The previous day.
Havik, the skull-faced warrior, walked out before Kitana, cracking his neck. Then, emerging from other doors, two figures entered. An African-American man with a black beard, gold sunglasses, and black and orange gear. The other was a man with tanned skin and a black ponytail, having a red symbol on his head with a green and brown robe.
"Kitana Kahn. Shang Tsung. All of you. Meet my associates, Darrius and Dairou, members of the Orderrealm that I have recruited."
"Recruited? For what? There will be nothing to recruit for."
"Are you serious? This is exactly why I am here, because soon enough, they'll be calling me Havik Kahn. That... doesn't sound good, but it'll be my title."
Kitana stood up, pulling out her fan blades, walking forward from her throne.
"Rule Outworld? That's what you intend to do? You won't be able to so long as I'm around!"
She signaled to Baraka and Reiko, members of her army of course, to attack. Dairou ran forward as they came, attacking Baraka with a flurry of strikes. Reiko tried to help his ally, but Darrius jumped in, blades emerging from his wrist guards, "Not so fast general."
The four of them went off in their own fight, Kitana attacking Havik, the two of them getting into a clash of their own. He was able to dodge some of her hits, but she landed a few of them, same with his case.
"You'll regret not giving me the throne willingly!" He shouted, pulling out a golden amulet, a green jewel sitting within it.
"Is that... Shinnok's amulet!? But he died long ago..."
"Shinnok? Oh... you mean the one who crafted this. You see, Quan Chi had hired the Lin Kuei to steal it from the resting place of Shinnok, a while back, not too long ago. Him and I had allied not long after that, and I discovered the amulet in his possession. Shinnok is dead yes, but this amulet still enhances power greatly, and on top of that..."
Suddenly, a gold and purple light emerged from the amulet, wrapping around Kitana, straining her body as it slowly pulled her in. It was also straining Havik surprisingly, but he went ahead with it, suddenly sealing Kitana away inside of the green jewel.
"There... Kitana Kahn... for now at least... IS NO MORE!" He shouted, holding up the amulet while walking towards the throne. He put his arm down, placing the amulet on his chest like a medallion, sitting on her former throne.
"I will now rule Outworld... and we will do one thing... a request to the Earthrealmers... to replace the system of 10, we will do one final tournament... even if that fails though, I have other plans... though, we will wait three days, so that we can recruit plenty of fighters for Outworld. Shang Tsung, you shall stand by my side... as there are plenty we need to recruit..."
Darrius, Reiko, Dairou, and Baraka had stopped their fighting when they saw Kitana being sealed away, realizing that now, Havik truly had claimed the throne.
"I know of many. A gunslinger within Outworld, he works for payment. The Lin Kuei, who Quan Chi had hired not long ago, and demons from within the Netherrealm, where I was when Quan Chi and I aligned with each other. Then we must recruit the shokan warriors and anyone else we can find. Shang Tsung, lead me to your Well of Souls, Quan Chi had informed me of its existence. I shall perform an act you could not without this amulet of mine."
Shang Tsung liked this new king, he was better than Kitana, as it seemed the two of them shared a goal. So, he lead Havik to the Well of Souls, opening a portal back to his island.
As the two of them appeared at the Well of Souls, Havik walked forward, holding the amulet out to it. Slowly, it began to pull plenty of souls from the well, and suddenly, he moved the amulet to Shang Tsung, forcing all of them into him, slowly restoring him to his youth, so he'd be in his prime.
"There..." Havik said, his arm a bit burnt. "You will serve me well now..."
Shang Tsung smirked, his black hair flowing as he bowed to Havik. "Right... we will take Earthrealm... for ourselves."
"Good... but I have an idea for a fighter... you know that girl you have, the red one?"
"Skarlet?"
"Yes. Your flesh pits, where you created others, could you create another fighter? Using her as a template, could you make us another warrior?" Havik questioned, putting the amulet back on his chest.
"I... yes... I could. I'll get on it right away. I can send Reiko and the others to do the recruiting while I'm working." The sorcerer answered, standing up again.
"Good. Get to work please." Havik said, a boney grin growing on his face as he walked away, leaving Shang Tsung to his devices.
Now, present day, it was time for Kung Lao's ceremony. Everyone had gathered, and the moon was out. Cyrax and Bi-Han watched, alongside Sareena. Liu Kang was overseeing the thing, Jax, Sonya, and Johnny being beside him. Rain was also there, next to Johnny and Kai. Other fighters for Earthrealm had not come along, fighters like Kenshi and Raiden, who could not attend as he went to find Kung Lao's main master, Bo' Rai Cho.
"So it's all done now huh? You've told us that Earthrealm is safe now, we can't be taken through another tournament." Jax said.
"It would take 10 more tournaments now. But with Kung Lao, I trust that we shall remain on top." Liu Kang said.
"Lord Liu Kang, do you believe that things really will be alright?" Rain questioned, watching the monks with Kung Lao.
He thought about it, but then, Shang Tsung was walking forward, now looking more youthful than ever. Dairou was following along behind him, alongside Darrius.
"Hey! Look at us!" Darrius demanded, Dairou hitting him a bit.
"Let Shang Tsung speak for us." Dairou said, crossing his arms.
Liu Kang, Jax, Rain, and the others there turned to face them.
"Shang Tsung! What are you doing here!?" Bi-Han demanded, walking towards him with anger.
"Bi-Han! Stop! What do you want sorcerer?" Liu Kang said, looking him in the eyes.
"I have a proposal... a tournament, to replace the system of 10. One tournament to decide it all. If Earthrealm wins, we will not compete in anymore tournaments with it. Do you accept?"
"Hey, you won't accept, you'll dish him off right?" Johnny said to the Fire God.
"Where is Kitana? Did she allow this?"
"Kitana is no longer in power! Now, Havik is the king." Dairou exclaimed.
Liu Kang was caught off guard. Kitana was defeated? By... Havik? And how did it happen? Now he wanted to deny the tournament, but he had two things in his mind. He needed to find out what happened to Kitana, and on top of that, he remembered that if he denies this request, Shang Tsung will attack the academy with an army of tarkatans. But seeing Dairou and Darrius, what if the attack is bigger? Did Havik recruit more people? He didn't want to risk anything, so he nodded.
"Fine... Elder Gods! Hear me out! I accept the offer of Havik and Shang Tsung! A tournament to replace the system of 10, to decide the fate of Earthrealm!"
Suddenly, as Kung Lao's ceremony was finishing up, the sky began to light up, exploding as a white light fired out, striking Liu Kang, the Elder Gods responding to him.
"What was that?" Kung Lao said, running off from where he was, headed to the area where the others were.
"Excellent... the tournament will be held in Outworld, Havik's request. You fight on OUR land. We shall see you there..." Shang Tsung said, leaving with Dairou and Darrius.
"Lord Liu Kang! What happened!" Kung Lao shouted, running up to them.
Kai looked towards Kung Lao, "Apparently, the Fire God accepted a new offer. Another tournament. If they win, they get Earthrealm. If we win, they leave it alone, forever."
Kung Lao was a little wary, but his confidence overcame him. "That's fine. We'll just beat them down again."
"Don't underestimate them Kung Lao... now, we'll all leave to fight in the morning, we won't be going tonight, since the night is nearly over. Prepare, all of you. I should stay here when you leave though, to wait and inform Bo' Rai Cho and Raiden when they return, as it'll most likely be soon."
"Wait. You're just gonna send us to another tournament, alone?" Johnny said.
"It'll be fine. Together, fighting for Earthrealm, you are all strong. So no matter how many opponents you'll face, if you work together, you'll win. Though, I will find someone to help you. The God of Wind, Fujin. He'll accompany you all, but I assume like me, he cannot participate as one of our fighters, just as a helper. But, we will call forth Reptile for assistance, and anyone he has with him. That's all." Liu Kang said.
With that, everyone decided that it was indeed time to get some rest and prepare, so they did just that.
Scorpion, now Hanzo Hasashi, wandered a mountain-like area, returning to somewhere from his past. The past home of the Shirai Ryu, his now deceased clan. He had believed that, in order to truly make peace with his mind and forget the sins of the past, he would visit the old home of his clansmen, having an idea.
Now that he had been restored to his humanity, Hanzo had the idea to restore his clan, to rebuild it as the new leader.
"It'll take work... but I can do it..." He said, tightening his golden headband. Then, at that same time, a portal had opened up behind him, Skarlet walking out of it.
"Scorpion... I demand your attention!" She said.
He slowly turned to face her, scoffing, "Servant of Shang Tsung... I am no longer Scorpion, or rather, no longer the one you knew. What do you want with me?" He said with an angered tone.
"There will be another tournament for Earthrealm, you are requested to be of the fighters for Earthrealm, as Outworld is gathering forces for itself. The tournament will replace the original system. Winner takes all essentially..." She said, fixing the bangs of her dark red hair.
Hanzo did not like the idea at first, but then again, if Earthrealm were to lose, blood would simply begin to stain the ground, and he would not be able to rebuild his clan. So he had to do whatever it takes.
"When?"
"Tomorrow. You should journey to find Liu Kang, as he can escort you there, along with several other fighters for Earthrealm." Skarlet replied. "Now... I bid you farewell, Hanzo." She said, waving before walking through the portal. As she left, it closed behind her, and as the moonlight shone down over the mountain, he decided that he would have to leave.
Sonya was walking off to get some rest now that the ceremony had concluded. She needed it if they were going to leave in the morning. Then, at the same time, Johnny came over to her.
"Hey! Sonya! I wanted to ask you something."
"What is it Cage? I'd like to get some sleep."
"Since you're a part of some sort of like, special unit, do you have any backup who are trained in good combat that could possibly help us out? We might need a lot of muscle you know? Wonder flames looked a little worried, or a little nervous to say yes." He said.
"Special Forces. And yes, I do know a few. There's one person, who mainly hangs around New York City, but he is an ally, named Kurtis Stryker. I believe he also has a new partner who could be of use. I'll call them up before I get some sleep. Now you should also sleep superstar." She said, and after giving him an answer, she walked off to find a comfortable bed.
Johnny chuckled, "She called me superstar. She's digging me more and more."
Finally, Shang Tsung had sent Baraka to recruit an Outworld bandit, a mercenary.
He came to the den of the mercenary, wielding plenty of cash in his hands, throwing it all on the ground. From the shadows, he emerged.
A gunslinger with long, brown hair and a hat reminiscent of a cowboy. He had a face-mask with a red cape and a brown and black suit, covered in gear.
"Woah... you looking to hire toothface?" He said, holding onto his gun, being serious while making his remark.
Baraka growled, "Watch your tone Erron Black... this is to hire you for a tournament, to compete for Outworld..." Baraka said.
"A tournament huh? Can I use my guns to kill?"
"Why else would we hire a mercenary..?"
"Then it's a darn good deal for me... I'll accept this offer..." Erron Black, the gunslinger, said. He walked forward, taking the cash, placing it within a stash of his. "Take me to your boss man, okay chomps a lot?" He said to Baraka, clearly mocking him now. The tarkatan warrior began to despise him, but he brought him along, taking the mercenary to Havik and the sorcerer.