Jin, as it turns out, has a very personal reason for freeing the bread thief: several years ago, he was a thief, himself. Although displeased with the chaos wrought from Jin's actions, she decides to honor Earthrealm and Outworld's non-aggression pact and consult with the Kahn. Jin fends off Erron and the tag-team of Ferra and Torr before D'Vorah, one of Kotal Kahn's top enforces, appears. Kung Jin tries to negotiate with Erron, but upon seeing a villager about to be executed for stealing food, fights off the Outworld soldiers and frees the villager. In Outworld, Cassie and her team are confronted by Erron Black, an Earthrealm-native mercenary allied with Kotal Kahn. Meanwhile, Cassie's team is charged with going to Outworld. Li Mei also mentions an Earthrealmer among the refugees with an eye that glows red, who Sonya immediately recognizes as Kano. Although it shouldn't have been stolen with all the protection placed on it, Raiden leaves to verify if it has, indeed, been stolen. According to the refugee leader Li Mei, Mileena wielded a weapon, the description of which matches Shinnok's amulet.
The Special Forces are recalled at the behest of General Sonya Blade as Outworld refugees start coming to Earthrealm to escape the war between Kotal Kahn and Mileena. The training reveals that they hold promise, but in order to make the most of their potential, they had to work cohesively as one team. In truth, though, the expedition to the Lin Kuei temple was a training exercise that Johnny Cage and Sub-Zero came up with. One-by-one, he defeats and detains Cassie, Jacqui, Takeda, and Jin. When the hot-headed Kung Jin confronts Sub-Zero, the grandmaster sends his soldiers after them. Thus, Johnny tasks Cassie and her team with going to their temple to make sure the grandmaster, Sub-Zero, is still on their side.īack in Earthrealm, Cassie and her team infiltrate the Lin Kuei temple. Trouble is brewing in Outworld, but the Lin Kuei have gone silent. Twenty-five years later, Johnny now commands a new generation of Special Forces: Cassandra Cage, his daughter with Sonya Jacqueline Briggs, daughter of Jax Kung Jin, a cousin of the late Kung Lao and Takeda Takahashi, son of Kenshi and a disciple of Scorpion's Shirai Ryu. Even though the fighting has not yet ended, he has a reason to smile: While Sonya recovers in the Jinsei Chamber from her injuries, Johnny stays with her. With Shinnok's new imprisonment, the battle ends, but the war rages on: Quan Chi escaped in the chaos. After fighting Shinnok to a standstill, Johnny takes Shinnok's amulet and gives it to Raiden, who seals Shinnok within it. When Shinnok tries to kill Sonya, Johnny jumps in the path of his magic attack, his body enveloped in a green aura that protects him. Quan Chi and Shinnok reach the Sky Temple's Jinsei Chamber, and the fallen Elder God is poised to dispose of Raiden and Fujin until Johnny intervenes. When Jax goes after Sonya, Johnny intervenes and drives him away.
As they approach the temple, they are attacked again by revenants of Jax, Smoke, and Nightwolf. Johnny and his companions are ambushed by Scorpion and a revanent Sub-Zero, but he manages to fend them off. Johnny Cage, along with Sonya Blade and Kenshi, are on their way to the temple while Raiden and his fellow Elder God Fujin fend off Quan Chi and his legions of demons and revenants. Shinnok launches an invasion of Earthrealm and makes way for Raiden's Sky Temple, so that he may corrupt the Jinsei, Earthrealm's life force.