Trophy room

>>45942470
>>D) Trophy room
Don't forget that we gotta drop off the earrings later!

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>>45942508
>>45942687

Cao finds the temple quiet this time of the night. Very few guards, and no shokan he notices---they must have followed through with their plans to return to the north back to Kuatan. That suits Cao just fine, since he wasn't very interested in coming face-to-face with one since his ill-encounter with Jagara. He inwardly sighs at how well that discussion ended up going.

Turning through several passages, Cao finds himself in a large trophy room. Skulls and mounted heads of all sorts of exotic creatures can be seen---tormentors, taigores, sky-beasts, dragons, giants and more. A roaring fireplace is kept well-fed, and in front of it is a sleeping man.

Erron Black.

The mercenary sits in a large, comfortable chair with his hat pushed down over his face, his hands in his lap and his feet propped up on a small stool. He is still armed and armored, but in his sleep he is vulnerable.

Cao looks down at his belt. A pistol is there, gleaming in the light of the roaring fire, the crackling of which would provide good cover to sneak closer... Cao remembers the last time they met and the bullets the cowboy put in him, wounds that were healed by Ashrah not long after but wounds that hurt nonetheless.

Cao looks around the room and sees no hint of Ashrah's sword.

>A) Search elsewhere
>B) Attempt to steal the gun
>C) Subdue Erron Black
>D) Try to kill him
>E) Other

>>45942872
>A) Search elsewhere
Best not aggro the gunslinger.

>>45942872
>>E) Other
Take a sand grenade instead. Those bad boys are a much easier target and can help out in the future.

>>45942935
Banditos like Black are notoriously light sleepers.

>>45942872
>>A) Search elsewhere

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>>45942872
>and no shokan he notices---they must have followed through with their plans to return to the north back to Kuatan.
knackers!
>A) Search elsewhere

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>>45942926
>>45943088
>>45943110

Cao knows well the reputation of Erron Black, and having experienced his skills first hand, desires not to repeat his prior encounter with him. Slipping out of the trophy room, he makes his way to the war room not far away. It is a large chamber, with a great stone map built into the center of the room with colored flags and statues indicating opposing factions. Cao studies them for a moment before he hears footsteps coming from behind. He turns to see a tall man with stone-colored skin enter the room, not unlike a shokan. In fact, his resemblence to them is more than a bit uncanny...

"Studying strategy?" he asks Cao, believing him to be another guard due to the disguise. "Shouldn't you be on patrol?"

The man walks around the table and looks down at the map. "Funny... for all the good we do for your Emperor, he still has Kuatan as a separate color on his map." He chuckles a bit as he takes a drink of wine from a golden goblet in one hand.

So, he is of the shokan... a half-shokan, perhaps? Why would he be here, and not with his kind? He is dressed somewhat like royalty.

>A) Exsuce yourself and move on
>B) Ask him why he is here and the shokan are not
>C) Inquire about his parentage
>D) Ask him how he feels about Kotal Kahn
>E) Other

>>45943260
>B) Ask him why he is here and the shokan are not

>>45943260
>>A) Exsuce yourself and move on
We must exsuce ourselves!

>>45943260
>>A) Exsuce yourself and move on

>>45943305
>>45943317

Cao excuses himself as quickly as possible and leaves the war room, not wanting a possible confrontration with the half-shokan either. His list of places to search is narrowing, though, which is good. He isn't sure how much longer his disguise generator will last.

>A) Search the dungeons
>B) Search the armory
>C) Search Kotal Kahn's chambers
>D) Search D'Vorah's chambers
>E) Other

>>45943419
>>D) Search D'Vorah's chambers
It's gotta be there.

>>45943419
>>D) Search D'Vorah's chambers

>D) D'vorah's Chambers
Process of elimination

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>>45943446
>>45943463
>>45943550

Cao rounds a corner and sees a strande yellow light. Cautiously, he approaches it. He looks into the chamber within and his eyes widen. Certainly once it was a normal room, but now it has been changed into something... else.

The walls are coated in some kind of thick resin, molded and shaped to give them a strange, rounded and wavy shape, a kind of alien flow. At various points in the room he can see large yellow pods covered in thick mucas, pulsating with strange larvae inside. Groups of eggs are gathered in open clusters, housed within black shells that almost look like a parody of a baby's crib. An odd smell reaches his nostrils as he nears what can only be D'Vorah's chamber---or is it a hive?

Experimentally, Cao enters, on his guard. A series of orange web-like threads are spread across the floor, covering root-like extensions of the resin from the walls. He can hear faint buzzing as he looks around the chamber, barely illuminated by the glow of yellow pods, which he realizes are home to clusters of yellow glow worms.

This place repulses him in every sense. It conforms to no normal standard of living---no furniture, no artwork, no comfort---only the intricate needs of the hive are provided for. He and people like him is not welcome in a place such as this. There isn't even a chest for personal items.

Just then, he hears the buzzing of large wings from a nearby open window. He realizes D'Vorah must be near!

>1d100+10 to hide!

Rolled 12 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>45943727
ASHRAH GUIDE US!

>>45943727

Rolled 45 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>45943727

Rolled 84 (1d100)

>>45943727

>>45943876
We aren't gonna go to the neatherrealm to save you anymore. Why would she forsake us like this? Why Dam?

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>>45943876
>>45943899
>>45943924

Cao looks for a hiding place somewhere in the hive but there is none. As he heads for the exit, he suddenly finds himself blocked by a wall of insects. He takes a few steps back as the wall parts to reveal D'Vorah. "Guard," she says in her strange alien voice, "you are intruding in the hive. This One hopes, for your sake, you have brought important news. The hive always hungers."

He immediately regrets not having Skarlet here for at least backup. Cao immediately begins to think of what to do...

>A) Lie and tell her that news of the thief has been recovered: he is in Sun Do, Li Mei's village
>B) Tell her that Kotal Kahn has summoned her
>C) Lie; Tell her that the thief is hiding out in the Kove
>D) Attack!
>E) Other

>>45943990
>>B) Tell her that Kotal Kahn has summoned her
Seems the most believable. Hopefully she didn't just get back from seeing him.

>>45943990
>A) Lie and tell her that news of the thief has been recovered: he is in Sun Do, Li Mei's village

>>45944078
Though any previous sightings of the thief has him heading into the Living Forest for some reason.

>>45943990
>B) Tell her that Kotal Kahn has summoned her

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>>45944065
>>45944284

Cao quickly thinks up a lie. "I have been sent by Kotal Kahn. He wishes to see you."

D'Vorah's black eyes narrow. "Has he now... This One would think the Emperor would have mentioned it in the meeting we just concluded."

Suddenly, an arm emerges from her back, topped with a poison stinger! She thrusts it towards him!

>Current Meter: 1
>1d100 and an action!

>>45944065
Sure sucks when you're right, huh

Rolled 60 (1d100)

>>45944346
Just run. Fuck it. FUCK WE FORGOT TO BRING SKARLET! Unless....
"Skarlet help me!"

Rolled 16 (1d100)

>>45944346
Headbutt

>>45943990
>C) Lie; Tell her that the thief is hiding out in the Kove
and heading towards the living forest.

>>45944437
I have not once rolled above 50

>>45944465
I have never seen someone this late before.

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>>45944398

Cao dodges back from the stinger, but it scrapes the edge of the hologram, distorting his image a bit. D'Vorah's eyes widen as she sees him beneath the disguise. "YOU!" she cries, the remainder of her stingers emerging. "THE INSECT FLIES INTO THE SPIDER'S WEB!"

"The spider is damned ugly!" he shouts, pushing past her and out into the hallway.

'Damn, damn, damn!' he thinks to himself. He almost wants Skarlet to appear, to have disobeyed him and followed along after all, but she does not.

He races down the halls, with D'Vorah chasing after him, her wings carrying her.

>>45944437

D'Vorah flies out a window. As Cao rounds a corner, she appears in front of him, flying through another window. He thinks he can rid himself of her with a quick, simple headbutt---but this does not ring true.

As he tries to run up to her, she takes out an insect who sprays the ground with a green sticky substance. Cao runs right into it and slips on his back, landing in the rapidly-solidifying goo. Cao finds his back stuck to the floor!

D'Vorah crawls towards him, walking on her four large stinger-limbs, like a predator towards prey.

>Current Meter: 1
>1d100 and an action!

Rolled 92 (1d100)

>>45944547
Kick her feet out from under her.

Rolled 91 (1d100)

>>45944547

Break out from the grip and smash her head into something hard while shouting how she killed your mother.

>>45944597
I should've said decapitate her with our mind.

>>45944547
cut off a stinger with our sword and kick her in the face.

>>45944669
Gonna need a roll with that bud.

Rolled 100 (1d100)

>>45944669
whoops

>>45944776
Ok. Yup. Ok. Mmhmm. Sure. Yuuuup.

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>>45944597
>>45944625
>>45944776

>>45944810
And once again nobody is here to see this... Not even Skarlet.

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>>45944597
>>45944625
>>45944776

She draws dangerously near as a smile appears on her face. "As you suffer, we enjoy!"

Her mouth opens, her cheeks splitting open to reveal an inhuman maw of sharpeneth teeth from which bugs begin to emerge. Cao struggles as the monster that murdered his mother draws near.

And within him, something snaps.

His foot glows green as he kicks out with both legs at her stingers, forcing her to fall forward. With one hand, he takes out his sword and slices through one of her remaining stingers before kicking her in the face as she falls. She rolls away nearby.

Cao shouts as he pulls himself up from the ground, his shirt tearing and staying in the green goo as he gets on top of her, grabbing her jaw with both hands. She struggles in his grasp as his arms begin to pulse with unnatural strength.

"You killed my mother... YOU KILLED MY MOTHER!" he shouts, lifting up her head and slamming it down into the stone.

Over and over, he slams her head into the rock. Insects bite at his fingers but he doesn't care. She attempts to swipe at him with her stingers, but every blow to her skull robs her of her ability to fight back.

"YOU KILLED MY MOTHER! YOU KILLED HER" he shouts with more fury than he's ever mustered up before, his eyes glowing green. His fingers begin to turn black as small cracks in her chitin begin to leak black, oily blood. His grip on her head tightens as her segmented mouth hangs open, her eyes dull.

His breathing becomes labored, his skin shining with sweat. Slowly, he reaches up to her eyes, placing his thumbs over them. He grabs her head tightly and presses down, forcing them further into her eye sockets. D'Vorah screams, her body spasming beneath him as he crushes her eyes.

He opens his mouth and screams into her face, "I'M GOING TO CRUSH YOU... LIKE THE BUG YOU ARE!"

He lifts up her head and with one final smash, crushes her head into the stone, splattering the area with black brain matter, yellow chitin and bone.

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>>45944776
why couldn't this be a roll to seduce

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>>45944884

>>45944884
Its not revenge, its self defense. That made us feel good.

>>45944884
Worst girl is finally dead

this was for you, Baraka

>>45944998
She didn't kill Baraka in this universe. Also fuck king jobber.

>>45945029
just let me enjoy this

>>45945038
Your right anon. I'm sorry. Too bad she is just gonna reform at a later date.

>>45945084
We'd have to burn her up, but Cao doesn't know that

This way we can kill her again later

>>45945084
Wasn't she only working with Shinok because she died? before then she was just pragmatic, so we actually made our problem worse.

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>>45944884

Cao pants as he looks down at his work, his strength fading. The green glow around his hands and eyes leaves him as he looks at his hands, covered in black liquid and bits of yellow chitin. His lungs feel as though they are on fire from how hard each breath comes. He closes his eyes and tries to relax, laughing a bit as the feeling of bliss that revenge brings washes over him.

At least, until he hears a clicking noise. He slowly turns around and sees Erron Black holding both pistols pointed at him.

"You realize what you just did?" he asks.

At that moment, Reptile, Ruby, Ferra & Torr, along with several guards, run out into the hallway, managing to surround him. Cao looks at them as he sits atop the slain body of D'Vorah, his hands covered in her brain matter and black blood.

And he begins to laugh again. "Do what you will, I've already won."

"Take him," Erron orders, and they approach him and force him to the ground, tying his hands behind his back. They get him up on his feet and march him down to the dungeons and throw him into a cell, taking his equipment from him. Cao sits up against the stone wall, looking up at Erron as they close the cell doors.

The cowboy silently stares at Cao, keeping a personal eye on him. Cao, in turn, does not say a further word. Minutes slip by in silence as Cao breathes through his nostrils in long, slow breaths.

>>45944884
That was metal as fuck.

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>>45945182

A door opening draws Erron's attention as none other than Kotal Kahn enters the dungeons. He walks up to the cell and looks down at Cao.

"Leave us," he commands Erron.

"I'm not so sure that's a--" he begins to reply, but a single glare from the Emperor tells him otherwise.

Kotal Kahn stands fully in front of the cell as Erron leaves them alone.

They meet eyes for the first time. Cao studies his face; even in the darkness, lit only by torches, he can tell that the osh-tekk seems almost disappointed.

"This is not how I wanted us to meet," he says a bit softly. "This is not how I pictured it."

>A) And how did you picture it, exactly?
>B) I'm glad to disappoint you.
>C) Look, the high and mighty Emperor himself came to see me.
>D) Are you here to kill me yourself, this time?
>E) Other

>>45945199
>A) And how did you picture it, exactly?

>>45945199
>A) And how did you picture it, exactly?

>>45945199
>A) And how did you picture it, exactly?
>>45945199

>>45945199
>>A) And how did you picture it, exactly?

>>45945199
>E) Other stay silent

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>>45945228
>>45945240
>>45945245
>>45945249

Cao stares into the Emperor's eyes and says, "And how did you picture it, exactly?"

Kotal closes his eyes and lets out a slow sigh. He folds his arms behind his back. "When you were first captured, I did not speak to you. I did not kill you myself. I sentenced you, condemned you, watched you fight, all without ever truly looking you in the eyes."

Cao doesn't say anything as the Emperor looks back down at him. "I wanted you meet you again as an equal. To have you not in chains, not here in my dungeon. I sought to speak with you... perhaps your sisters, as well. To feed you, clothe you. Help you to understand."

At this, Cao scoffs. "What? Feed, clothe? Understand what?"

Kotal ignores his question and instead asks one of his own. "Did you come here to kill me tonight?"

>A) No.
>B) Yes.
>C) I came looking for a sword.
>D) Why do you care?
>E) Other

>>45945359
>C) I came looking for a sword.

>>45945359
>C) I came looking for a sword.

>>45945359
C) I came looking for a sword.

>>45945359
>>C) I came looking for a sword.

Oh no Kotal is going into Bro mode.

>>45945359
>C

I feel bad for disappointing him now

>>45945359
>>A) No.
This is weird.

>>45945418
He knows. He must die for that.

>>45945448
Kotal's Caosexual

"I came looking for a sword," Cao mutters. "D'Vorah killed my friend. Took it off her body."

Kotal's brow raises a bit. "The Kriss blade... it is in my quarters." Cao mentally slaps himself in the face at its location. "D'Vorah presented it to me as a gift... You killed her for this blade?"

Cao looks up at him. "She killed my friend, who didn't need to sacrifice herself to save me, but she did. She killed her and took it! She killed my mother!" He stands up and walks up to the bars, close to Kotal Kahn's face, within arm's reach. "And you ordered her to do it! You! The one who killed my father!"

Kotal is silent as Cao shouts at him. The thief turns his back and walks to the wall. "So no, I didn't kill her because she took the blade. I killed her because I wanted to! Because it felt good feeling her skull crack in my hands!" He punches the wall in frustration.

Kotal lets out a disappointed sigh. "My son..."

Cao pauses before turning around. "What did you just say?"

"I called you my son."

The thief stares at the Emperor with unknowing eyes, his rage temporarily replaced with confusion.

"Who is your father now, Cao, if it is not me?"

"You killed my father," he mutters a reply.

"And I killed many others on that day as well. Many fathers. And I have killed many more. Sons, brothers, husbands. Perhaps you think that on that day, when we captured the camp you and your family lived in and marched you to Z'unkahrah, when I made you watch your father's execution, that I would not remember you."

Cao faces him fully now. "What?" he breathes.

Kotal gestures to his face. "My face, awash in the blood of your father's heart. My own heart, racing from the cheers of my people, calling for justice upon the traitors. And amongst the crowd, I looked and I saw your family... I saw you. I saw eyes that burned with such hatred, such malice, far beyond that which any child should ever have to bear... and I knew that I had made a mistake."

"So what? Now you feel bad?" Cao replies incredulously. "Did you want to meet with me to say how bad it made you feel when you carved out his heart and held it up to the sun?"

"No."

"Then why even say it!?" Cao says, walking back up to him. "Of course I hated you! But I hated that you let me live even more! That you cast us out into the streets where we couldn't eat! Every day when I was hungry, I hated you! Every day!"

Kotal once more allows Cao to vent before he speaks again. "You and your sisters are not the only orphans I have ever made. My city is home to many. Some of them escape their fate. Others die. But you... you refused to die. You adapted and thrived in my city's streets."

"Stealing to eat isn't thriving," Cao spits out.

"True," Kotal nods. "But you didn't starve to death. You were hungry, and you let it drive you. You were hateful, and you let it dirve you. Look at what you have grown into: the speed you run with. The survival instinct honed from years of fighting to stay alive. I gave these to you."

"You did nothing," Cao replies.

"But I did. By killing your father, I made you into what you are today. I created you and for that, I am ashamed. Ashamed that I did not take a better path on that day. Ever since, I forbade families from seeing the executions of their loved ones."

"And yet you kill thieves while 'fathering' them," Cao shakes his head. "Ashamed..."

"Yes, I kill thieves. I do this so that my city can feel safe. Z'unkahrah is like the desert in which it stands, and its people are like grains of sand blown from many corners of the realms. Here, they seek protection from the hordes of this world. Here, they seek safety. Their safety is purchased in blood. Their security is bought by death. And at the top, I must look down upon this empire and hold it together. It is never easy."

"My family was shunned in your city," Cao says. "If you truly felt so badly, why not help us?"

"What was I to do? Adopt every orphan? Give them all a home in the palace? I put you from my mind that day because I inwardly hoped you would die and fade, like so many other grains of sand in the wind. But you didn't. You became something so much more... and in a way, my shame turned to pride."

>A) Then why did you kill my mother?
>B) I'm sure it must be hard for you to bear.
>C) I'll never forgive you, no matter what you say.
>D) Is all of this supposed to mean something?
>E) Other

>>45945892
>A) Then why did you kill my mother?

>>45945892
>>D) Is all of this supposed to mean something?

To be fair Kotal has seen some crazy shit.

>>45945892
>A) Then why did you kill my mother?

>>45945892
>A

>>45945919
>>45946034
>>45946075

"Then why did you kill my mother? D'Vorah came to be before my execution in your arena and she taunted me about it. She taunted me!"

"I did not know it was your mother," he says. "She was a collaborator with several other Shao Kahn supporters. They were causing discontent, sowing seeds of rebellion. I ordered D'Vorah to cut the weed before it grew and I knew nothing more of it. She left and the problem went away. She was... good at that."

"It was my mother," Cao says, sliding down the wall to sit. "It wasn't just some faceless problem, some random grain of sand! Not to me!"

"Your world was your family, and I took away half of it," Kotal says. "But if what I am told is true, you still value the other half. Your sisters. Is this true?"

"Of course it is," Cao mutters.

Kotal is silent for a moment. "Permit me to tell you a tale, Cao."

"I'm not interested."

"One day, I meet a man who I have not seen in twenty years. He tells me that my son has stolen from him. I have known that my son is a thief for some time, but have never captured him. I find my son and seek to give him an honorable death... but instead, I make of his death a spectacle. I see him fight, survive. I feel pride and I am surprised by this. But for my folly, my son is whisked away from me by my enemies while they steal my people's sacred treasure. Not long afterwards, my son is seen again, in my palace, stealing from another honored guest. Now I no longer desire my son's death, but to talk to him. To help him. To rid him of the influence my enemies could have bestowed upon him. And now I find you here, my son, covered in the blood of my First Minister, found over her corpse..."

>>45946339

Cao looks up at him as he asks, "What am I to do? Do I kill you? I should. But I would be lying if I said I wanted to. There will be talk of this. I suspect, by morning, all of Z'unkahrah will know. Let's say I do not kill you. All of my people will speak of how I did not punish my First Minister's killer. How will that sit with the nobles of my court? Why should they give my loyalty if I cannot protect them, nor punish any seeking to do them harm?"

"I don't know," Cao shakes his head. "Perhaps you should just kill me and finally be done with it."

"I did not want to kill you," Kotal says. "I wanted you to join me, not my enemies."

>A) I'd rather be dead.
>B) So what will you do?
>C) I don't believe you.
>D) What of my sisters?
>E) Other

>>45946353
>>A) I'd rather be dead.

>>45946353
>B) So what will you do?

>>45946353
>E) Other
In a couple days, I'll be out of your damn city, and you'll never have to see my face again. I'll be in Earthrealm, and you'll be here. How's that for getting out of your hair?

>>45946353
>D) What of my sisters?

>>45946353
>B) So what will you do?

>>45946353
>D) What of my sisters?

>>45946353
>>A) I'd rather be dead.

Anybody else wanna hug Kotal?

>>45946413
This also works. Let's just fucking beat it.

>>45946353
>B) So what will you do?

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"So, what will you do, then?"

"For the moment, nothing. I intend to find a suitable punishment for your previous crimes, and one for attacking the First Minister."

"You mean killing her," Cao replies.

"No. Attacking."Cao arches an eyebrow and Kotal continues, "She is not dead."

Cao sits forward. "No, I crushed her skull onthe floor. I splattered her head on the stone!"

"She has recovered from worse."

He can't believe the words coming out of the Emperor's mouth. "But you said--"

Now Kotal does interrupt him. "I inspected her body. It will take her some time, but she will return. So long as her hive remains, she will regenerate, pieced back together by the swarm."

Cao closes his eyes. "Damn," he mutters, upset at her still being alive.

"So, you have not killed my First Minister. You attempted to, however. Black Dragon technology was also found on your person... along with that of the Special Forces."

Now, Kotal Kahn sits for the first time since his arrival. "So, Cao. I would like to know what you have done and who you have met. What your time with the Black Dragon is like, and how you came to know the Special Forces."

"No," Cao replies.

Kotal sighs. "I know you don't want to speak to me any further. But you are my subject. More than that, you are my son."

"Stop calling me that."

"No."

Cao looks away as he continues, "I give you my word that I will stop this. All of this: hunting you, your sisters. I am ready to embrace you, not condemn you. I will welcome you, and your sisters, into my palace. But I must know of your involvement with these Earthrealm groups."

Cao doesn't immediately reply. Kotal leans forward a bit. "My son, I beg of you."

>A) Say nothing
>B) Refuse his offer
>C) Detail your time and deal with the Black Dragon only
>D) Detail your time and deal with the Special Forces
>E) Other

>>45946863
>C) Detail your time and deal with the Black Dragon only
>D) Detail your time and deal with the Special Forces
Why squander the chance Conan never took?

>>45946863
>C) Detail your time and deal with the Black Dragon only
>E) Other
As for the Special Forces, all you have to know is that I'm in a position to help bring down the Black Dragons once and for all. Let me go, and I'll make Kano disappear.

>>45946863
>C
>E
what >>45946972 said. That said, it would be cool to be a part of Kotal's retinue.

>>45946863
>A
>B

>>45946863
>C) Detail your time and deal with the Black Dragon only
>E) I met some Earthrealm psychopaths riding metal animals, the Special Forces wanted them arrested and found me when they found them.

>>45946863

>C) Detail your time and deal with the Black Dragon only

I'm not keen on working for kotal, I'd rather work for the special forces

You know, for being the most determined thief in Kotal Kahn's city, he sure is captured a lot.

>>45946972
Do this

>>45946994
>>45947081
Kotal is being super weird right now. He's calling Cao his foster son because killing his parents made him into the beast he is, and now Kotal wants to take credit for it in some weird, fucked-up way.

>>45947138
I mean, he's not wrong. We wouldn't have become a thief extraordinaire without losing our parents.

>>45947138
Kotal and probably all oshtek has a alien view of life and morality. Remember that one prefer fight banter were he was going to kill Cassie just because she was worthy?

Already a prisoner, he sees little reason not to talk some more. Cao spends a bit of time relating his time with the Black Dragon to Kotal. It is not very long, and ends with the deal he made with Kano.

"So, they asked you to steal the hammer and helmet of Shao Kahn..." he says. "It has been known to me that deeper parts of his former citadel yet remain, far beneath my palace. I forbid all from entering." He looks Cao in the eyes. "Have you? Did you find what you were seeking?"

Cao left the helmet of Shao Kahn back in his home, hidden among his things. He only came for the sword, and brought only the equipment given to him by the Black Dragon and OWEA. And the hammer, hidden away by his supposed power over Shao Kahn's artifacts, remains yet hidden.

>A) No, I didn't.
>B) Yes, I did.
>C) Move on and talk about the Special Forces now
>D) Refuse to tell him any more
>E) Other

>>45947276
>B) Yes, I did.
Guys we can finally have a dad.

>>45946863
>>D) Detail your time and deal with the Special Forces

>>45947276
>D

You know I didn't care either way before but now I really hope we get Cao a girl just to see Kotals reaction to her

>>45947276
>E) Other
Does it matter?

>>45947276
>>B) Yes, I did.
>>C) Move on and talk about the Special Forces now

>>45947355

>This woman is unfit for rule. I demand she survive a trial by kombat!

>>45947304
Cao's definition of "dad" is not the same as Kotal's definition.

>>45947401
dadmato, dadmatoe

>>45947276
>C) special forces

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>>45947304
>>45947370

"As a matter of fact, I did."

"And do you plan to deliver it to them?"

"No," Cao replies. "Because I was given a better offer." He doesn't detail the exact circumstances as to how he met them, but he does tell the Emperor of his deal with Special Forces.

"So, you will grant them Kano... in exchange for what?"

"Asylum," he says, a smile on his face. "For me and my sisters. A new life in Earthrealm."

"I forbid this."

Cao laughs. "As if I ever gave a damn what you ever forbade. My entire life has been spent breaking your rules."

"My son indeed."

Cao rolls his eyes. "Say, how'd you enjoy your evening meal earlier, by the way?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"I happened to be the one Ferra ordered to fetch it for you. I spiced it up a bit, just for you. Did it taste like my hair?"

Kotal Kahn pauses. "I wouldn't know. I found my appetite lacking. I let Torr eat it."

They stare at each other. For a moment, nothing happens. But then, Kotal's lips begin to twitch, followed by Cao cracking a smile. Then they both burst into laughter; Kotal's is deep and uproarious. Cao slaps himself on the knee as he thinks about Torr eating the chunk of meat and Kotal joins with him and for a moment nothing else truly matters.

But as the laughter fades, Cao looks back at the Emperor and asks, "You said... you forbid it. Why?"

Kotal composes himself. "Because you are of Outworld. You are of Z'unkahrah. You belong here, with me."

"And my sisters?"

"If you truly desire, they may go to Earthrealm. But I do not wish for you to go."

>A) You should've asked earlier, then.
>B) Why me, specifically?
>C) I go where my sisters go.
>D) Why are you so intent on this?
>E) Other

>>45947616
>C) I go where my sisters go.
>D) Why are you so intent on this?

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>mfw Kotal Kahn teaching Cao how to ride a bike
>mfw Kotal Kahn teaching Cao how to fish
>mfw Kotal Kahn teaching Cao how to read and write
>mfw Kotal Kahn teaching Cao how to talk to girls
>mfw Kotal Kahn teaching Cao how to skin a deer
>mfw Kotal Kahn teaching Cao how to properly snap someone's neck
>mfw Kotal Kahn teaching Cao how to cut out an infidel's heart

>>45947616
>C) I go where my sisters go.
>D) Why are you so intent on this?

>>45947616
>A) You should've asked earlier, then.
>C) I go where my sisters go.
And now Kotal's being possessive.

>>45947616
>C) I go where my sisters go.
>D) Why are you so intent on this?

>>45947616
>>E) Other
I do want to stay in outworld but not in the fucking castle of Kotal.

>>45947652
>>45947754
>>45947797

"I go where my sisters go," Cao insists. "If they go to Earthrealm, so do I."

"Then they shall not."

Cao sits up and shakes his head. "Why are you being so intent on this? Why does any of this matter to you?"

"Because too much has been done!" Kotal says, raising his voice for the first time since his arrival. "Too long have I let my mistake fester like an open wound! Too long have I refused to make ammends for the wrongs I visited upon you! Now the shokan march north, insulted! Vampires are in my city! The Black Dragon brazenly attack and steal my treasure and now the Special Forces enter my realm without my knowledge! And you," he points at Cao, "are at the heart of it all!"

"I didn't make the Special Forces appear, and you're the one who appointed a vampire as your treasurer. I didn't sign up for the Black Dragon but they're the ones who saved me from death at your hands, a death you yourself admitted was only for show." He blinks a few times. "I admit that the shokan one is on me, yes."

>>45948060

"Enough! You may not be responsible for all that has transpired but there is no denying that you are like a string connecting them all together. You have become so much more than a simple thief, your destiny has begun to reveal itself. I was a blind fool, like those sages in the streets, but I lacked their foresight when it came to you. No longer. I do not want you working for the Black Dragon. I do not want you in Earthrealm, working against me with their government. I want you at my side, I want you to help me. You are so much more than you realize, Cao."

He places his arms behind his back and looks at him. "Do you know why I never had any children, Cao? It is an Emperor's duty to further his line. The shokan have a royal family. The edenians have a royal family. But I do not."

"Enlighten me."

"Because I did not want to make an orphan of my son like I did of you, and so many others. A foolish fear, perhaps so, but we all have our fears and our foolish moments." He places a hand on the bars of the cell. "I implore you. Help me drive the Black Dragon from my world. Help me send the Special Forces back to Earthrealm without further incident. Help me make peace with the shokan and return their stolen treasure before the peace between our kingdoms sours once more and I must revisit my people with the unfortunate woe of war."

Cao is silent for a moment before Kotal adds, "War will only breed more orphans, Cao. Help me."

The thief looks up at the Emperor, hearing the sincerity of his voice. Kotal reaches into the cell, offering his hand.

>A) I cannot return the stolen necklace
>B) Release me and I will let the Black Dragon be handled by the Special Forces
>C) I refuse your help
>D) I... will help you.
>E) Other

>>45948086
>>B) Release me and I will let the Black Dragon be handled by the Special Forces
Only promise this one thing. Then fuck off to Harvard with the vampire.

>>45948086
>B) Release me and I will let the Black Dragon be handled by the Special Forces

>>45948086
>D) I... will help you.
It's almost like we caused this whole thing.

>>45948086
>A) I cannot return the stolen necklace
>B) Release me and I will let the Black Dragon be handled by the Special Forces

>>45948086
>B

>tentative D

>>45948086
>B) Release me and I will let the Black Dragon be handled by the Special Forces

"If you release me, I'll let the Special Forces take out the Black Dragon."

"No," Kotal shakes his head. "If the Special Forces eliminate the Black Dragon, they will obtain my people's treasure. The Portal Stone. They will treat it as a bargaining chip."

"How do you know they won't give it to you?"

"Because Outworld invaded them twenty years ago, and we have not cooperated since. A cease-fire is not an alliance."

"I think," Cao says as he stands up, "you're afraid of looking weak. You're the Emperor, after all: all that talk about purchasing safety with blood didn't fall on deaf ears. I think you don't want Earthrealm to give you the Portal Stone. You want to retrieve it yourself, to show all of your subjects and everyone else what happens when someone steals from Kotal Kahn. Is that it?"

"I seek my people's treasure because some things matter more than pride!" Kotal says, his voice shaking Cao a bit. "I'll not have it be used as a tool for my enemies!"

"So, what? You want me to break my deal with the Special Forces and bring you the Black Dragon and the Portal Stone instead?" Cao walks closer to the bars. "Why should I? You've done nothing but step on me and people like me all my life until I'm in a position to benefit you. You want me on your side so that you can control the kind of trouble I make; have me stop making trouble for you and instead for your enemies."

"Has nothing I have said meant anything to you?" he asks. "I seek for this to change! I no longer desire to turn a blind eye to your struggles! Let me help you, I want to. Honor be damned, pride be damned. All those who would not agree with my choice be damned, for this is between us, not them. Join me, Cao. Be my son. I no longer wish for you to hide in the shadows; step into the light of the sun."

"I'll just be burned," Cao says.

"No," Kotal whispers. "I swear it."

He takes out a wooden and stone knife, slicing his palm with it. He holds his bleeding hand out, along with his knife.

"Across your palm, Cao. Clasp my hand and let our blood be one. You will be my son by my blood. On this, I swear my life. My son."

Cao can hardly believe his ears. This is madness in a way; the Emperor making him an offer like this. Never in a thousand years could he have dreamt this situation up. Part of him screams that it is a lie, that all of it would not be worth it. And yet...

Words that Kotal Kahn has spoken ring true within him. He finds himself searching within for an answer, only to discover further conflict. He had enjoyed the idea of leaving for Earthrealm, but if Kotal's words are true and he honors the commitment he appears to be making, his entire life could change just as dramatically. He and his sisters could be taken in, taken care of.

But could he find it within himself to ever forgive Kotal Kahn? Could he ever stand the thought of living with him, much less becoming his heir? What of D'Vorah? What of his sisters? What will become of them? How could he join with Kotal when the very man killed his father, and gave the other to kill his mother?

Cao isn’t sure. He also isn’t sure he wants to leave Outworld… and would it not be preferable to live within the law and not be hunted, having to steal to live? But how could he, when he has spent his entire adult life on the wrong side of it?

And what of this matter with his body being bound to Shao Kahn’s soul? Would Kotal Kahn help him, or condemn him if he found out the truth that he is harboring the conqueror of worlds within him, the very Kahn he took his throne from after the invasion two decades ago?

Kotal looks at him with sympathetic eyes. He knows the answer the Emperor wants him to give, but the thief is simply not sure.

After many tense moments, the only sound being blood dripping onto the floor from Kotal’s wound, Cao decides…

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>>45948736

>A) Cut your hand and clasp his; become bonded to him by blood
>B) Agree to help him regain the Portal Stone, but do not accept his bond of blood
>C) Refuse his bond of blood and helping him; work solely with the Special Forces
>D) Lie to him and say you will help him; betray him to work solely with the Special Forces
>E) Reject him utterly; you will never join him or be part of his empire
>F) Other (Write-In)

>>45948752
>>B) Agree to help him regain the Portal Stone, but do not accept his bond of blood
"My father died a long time ago."

>>45948752
>A) Cut your hand and clasp his; become bonded to him by blood
DAD! DAD! DAD! DAD! DAD! DAD!

>>45948784
Crash you have some issues. You wanna waifu some ladies and murder others. You want to become a rampaging bloodmongerer but now you want the male Statue of Liberty as our dad.

>>45948851
As if there were a better candidate for best dad. He's rich, is forgiving our serious fuckups, and can probably teach us to read.

>>45948890
>not wanting to go on adventures with blood waifus
>not wanting to find your own destiny whilst learning to control the power inside of us
Absolute pleb.

>>45948752
>A) Cut your hand and clasp his; become bonded to him by blood

>>45948752
>A) Cut your hand and clasp his; become bonded to him by blood
however our sisters should still go to earthrealm. it is more forgiving than outworld.

>>45948752
>F) Other (Write-In)
What's to stop D'Vorah from killing me behind your back?

>Join Nitara
>Join the Black Dragon
>Join the Special Forces
>Become Shao Kahn
>Join Kotal
This is seriously too much. Cao can't keep flip-flopping like this.

>>45948980
>not wanting to rule outworld
>not wanting to learn sick martial arts
>not wanting to secure a most righteous future for ourselves and sisters
>wanting to remain a smelly hobo manlet
>wanting to work with a strangely-proportioned vampire
>dnt wnt lrn 2 reed
please dial 555-Come-On-Now

>>45948752
>F) Other (Write-In) I will help you retrieve the portal stone, in my own way, how I choose. When I feel we are blood in spirit, only then will I accept us being blood in the flesh.

>>45949208
Second, this is getting to be a mess. We're zigzagging between factions so damn hard nobody is going to trust us.
Fuck I can barely follow the plot anymore.

>>45949208
The last one is because Kotal Kahn realized just how potent Cao is and basically threw a tantrum to get him to join him in his cabinet.

>>45949223
I like how you left out the "asylum in Earthrealm with Cassie and Jacqui" option because it dumpsters on all of those points.

>>45949245
It's not like we didn't choose to ally/betray with literally all of them. Because we did. We totally did.
>>45949246
Because moving to earthrealm won't leave us an illiterate smelly hobo manlet with no control over our powers and no dad.
lrn2count pleb.

>>45948752
>>B) Agree to help him regain the Portal Stone, but do not accept his bond of blood
Before we faction flop AGAIN, let's square away our current debts.