*Inside the East of the Lin Kuei Palace, Ron and I continue looking for Sub-Zero, who's currently battling his brother, Noob Saibot*

Ron: Hmm. You know what; I'm just going to ask it. How'd you get that amulet?

Me: Sub-Zero gave it to me before he left for here.

Ron: I suppose that makes sense.

*A figure crashes through the wall behind us. We take a look and quickly identify the figure as Sub-Zero*

Ron: Sub-Zero! You okay?

Sub-Zero: *gets up* I'll be fine. I don't get how my brother and Quan Chi found me so easily.

*I look behind him and find a small tracking device on the back of his neck*

Me: I could. You were being followed here.

*A green skull is fired from the rubble. Ron deflects it with his Sai daggers. Quan Chi and Noob Saibot appear from the hole.*

Sub-Zero: It's them!

Me: Alright. It's time for some payback. You readers enjoy this chapter.

The 7 Weapons

Chapter 11: The Invitation

Somewhere in the Castle That Never Was, a Corridor of Darkness opens and from that Corridor came Grievous carrying an unconscious Zod. The Separatist General places him on a steel platform as Saïx came in the room.

"What happened to him?" Saïx asked. Grievous snarled and slams his fists on the platform.

"Superman happened to him! You told me he would lure him into a trap if he captured his allies." Grievous scorned.

"That's what I said to you." Saïx said.

"Well, you were wrong." Grievous retorted.

"I'd normally banish him to the darkest depths of the Phantom Zone, but Master Xemnas decided to give him a second chance." Saïx said as he transferred some of his powers to Zod. After the transfer, he awakens.

"What… happened?" Zod asked after being awakened.

"You were defeated by Superman, but Xemnas is giving you another chance." Saïx said as he pulled out a mysterious black envelope with a dragon seal. "There is going to be a tournament held in a place called Outworld."

"What about this tournament?" Grievous questioned.

"It just so happens that the prize for this tournament's champion is a fragment of Pandora's Box." Saïx explained.

"The prize is one of the twelve fragments of the Box?" Zod questioned.

"Not only that, the winner also gains the opportunity to face the host: the emperor of Outworld, Shao Kahn." Saïx finished his explanation.

"Shao Kahn? I hear he's dead." A battle droid accompanying Grievous noted. The Separatist General smacked its head off. Saïx turned to Grievous and glared at him.

"Don't worry about him. I have plenty more of these battle droids." Grievous informed him. "And I take it that envelope is the invitation?"

"Yes. Fortunately, the rest of us were given invitations as well." Saïx said. "Prepare yourselves for the trials ahead of you." The two Generals nod in acceptance as the Luna Diviner left the room.

Flying through the fabric of space in the Negotiator, Mason is in his living quarters daydreaming about the new powers he obtained back in Sugar Rush. After a few minutes, there was a knock at the door, snapping him back into reality.

"Enter." Mason said. The door opens and Anakin and Sofia came in.

"Mason. Still dreaming about that Valor Form, aren't you?" Anakin asked.

"How did you know what happened?" Mason questioned.

"Sora told us about it earlier. It happened to him as well." Sofia answered.

"Typical." Mason said as he stood up. As he did, he finds three black envelopes with the same dragon seal on the table. He picks up one envelope, opens it, and reads the contents inside.

"What are they?" Anakin asked.

"They're… invitations." Mason answered.

"Invitations? To what?" Sofia wondered.

"To a tournament." Mason said.

"We better let the others know about it." Anakin suggested. The other two nod as Mason took the other two invitations off the table and left for the bridge. When they get there, they see Obi-Wan, Yoda, Scarlett, Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Green Arrow, Cyborg, Wonder Woman, Kratos, Sora, and Riku with a black envelope of their own.

"Ah, arrived, you have. I assume known about the tournament, you have." Yoda said.

"I found these in my room." Mason pointed out as he, Anakin, and Sofia showed them their invitations.

"So, the sixteen of us have received an invitation to a tournament from an anonymous messenger." Batman deduced.

"And from what the invitation said, it's held in some place called Outworld." Green Lantern added.

"What should we do?" Obi-Wan asked.

"I suggest we enter." Scarlett said.

"Hold up. Why?" Wonder Woman asked.

"There are two soldiers in my army that know this tournament well. Their names are Scorpion and Sub-Zero." Scarlett explained.

"Wait a minute. Scorpion AND Sub-Zero? Those two are bitter rivals since the Lin Kuei murdered Scorpion, his family, and the entire Shirai Ryu clan." Riku responded.

"That was before Sub-Zero knew the truth from Raiden, the God of Thunder. The Lin Kuei killed not only Scorpion's family, but Sub-Zero's as well." Scarlett clarified. "In a fit of rage, Scorpion and Sub-Zero formed a new Deadly Alliance. Their powers were what I needed for my army."

"I suppose that makes sense." Aquaman said.

"There's more: I read the invitation and the prize for the champion is the third fragment of Pandora." Scarlett continued.

"Are you serious?" Anakin asked in surprise.

"I speak the truth, plus the winner also gains the opportunity to face the host of the tournament: Emperor Shao Kahn." Scarlett finished.

"Wait a minute, Shao Kahn?" Mason interjected. "The last time I heard about him, the Elder Gods destroyed him for violating the rules of Mortal Kombat by invading Earthrealm."

"You're right. But somehow, he resurfaced and sent Shang Tsung to abduct my apprentice and steal her amulet." Scarlett explained. "I had some of my allies, as well as my counterpart, the Cobalt Warrior, go to Outworld and rescue her. I spied on them until the ritual to break the barrier I cast began."

"What happened then?" Riku asked.

"I engaged the tyrant in Mortal Kombat, but I couldn't last very long against his power." Scarlett continued. "But then Scorpion and my allies came and rescued me and took me and Sofia out of Outworld, leaving Scorpion and my counterpart to face him."

"Were they...?" Cyborg asked with worry.

"Oh, no, Cyborg. They won, but what I saw when I returned to the fray surprised me." Scarlett said. "My counterpart had transformed. He was fighting him alone when I arrived."

"Alone?!" Green Arrow questioned in shock.

"That's correct. When I found him, he was struggling to defeat him, so I lent him some of my energy and it was enough to kill him once and for all." Scarlett finished explaining.

"Hmm... This Shao Kahn seems dangerous, but should he surface again, we'll be ready for him." Anakin said with a grin. "Set a course for Outworld, on the double."

"Yes sir." A Clone Trooper responded as the flagship entered hyperspace on route to Outworld.

*Sub-Zero binds Noob Saibot by freezing his arms and legs together. He does the same to Quan Chi.*

Noob Saibot: Why do this, brother?

Sub-Zero: We are no longer brothers.

Ron: Excellent work. Let's regroup in the courtyard.

*We begin our trek to the courtyard with Quan Chi and Noob Saibot in tow when my communicator went off*

Me: Dante, report.

Dante: *signal garbled* Archer, we're in trouble. Stryker and I were ambushed by this red robot and- *signal is severed*

Me: Dante? Dante!

Ron: What happened?

Me: Stryker and Dante got ambushed by this red robot.

Sub-Zero: Sektor. We better help them.

Me: I had that same thought. Ron, get these two to the studio dungeon. Sub-Zero and I will search for the others.

Ron: Will do. Move it. *He drags Noob and Quan Chi to the courtyard.*

Me: The signal I managed to trace should lead us to where it was cut off. Let's go. You readers review. Peace out, friends!-