The first thing Jason felt when he woke up was an unbearable heat surrounding him, like he had been sleeping inside a furnace. He groaned, pushing himself off the ground—only to realize that his hands weren't hands at all. They were blackened, clawed gauntlets, wrapped in yellow cloth. Panic surged through him as he looked down, taking in his armored chest, the deadly kunai chain hanging from his wrist and a kusarigama at his waist, and the strange sensation of something writhing at his back.
"What the hell…?" Jason muttered, but his voice came out distorted—guttural, almost demonic.
A groan sounded nearby. Jason turned sharply, his body instinctively dropping into a defensive stance. A man in a blue ninja suit lay sprawled out on the forest floor, shivering slightly despite the warm, humid heat. He stirred, lifting a gloved hand to his face, feeling the mask that covered the lower half. His breath misted in the warm air.
Jason took a wary step forward. "Who are you?"
The man sat up abruptly, eyes darting around. "Who am I?" He clutched his head, groaning. "I… I don't know… but why am I freezing?" He held up his hands, watching as a faint frost swirled around his fingertips. His eyes widened. "What is this?!"
Before Jason could respond, another groan echoed behind them. They spun around to see a third figure slowly pushing himself up. Unlike them, he wore no mask, only a tattered blindfold. His armor was red and black, and at his side rested a sheathed sword. He clutched his head, grimacing.
"Who—?" he started, but his voice faltered. His hands reached up to his face, patting around desperately. "Wait… why can't I see?" His breathing quickened. "Why the hell can't I see?!"
Jason and the other man exchanged a glance but remained silent.
The blindfolded man—Dylan, though none of them remembered yet—staggered to his feet, hands outstretched. "Someone tell me what's going on! Why is everything dark?! I— I could see before! I swear I could!"
Jason swallowed hard. "Hey, calm down. Let's figure this out."
"Figure what out?" Dylan snapped. "I just woke up blind! What the hell is going on?!"
Jason clenched his fists, trying to keep his own panic in check. "I don't know, man. But we're all in the same boat here. Let's not lose it."
The man in blue took a deep breath, his icy aura settling slightly. "Yeah… Let's just take this one step at a time. Maybe we can find out where we are first."
Jason's eyes flicked over to the blue-clad man again, something about his stance and the freezing aura starting to feel eerily familiar. His own hands tensed, recalling the fiery heat that surged through him moments ago. He swallowed and exhaled sharply.
"Wait… freezing powers, blue ninja outfit…" Jason's voice trailed off, realization dawning. "Holy crap, you're Sub-Zero!"
The man in blue—Kyle, though he hadn't pieced it together yet—froze at the name. His eyes widened. "No way. That's ridiculous. And if I'm Sub-Zero, that would mean—" He turned to Jason, taking in his yellow armor, the kunai strapped at his waist. "Oh, hell. You're Scorpion."
Jason stiffened, the name sinking in like a punch to the gut. "That can't be right… but it explains the fire, the armor… and my voice."
Dylan, still disoriented, clutching his head. "Wait. If you two are… then who the hell am I?"
Kyle hesitated, his gaze landing on Dylan's blindfold and sword. He exhaled sharply. "Kenshi. You're Kenshi, the blind swordsman."
Dylan's jaw tightened. "Kenshi…? But that means…" He reached out instinctively, and his sword practically leaped into his hand. He stumbled back, shock washing over his face. "What the hell?!"
Jason took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. "Okay… so we're in the bodies of Mortal Kombat characters. We have their abilities. But how? Why?"
Kyle's eyes suddenly lit up with realization. "Wait… Jason? Dylan?"
Jason blinked. "Yeah?"
Dylan turned his head toward them, as if searching for their faces. "Kyle?"
Kyle let out a nervous laugh. "Holy crap, guys. It's us. Damn..."
"Wait a minute.The last thing I remember… we were playing Mortal Kombat at my house. We were using these exact characters. Then… nothing. Now we're here."
Jason felt a chill that had nothing to do with Kyle's icy powers. "You're right… I picked Scorpion, you picked Sub-Zero, and Dylan picked Kenshi. And now—"
Dylan let out a breath, his hands tightening around the hilt of his sword. "Yeah, yeah...Now we are them. If I'd known I would pick someone else." Dylan sigh again.
The weight of the realization settled over them. Jason exhaled, running a hand over his masked face. "This is insane. But if we got here somehow… there has to be a way back."
Kyle nodded. "Then we better start looking. Because something tells me this world isn't going to be friendly to us."
Dylan sighed, then gave a determined nod. "Alright. Let's figure this out together."
Jason exhaled, nodding. "Agreed. Let's move."
They started walking, cautiously moving through the thick forest, their boots crunching over leaves and twigs. Sunlight barely peeked through the towering canopy above, casting eerie shadows on the ground.
"Where do we even begin?" Dylan asked, his head tilting slightly as though trying to listen to the world around him.
Kyle scanned the surroundings. "We need to find civilization. If this is really the Mortal Kombat world, then someone out there knows what's going on."
Dylan suddenly tensed. "Wait. Do you hear that?"
They all froze. In the distance, the sound of running water echoed through the trees.
"A river..." Jason said. "That could lead us to a village."
Kyle exhaled."You really scared me there Dylan."
"Sorry." Dylan apologize while rubbing his head.
Jason nodded. "Well then let's follow it. We need answers."
The three of them pressed forward, unknowingly walking toward whatever fate awaited them in this strange, new world.
As they moved deeper into the forest, the air grew cooler, and the sounds of unseen creatures echoed around them. The trees became denser, their twisted roots jutting out from the ground.
Dylan moved with surprising ease despite his blindness, his senses heightened. Jason and Kyle exchanged glances, both realizing just how real their transformations were.
Kyle hesitated before glancing at Dylan. "So… how are you doing, man? You know, with the whole… being blind thing?—oof"
"Kyle!" Jason elbowed Kyle.
"What? I'm curious."
"No, it's ok." Dylan exhaled sharply, tilting his head as if listening.
"Weirdly enough… I can tell where you are. I don't see anything, but I can sense you both. And the trees. And the ground. It's like… I don't know, like the world is talking to me in a way I never noticed before."
Dylan shrugged. "I don't get it, but somehow, I can sense what's around me. Not sight, exactly—just… awareness."
Jason and Kyle exchanged looks. "That's Kenshi's thing," Jason said. "He's got some kind of psychic awareness. You're… adapting to it fast."
Dylan shook his head. "Not like I have a choice. If I'm stuck like this, I have to make it work."
Kyle smirked. "Still, man, that's insane. You went blind, and you're acting like it's just a minor inconvenience."
Dylan sighed. "Trust me, I'm freaking out on the inside. But sitting here panicking won't help. Let's just focus on figuring out what the hell happened."
Jason exhaled, nodding. "Agreed. Let's move."
Suddenly, a rustling sound in the nearby brush made them stop in their tracks. Jason instinctively reached for his kunai, Kyle clenched his fists, and Dylan tilted his head as if listening intently.
"Something's watching us," Dylan muttered.
Jason narrowed his eyes. "Stay alert. We don't know what kind of creatures exist here."
Kyle exhaled, mist forming from his breath. "Let's just hope it's not something looking to kill us."
With renewed caution, they pressed on, the dense forest concealing whatever lurked in the shadows.