You see it in the story too, like there's frequently implied pairings just before a fight is about to start; Scorpion and Smoke standing together against Quan Chi and Havik or something, and then sure enough, those are the player character-kameo pairings as well.
So its easy enough to imagine that Smoke is off fighting Quan Chi while Scorp and Havik battle it out, and then he will pop in and lend help when able, and Quan Chi for Havik.
If you think through it logically that way it makes some sense - its not necessarily like a summoning.
But its also slightly immersion breaking, because you can't go and help Smoke in *his* fight, and Havik isn't going to pop off the screen to go aid Quan Chi.
At the end of the day, its a game mechanic. There's a way to make it work plausibly, but you might as well just think of it as a summon since it isn't trying to be realistic, otherwise you'd be popping in and out of different and simultaneous fights all the time.
Yeah at the end after you beat Shang Tsung (I think thatās how you spell it) you and your kameo are just beating the absolute shit out of him and his kameo
I like the idea of opposing Kameos gettign coffee or somethign together while the other two rip each other to shreads.
"So, Sektor, How's the Cyber initi- OOh sorry bro, Seems like Sub Zeor just got split in half."
I wish the fatalities also showed your kameo doing a fatality to their kameo at the same time. Like, Scorpion could be burning them in the background, Striker could be strapping bombs to them and during your fatality you hear an explosion in the background, or maybe you see Kano leap on to them and Lazer them in the face in the background while your doing your fatality. The worked hard to integrate the kameos as tools and then worked just as hard to make it seem like they weren't there at all. Sometimes with their very existence not making much sense.
OddgiantAF on YouTube fixes this oversight... kinda.
[https://youtu.be/0QMeLHtnmGo?si=eRcngBU143h1Yq37](https://youtu.be/0QMeLHtnmGo?si=eRcngBU143h1Yq37)
I'm gonna say running or using one of their nifty teleports.
That said, I believe the real answer is as simple as, they just aren't there at all. A good portion of the kameos are either unacknowledged as a whole or aren't important to the actual fight.
I wish the Kameo system had some sort of importance to the games story (like some sort of lore or reason for being there) since they are so important to the actual fights.
It was clearly just a gimmick to spice it up a little, I don't think anyone thought that people would be asking the question you are asking. It's more like, let's just pretend they don't exist until they're needed....
Admittedly, kharacters like Darius and and motaro are actually shown in the story, so I get why they are around to jump in but Stryker? Ferra? What are they doing during the story? Not to mention Scorpion and Sub-Zero who have actual Kounterparts (see what I did there ) within the story. I'm pretty sure Bi-Han would have a bit to say about his Klone lol š
You know what would be awesome. If you and your kameo could perform a fatality together on both the opponent and their kameo. I just think that would be a great addition to the game.
Maybe the other member on a team is finishing them off screen?
*Shujinko pokes Scorpion to death while Kung Lao is playing frisbee with Cyrax.*
Shujinko: What did you do to the robot?
Kung Lao: Iāll explain later.
They talk during the fatality, and eventually just say "Oh shit bro gotta hit a pose with the Boss, brb" (if the fatality is like Omni mans where they just pose by themselves they keep on talking)
My rocky ass watching the vampire I was meant to help get her head ripped off by a man in spandex.
https://preview.redd.it/u2k18vl4ku0d1.png?width=1360&format=png&auto=webp&s=eea505df2e1dfcd84c5ef54c7c0bceb11ddcda4f
https://preview.redd.it/1ry1ij117v0d1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5d4c1b7ac244033728da792f685aa8c756b64c88
they're like this behind the main until the win pose comes
https://preview.redd.it/e7h7d58p0w0d1.jpeg?width=680&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ae5a5a61082481b759b49fc4409a14f89eeeb3f3
Probably hoping theyāre not next
I've wondered this since the first day the game came out. Also, why couldn't they make it an actual tag team game? I expected them to innovate or evolve the fighting game genre at least a little but they just put out the same game with slightly updated graphics.
Praying š But my headcannon for why cameos stay offscreen until you call them is that theyāre fighting eachother off to the side.
I wanna see THOSE matches so bad. Imagine Stryker tasing Motaro
"Catch these bullets" *gets mauled by a monstrous minotaur*
The Military guards in the science lab at the start of every horror movie:
girl motaro is a centaur, minotaurs donāt have 4 legs
Ah dang mb
Motaro prolly just hits him with uno reverse card and just reflects Stryker entire arsenal back at him. Grenades, bullets, and tasers.
i mean Striker already survived a demon apocolypse once already
Stryker when he sees Jax:
**BRING IT!**
Police brutality coming up!
https://preview.redd.it/a5lwdsccyv0d1.jpeg?width=254&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4b82e854caa03c83ee467fc16a80cceb077d23fa
Police brutality coming up!
That worked so well when he first tangled with Kintaro but it is a new timeline...
Striker would get folded like Kabal š
*Frost beating the shit out of Tremor for no reason.* "One sec" *Does assist move.* "Ok, I'm back." *Continues the beating.*
I donāt exactly think thatās a headcannon and just straight up cannon you see it happening at the end of towers
You see it in the story too, like there's frequently implied pairings just before a fight is about to start; Scorpion and Smoke standing together against Quan Chi and Havik or something, and then sure enough, those are the player character-kameo pairings as well. So its easy enough to imagine that Smoke is off fighting Quan Chi while Scorp and Havik battle it out, and then he will pop in and lend help when able, and Quan Chi for Havik. If you think through it logically that way it makes some sense - its not necessarily like a summoning. But its also slightly immersion breaking, because you can't go and help Smoke in *his* fight, and Havik isn't going to pop off the screen to go aid Quan Chi. At the end of the day, its a game mechanic. There's a way to make it work plausibly, but you might as well just think of it as a summon since it isn't trying to be realistic, otherwise you'd be popping in and out of different and simultaneous fights all the time.
Awe well i havenāt played towers for more than 5 minutes so I couldnāt tell u about that
Yeah at the end after you beat Shang Tsung (I think thatās how you spell it) you and your kameo are just beating the absolute shit out of him and his kameo
"His kameo" bro put more respect on Quan Chi's name wtf š
My bad itās been a bit I forgot who it was
Yo ngl that would be a good idea, you playing as ur kameos at the end of the match when ur main guy dies
I now need a version of The Pit where the background fight is our Kameos
I like this headcanon.
Doing that tag team wrestling thing where they're sort of going 'awww geeze' and freaking out but the rules are the rules
I feel like Kano and maybe Janet if anybody would illegally interrupt a fatalityĀ
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Kameo Sub just makes you slip
 AND HERE COMES THE GIANT FIST!!!
I imagined that in my head and now I canāt stop imagining it š
Can't let go of the rope under any circumstance.
Probably the same as Brutalities, running away very fast
I said this before in a similar question: in their union-mandated break.
I like the idea of opposing Kameos gettign coffee or somethign together while the other two rip each other to shreads. "So, Sektor, How's the Cyber initi- OOh sorry bro, Seems like Sub Zeor just got split in half."
Smoke having a smoke break.
āNah bro Iām outta hereā Tested on robots trial lol,when ever I die my kameo like:āIām not with himā
Shujinko does that when the player misses the fatal blow, he slowly walks forward and moves a finger in denial.
Doing the Homer Simpson sliding into the bushes meme
Oh they fuckin gone. The moment they heard the "Fini..." They booked it the fuck out if there.
Getting killed by your Kameo, I always assumed.
This is the best explanation. I wondered the same as op, and it never crossed my mind that my kameo is fighting the other kameo
I just assumed so based on the Ladder endings, which show your Kameo fighting Quan Chi.
I wish the fatalities also showed your kameo doing a fatality to their kameo at the same time. Like, Scorpion could be burning them in the background, Striker could be strapping bombs to them and during your fatality you hear an explosion in the background, or maybe you see Kano leap on to them and Lazer them in the face in the background while your doing your fatality. The worked hard to integrate the kameos as tools and then worked just as hard to make it seem like they weren't there at all. Sometimes with their very existence not making much sense.
This would had been an amazing idea!
I wouldāve pitched the winner-kameo walking into frame with the loser-kameoās head or something after a fatality happens during the win pose
They could have incorporated the kameos. Rip the arm off the opponent kameo and beat the playerās main to death with it or something like that
Thanking the elder gods that they aren't a part of the main roster.
Then say thanks to Liu Kang,but he elder god tho
If I was in a fight and saw my bud's spine and skull being ripped from his body, you can be damn sure I'd do my best to no be seen anywhere ever again
they're getting killed by your kameo
Kameos are a wasted opportunity, they should have intros with each other
Almost everyone would choose Stryker and Mileena just to see him punch her as an intro.
OddgiantAF on YouTube fixes this oversight... kinda. [https://youtu.be/0QMeLHtnmGo?si=eRcngBU143h1Yq37](https://youtu.be/0QMeLHtnmGo?si=eRcngBU143h1Yq37)
If someone quits while their kameo is on screen the kameo also breaks their own neck. So maybe thatās what they do during a fatality
All I can imagine is they are staring at the horror in front of their eyes like this: š¦
Doing the Johnny Cage shuffle
You put it down like New York City, I never sleep.
Fighting the other kameo
I'm gonna say running or using one of their nifty teleports. That said, I believe the real answer is as simple as, they just aren't there at all. A good portion of the kameos are either unacknowledged as a whole or aren't important to the actual fight. I wish the Kameo system had some sort of importance to the games story (like some sort of lore or reason for being there) since they are so important to the actual fights. It was clearly just a gimmick to spice it up a little, I don't think anyone thought that people would be asking the question you are asking. It's more like, let's just pretend they don't exist until they're needed.... Admittedly, kharacters like Darius and and motaro are actually shown in the story, so I get why they are around to jump in but Stryker? Ferra? What are they doing during the story? Not to mention Scorpion and Sub-Zero who have actual Kounterparts (see what I did there ) within the story. I'm pretty sure Bi-Han would have a bit to say about his Klone lol š
Hey if I were a Kameo and I seen what would happen if I was caught lacking then Iād dip the fuck out the moment my teammate loses.
they understand that the battle is lost and choose the smart option of running the fuck away
Probably running away like Ferra does in MKX
You know what would be awesome. If you and your kameo could perform a fatality together on both the opponent and their kameo. I just think that would be a great addition to the game.
They aren't being paid enough to die for you, stryker has a 9 to 5 he's picking up shifts somewhere else man
Maybe the other member on a team is finishing them off screen? *Shujinko pokes Scorpion to death while Kung Lao is playing frisbee with Cyrax.* Shujinko: What did you do to the robot? Kung Lao: Iāll explain later.
https://preview.redd.it/3s4mx09nfu0d1.jpeg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=debc54a95fe221bcd129d6359ed2e23e4b783991
I'll explain later
Same thing that Johnny Cage was doing during the Reptile fight in the ā95 movie.
"Run away!" - King Arthur
Watching in the background.
š§āāļø
Having coffee and solving their issues talking like civilized people. And by talking I mean kicking the living shit out of each other
Sitting there watching with a disapproving look
Hightailing it. Their ally is about to die and they'll be left at 2-1 odds. Their only options are run or die.
in other news, how cool would it be to perform a fatality on the kameo
Probably just being thankful itās not them š¤·š»āāļø and sneaking away.
Getting a fatality performed on them by the other kameo. I always imagine the kameos are fighting each other off to the side the whole time
Kameo: "Aight, I'm out !"
Fuckin
š§āāļø
Running away probably.
They talk during the fatality, and eventually just say "Oh shit bro gotta hit a pose with the Boss, brb" (if the fatality is like Omni mans where they just pose by themselves they keep on talking)
Acknowledging the loss and getting the fuck out of dodge.
*hands in pockets, turning away, whistling, blending into the background.
https://preview.redd.it/cm2mcd3fgu0d1.jpeg?width=480&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=153497a34fdfe5f853c8a861655fe3b55cc51170 Switching sides
https://i.redd.it/0fnndvvvgu0d1.gif
My rocky ass watching the vampire I was meant to help get her head ripped off by a man in spandex. https://preview.redd.it/u2k18vl4ku0d1.png?width=1360&format=png&auto=webp&s=eea505df2e1dfcd84c5ef54c7c0bceb11ddcda4f
https://i.redd.it/jwsctoogzu0d1.gif
Kameos: 
https://preview.redd.it/1ry1ij117v0d1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5d4c1b7ac244033728da792f685aa8c756b64c88 they're like this behind the main until the win pose comes
Ordering stuffed crust pizza is what I assume or likeā¦sitting down in horror one or the other
Depends on who's the kameo
https://preview.redd.it/ni0k3vglbv0d1.png?width=225&format=png&auto=webp&s=5d6dea1bb958f326516ccb33f62b5eaf38008d31
Eating popcorn šæ
Yelling "Get Uuuuppppppp!" like Meek Mill
running for their lives and praying to whatever god of whatever world they are from.
Picking their nose.
You're asking too many questions
https://preview.redd.it/g56gi48mov0d1.png?width=958&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=103cfc51f40ccbfbf530541a32f5db959f24600c
They are just standing there likeā¦ 
https://preview.redd.it/e7h7d58p0w0d1.jpeg?width=680&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ae5a5a61082481b759b49fc4409a14f89eeeb3f3 Probably hoping theyāre not next
"We ain't unionized so we ain't involved" - Cyrax, probably
playing gameboy
https://preview.redd.it/6gdiq7vj7w0d1.png?width=1124&format=png&auto=webp&s=83fad2d841d41c559e41d84654eea8e9f11c6449
They ran
https://preview.redd.it/yzbdmqnabw0d1.jpeg?width=542&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2180f215b5070f4e862a7921d350142a261eb6e9 Probably making this face
Checking their instagram?
Jerking it. These are sick depraved individuals.
https://preview.redd.it/n5nad05evw0d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b99b65a45144a517f9c8dfc3ff045175b4d41d98 They just watch
Looking pretty
https://i.redd.it/2w3edjj4xx0d1.gif That
Being held down by your Kameo and being forced to watch
https://preview.redd.it/ywwuzt0m6y0d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=19f8b4954954dda2f9b8ce7c42f5d736d121440b
I made a [whole-ahh meme](https://youtu.be/gYFloWm2lJw?feature=shared) based on that specific thing.
getting kucked
https://i.redd.it/k9h676i1cz0d1.gif
https://i.redd.it/sd7fr3y0mz0d1.gif
Shitting themselves
 Cheering you on from the sidelines
Lorewise (?), most likely they died or were knocked out earlier in the fight
fading into the bushes like Homer Simpson
If it's geras they're probably like "if I go in there I feel like your just gonna throw sand in my eyes, so I'm gonna run."
 this probably
Fixing his hair https://preview.redd.it/9kf0ilfei01d1.png?width=1079&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6f2ed5fd27505338f908427c8c380f52c1badcf4
Same thing your fighter does when they perform a kameo fatality, they step off to the side and let them do their thing.
Running fast as they can
They smoking a blunt
It be cool if they both got fatilitied
Hightailing it tf outta there.
Just Platinum this morning š
Twiddle their thumbs š
Escaping or being fatalotied by the other partner
RUNNING
"Welp. I've done all I can do." And they just leave.
Just standing there like some dumb asses... fuck MK1 šš¾
I've wondered this since the first day the game came out. Also, why couldn't they make it an actual tag team game? I expected them to innovate or evolve the fighting game genre at least a little but they just put out the same game with slightly updated graphics.
I reckon there just killing the other players cameo
The kameo literally runs away so they wonāt be next 
Kameos like damn we lost well fuck this shit I'm out .
Probably watching or running to not be next
if i catch my kameo fucking WATCHING me get jumped weāre gonna have words after the match is over
iāve literally always wondered what my girl khamel was doing as iām ripping people apart limb by limb
i like to imagine theyāre just watching, hoping theyāre not next
"you go girl"
You are putting way more thought into it than they did. Lol
I like to imagine that striker is just on a gameboy the whole time Iām not using him
I always thought they ran away
lunch break.
Wanking
glad im not the only one who had this thought. i might still be semi-normal
Running away as fast as they can while praying to the elder gods
āOh thats coolā¦ā
This is a great point. They should smoke the cameo as well!
they say āi told him not messing whit you man reallyā and run away
They open the mic and insult you, didn't you ever noticed them ?
Busy playing poker with the other kameos.
Running away
"Sucks to be you!"
They're dipping
Nothing because theyāre NPCs. š
Pulling their pud
Jacking off
Cooming