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“A deal's a deal, Shao Kahn. Kitana's locked up in the basement, and Erron and I are outta here.” Kabal stood before the Outworld emperor with his partner-in-crime Erron Black, almost proud at how smoothly he'd handled retrieving the wayward princess and her allies Jade and Kotal. If only it wasn't because Kano had rented them out after being captured during a botched theft attempt of dragon diamonds from said emperor.
“Are you, Earthrealmer?” The hulking despot laughed from his throne, sitting unconcerned with his head propped on a fist. “I am not one to relinquish valuable assets. And by making quick work of Kitana, you have proved yourself most valuable... Much like Black here when he assassinated a would-be Earthrealm champion for me.”
“He... what?” Kabal did a double take to Erron, not wanting to take his eyes off Shao Kahn. “Erron, the hell is he talking about?”
“We ain't leavin, Kabal. That's what he's jawin about.” The gunslinger kept his head low, eyes hidden by his hat leaving Kabal unable to glean any emotion from the man.
“Yeah, I got that part, but what's this about killing a champion?” Kabal shifted away from his partner, recalling how uncharacteristically passive the cowboy had been since his return. Initially written off as the effects of being left to rot in the dungeons for another week while the speedster was out on his fetch quest. Now his mind spun to other options while arms cautiously raised, ready to draw his hookswords from his back. “You switching sides on me?”
“Kabal...” Erron's hands on his belt relaxed, a dangerous sign for those that knew the gunslinger.
Laughter burst from the throne. Shao Kahn was clearly enjoying the drama playing out before him and was more than eager to throw fuel on the fire. “Have you not figured it out, fool? He was never on your side to begin with. Erron Black has been my servant for well over a hundred years. And now you too will be my servant. You will kill who I say, when I say, until your final breath.”
“You'll excuse me if I impolitely decline.” Kabal pulled his blades free. The relaxed smugness on display by Shao Kahn told him the emperor was more than content to watch the two once allies tear each other apart. The only one he had to worry about right now was Erron Black.
“It'd save us both a lot of trouble if you'd just stand down.” Still the cowboy did not raise his head.
“Turning down a fight? Well that's not like you at all.” Gas hissed through Kabal's breathing apparatus as he readied himself to strike out. “Then again, turns out I never knew you at all, Black.”
In the time it took to blink, Kabal closed the distance between them. The barrel of a gun was even quicker to meet the speedster's face, but not quick enough to go off before he could slide down and past the cowboy; clipping his side and causing him to spin in place.
“It was supposed to be an easy smash-and-grab.” A humorless laugh puffed through Kabal's respirator. Blades spun in his hands, prepared to defend while he waited for enough charge to build up for another burst of speed. “Thought it was just Kano's knife in my back, but it turns out you snuck one in there first.”
Black planted a foot hard against the ground, bringing his dizzying spin to a halt. Finally, the brim of that hat rose.
It was a fairly common joke in Black Dragon spaces that Black wore his mask and hat was because he had a terrible poker face. A joke Kabal would say aged like milk, but he couldn't deny the truth within it. Erron could often express more with a glance and quirk of an eyebrow than he could with words.
He'd expected the cold unfeeling eyes of a business man that he'd seen so many times under that brim. Instead he got... Kabal didn't know, too angry to even want to try and parse the meaning behind those furrowed brows and tense brown eyes. He didn't have time either because Black had used the momentum of the spin to pull and aim both pistols.
Carefully calculated shots chased Kabal around the room, forcing him to waste his next burst of speed to dive behind a pillar.
“Seven... Eight?” Shifting both blades to one hand, Kabal ducked to one side of the pillar to send a knife whirling towards Black. A bullet easily shot it out of the air, followed immediately by another chipping through the stone where Kabal had thrown it from. “Nine and ten.”
“Hurry up and crush him, Black!” Shao Kahn suddenly roared, apparently not finding the chase to his bloodthirsty tastes.
“Thought you wanted him alive...” Black muttered back.
The sound of brass hitting the ground made Kabal swear. Of course the gunslinger would reload early. He took a deep breath, holding those burning chemicals in his lungs for a moment before bursting faster than ever from behind the pillar. As his target quickly grew large in his vision Kabal realized... he'd been fooled again.
Erron Black was spilling casings on the ground from only one revolver. The other was pointed directly at Kabal and the trigger had already been pulled. By sheer dumb luck, or maybe not, the bullet slammed into his right hooksword sending it flying from his grip. Unluckily, it had still been enough of a scare that he smashed uncontrolled into the cowboy. The two went flying across the grandiose hall, coming to an abrupt halt against a far wall in a tangle.
Not even trying to get his breath back first, Black smashed the butt of a revolver into the side of Kabal's mask. As he moved to strike again, the arm was caught by with the top bar of a hooksword hand guard. Twisting it to pin Black's arm to the ground, Kabal was going to make the cowboy regret he didn't get some air first. Jamming a knee into the prone man's gut, he forced his way on top and began punching.
He landed three good hits on that infuriating mask, denting the metal that hid under the leather, before a shot went off. Kabal froze and looked to the pinned arm. The emptied six-shooter. His gaze turned to the smoking hole in the side of his jacket and the other revolver still gripped tight in Black's hand.
“Man, you've really got my number.” Kabal had assumed the shots were being fire one-for-one, but no.
“Watch too many movies...” Erron coughed from under him, blood starting to leak from under his mask. Kabal smirked at that, for the briefest of moments forgetting his fury at the gunslinger's betrayal. Just impressed by how clever his ex-partner was.
The clank of heavy metal boots hitting stone snapped him back. Shao Kahn had risen from his throne. “Well shit.” Kabal stole a glance to the looming warlord. He wasn't on the move yet, only glaring at the halted brawl. Looking further, he spotted his other hooksword. With a pained snarl, he rolled free from Black and bolted across the room to scoop up the fallen blade. Skidding to a halt, he faced Shao Kahn with hookswords held at the ready.
“Admirably bold.” Shao Kahn sneered, somewhere between impressed with Kabal and disappointed with Black.
“Nah, just quick.” Kabal huffed. Just over the heavy hiss of his life-sustaining equipment, he heard a familiar metal clinking. “Well, that's my cue.”
Bullets chipped the stone floor where Kabal's feet had been only been a moment ago.
“After him you useless marksman!” Shao Kahn roared over the sounds of a shattering window.
-
Kabal coughed and slammed a fist onto the large stationary stone in the portal room. As powerful magics began to whirl in the nearby arch, he pulled open his coat to finally get a look at his gunshot wound. A glancing blow through his side. Painful, but not immediately life threatening. Black must've misjudged where his flesh was through the baggy fabric.
“I'm gonna kill that rat bastard.” Despite Erron Black's true loyalties being revealed, no matter how he turned recent events in his head, Kabal came to the same conclusion. From the clan being so tight up for money to try and rob Shao Kahn in the first place and then selling his best fighters to the warlord when the plan went south; This was all Kano's fault. He was leading the clan to ruin, Kabal concluded, and he was going to do something about it.
The portal stabilized, Kabal put his hand back over the stone to set his destination. He was raring and ready to storm the hideout and do away with that damnable Australian, but a realization chilled his hot blood.
“Yeah, you and what army...” He sighed and pulled his hand away. The rest of the clan was thoroughly bought and paid for by Kano. Even uninjured, he'd have no chance against that hoard on his own. He would need help to get this done, but who? With enemies hot on his heels, Kabal didn't have much time to ponder it. He reached his hand back out and the portal roared and deepened as it opened the veil between realms.
Beyond the swirling haze he could see...
Special Forces Headquarters.