Multiverse Theory: The theory that our universe is not the only one, but that many universes exist parallel to each other.

Prologue

For millennia, Earthrealm has used the Mortal Kombat tournament to defend itself from hostile takeover. That is, being taken over by the realm of Outworld, ruled by it's evil warlord Shao Kahn. Long has it been Kahn's desire to claim Earthrealm for himself like he has done for countless other realms. In fact the evil emperor would have been successful in doing just that had it not been for a group of wise men from the Far East who sensed Kahn's approach so long ago. Knowing this, they appealed to the Elder Gods to seek an honorable solution for Earthrealm to protect itself. This solution came in the form of a tournament. A martial arts competition, pitting the greatest warriors of both realms against each other fighting for the survival of their respective realm. And thus came about the genesis of the great tournament known to man as Mortal Kombat.

Should the defending realm be victorious, it's realm will be protected for the next fifty years and it's Champion will be granted agelessness to defend his or her title in the following tournament. However, should the opposing realm win ten consecutive tournaments, the defending realm will suffer the unfortunate fate of being taken over and conquered by it's opposing realm. Such was the fate of many realms Shao Kahn has laid claim to.

Earthrealm almost suffered this fate on multiple different occasions. The first came over a thousand years ago in the first Mortal Kombat tournament when Kahn's demon sorcerer, Shang Tsung became Mortal Kombat Champion and won nine consecutive tournaments. Fortunately for Earthrealm, Tsung would be defeated by the great Shaolin warrior known as Kung Lao in the 10th tournament. This in turn nullified the nine victories Outworld had over Earthrealm and started a new set of tournaments.

However, Shang Tsung would return 50 years later, having severely aged since his last appearance and brought forth with him a warrior that proved to be a fierce adversary to the realm of Earth. This warrior was known as Goro, a mighty four armed warrior and prince of the Outworld race known as the Shokan. Goro did battle with Kung Lao and after a long, fierce battle between the two warriors, Goro came out the victor and thus created a new Outworld domination of the tournament.

Nine Mortal Kombat tournaments have passed since then and Outworld is once again on the verge of taking over Earthrealm. Kahn's millennia old dream is coming that much closer to fruition with the upcoming tenth tournament. The fate of Earth's safety now lies in the hands of a few chosen warriors.

Most notably of these warriors is Kung Lao, the descendant who bares the same name as the warrior who once won the Mortal Kombat tournament and ended it's Outworld domination so many years ago…

MORTAL KOMBAT: THE GREAT TOURNAMENT

Kharacter Bio's

Kung Lao:

Alignment: Good

A noble Shaolin warrior who was chosen by the White Lotus Society to represent the Order of Light in the tournament. Kung Lao seeks to save Earthrealm from losing it's 10th consecutive loss in the Mortal Kombat Tournament to Outworld. He also intends to avenge his ancestor's death at the hands of Goro many years ago. Despite this, Kung Lao feels uneasy about accepting the role of a would-be Mortal Kombat champion.

Sonya Blade:

Alignment: Good

A Special Forces agent hot on the trail of the Red Dragon mercenary, Kano. Sonya follows Kano on to the Nethership, not knowing anything of the upcoming tournament and what's in store for her.

Johnny Cage:

Alignment: Good

An actor who's movie career has seen a noticeable decline in the past years. He seeks to enter the Mortal Kombat tournament as a way to gain notoriety and to prove the press wrong for calling him a fraud. He's completely oblivious to what awaits him in the tournament.

Raiden:

Alignment: Good

The God of Thunder and Protector of Earthrealm. While Raiden himself doesn't compete in the tournament, he and the Shaolin Temples entrust Kung Lao with the responsibility of defending Earthrealm. He guides the Earthrealm warriors as they fight for the very survival of their realm.

Sub-Zero:

Alignment: Neutral

A powerful and ruthless Lin Kuei warrior who's services are retained by the demon sorcerer, Shang Tsung. He's enlisted to fight alongside Outworld in the 10th tournament though his clan gives him an ulterior mission...to assassinate Shang Tsung during the course of the tournament.

Scorpion:

Alignment: Neutral

A spectre brought to the living world through Quan Chi's sorcery after being killed by Sub-Zero. Scorpion is enlisted by Quan Chi to aid Shang Tsung in the tournament with the promise that he will be able to kill Sub-Zero after he aids Outworld in defeating Earthrealm.

Kano:

Alignment: Evil

A mercenary and leader of the vile Red Dragon clan. Kano has long been hunted by the Special Forces agent, Sonya Blade and leads her to the Nethership were both he and Sonya will compete in the tournament. Kano and his Red Dragon clan are promised a very large sum of money should they succeed in aiding Outworld's victory in the tournament.

Baraka

Alignment: Evil

A vicious, vile creature from the realm of Outworld who fights for Outworld's domination of Earthrealm. Baraka belongs to a savage race known as the Tarkata who are known for their bloodlust and brutality and Baraka himself is known for his fits of rage and anger.

Chaosmos:

Alignment: Evil

A warrior belonging to an extinct, reptilian-like Outworld race known as the Oletros. Standing at a menacing 6'10, Chaosmos is as deadly as they come. Possessing the ability to poison his foes in many different ways as well as overpowering his foes with his brute strength, Chaosmos will indeed prove to be a fierce adversary to the realm of Earth in the tournament.

Goro:

Alignment: Evil

The 2,000 year old half-human, half-dragon warrior and reigning champion of Mortal Kombat. Goro hails from the realm of Outworld and is the Prince of the four-armed race known as the Shokan. Every foe that has challenged Goro has fallen to the mighty Shokan and thus many in Earthrealm and Outworld consider him to be unbeatable.

Shang Tsung:

Alignment: Evil

The demon sorcerer who is the right hand man of the Outworld emperor, Shao Kahn. Shang Tsung has enslaved the souls of many powerful warriors in his very long life using his soul stealing abilities. Kahn entrusts Tsung to carry out his scheme of conquering Earthrealm which Tsung performs to much success. Should Shang Tsung's warriors be victorious in the upcoming tournament, Earthrealm will fall to Shao Kahn.

Author's Notes

Well, here we go with this very lengthy story that will span many different fics. As you can surmise from the information given in the Prologue, this story takes place in an alternate universe of Mortal Kombat. As you read through the story, you will notice the many differences this universe has VS the official Mortal Kombat universe be it characters, scenarios, or other things. Some may be small and subtle while others will be very noticeable to the point where they're completely different from what you remember them being.

This story in particular, The Great Tournament is the first part of the many stories in this alternate universe that covers the events of MK1 as it unfolded in this universe.

The story is based on the Original Timeline lore of Mortal Kombat. Albeit an alternate universe version of the Original Timeline. Don't be surprised to see the new characters show up in this story though.

In addition to the differences, their will be a few OC's introduced throughout the course of these stories. Given that this is an alternate universe, you'll see characters appear who never existed in the official Mortal Kombat universe. Chaosmos being one of them. I don't want to make the story too OC heavy so rest assured OC's will be kept at a minimum.

This story has 5 chapters not including the Prologue and the Epilogue with the 1st chapter being split in to three different parts. The 1st chapter is largely based off the 1995 MK film and details how all the fighters get to the tournament. Afterwards the story will be action heavy til' the end.

Also want to give major props to UltimateBudokai3 for giving me the idea of an alternate universe MK story. His story, Mortal Kombat: Parallel really inspired me to do all of this. Make sure to check out his story as well.

With that being said lets get on with the story…