Mortal Kombat
Season 1, Chapter 5: The Arrival
It was a relatively quiet evening in Hong Kong in 1992. A car drove to a pier where a large wooden boat was. The ship had a large sail with a dragon symbol inside a circle. Johnny Cage walked out of the car, holding a couple of suitcases, wearing a blue suit with a pink undershirt and untied bowtie.
"Alright, here we go." Johnny said as he walked to the wooden ship, boarding it confidently.
Sonya and Jax watched the boat with binoculars in another part of the pier.
"I'll be damned, is that Johnny Cage?" Jax questioned, wearing a standard military uniform.
"Never heard of him; wait, look." Said Sonya, wearing a green and black military uniform with a belt, vest, cap, and dog tags. She aimed her binoculars at Kano, who was boarding the ship. "There's Kano."
"Not just Kano, look." Jax said; Sonya looked over and saw Hsu Hao boarding the boat as well.
"The Red Dragon are coming too, huh? Well, they're not getting Kano before me." Sonya said as she got up and started going to the ship.
"Sonya, wait!" Jax said, but Sonya was not listening.
Also boarding the boat were three Lin Kuei ninjas: one was a black man with comb-rowed hair and a ponytail, a trim beard on his chin, wearing a yellow and black outfit with arm guards and leg guards; he was wearing a headband and round glass containers with liquid in then on his belt. The second was a Japanese man with a mustache and beard and long black hair in a ponytail, wearing a red and black outfit with shoulder pads on his back was a red tank with hoses connected to devices on his arms. The third was Sub-Zero, wearing a very padded blue vest, metal arm guards, and long fingerless gloves with sheathed throwing knives at the ends of said gloves. He had various blue straps and belts on his pants, metal leg guards, and more sheathed knives on his belt, and he had a leather hood and face mask on, the face mask being metal and having a glowing blue center.
Arriving at the pier were Raiden and Liu Kang; Liu Kang was wearing a red headband, metal arm guards, and long black and red pants.
"The boat will take us to Shang Tsung's island." Raiden said
"Then let us go, Lord Raiden." Liu Kang said; the two walked onto the boat. Just as the boat began to leave, Sonya jumped off the pier and grabbed onto the edge of the ship, a hand helping her up on board. The hand was Johnny Cage's.
"Hey there, good-looking? Need some help?" Johnny smirks
"Thanks but no thanks." Sonya said, getting up, ignoring Johnny's smirk, and walking off. The boat had various people on board, both grunts and fighters, and a good amount of people in beige robes and black and white masks standing there holding naginata.
"Oh bloody hell, you're Johnny Cage!" Kano said, wearing a light brown jacket showing off his chest. He eagerly walked up and shook Johnny's hand "Big fan of your work. Mind if I get an autograph?" he asked.
"Hey, anything for a fan." Johnny said, pulling a picture of himself out of his suit and signing it with a pen he also had; he handed it to Kano, who smiled and put it in his jacket.
"Thanks, mate." Kano smiled; he then saw Sonya there; he smirked and walked over to her.
"'Ello baby, did you miss me?" Kano said to Sonya. Sonya turned and sneered at Kano; she ran over to attack him, but then one of the masked men slammed the blade of his naginata down between them.
"There will be no fighting until the tournament begins." the masked man said.
"Listen here, I'm not-" Sonya said before more masked men showed up behind her, aiming their naginata directly at her. "...fine." she said with anger and annoyance.
The boat made its way across the sea, passing through a thick wall of fog until it finally reached an enormous island full of forests and mountains. Visible on the island was a vast and ornately designed temple. The boat made harbor, and all the passengers got off it; several monks and other masked men were there along the path to a ludicrously long stone staircase spanning what seemed like an entire mountain to get to the temple at the top.
"Oh fuck me..." Johnny said, looking at the giant staircase.
"What? Never done cardio?" Sonya scoffed, walking by.
"Not up a mountain, no." Johnny replied, taking a deep breath and walking up the stairs. The process of walking up the staircase took a while for everyone, but they all eventually made it to the top where the temple was waiting; it was easier for some than others. When the fighters entered the temple, there was a large room with several tables and large feasts worth of food. There were also some bizarre-looking figures in the room, from a woman with large bat wings on her back, to a bald man with giant sharp teeth, to a man with the bottom half of his face missing exposing a skull mouth, to a bug-looking woman, so various more freakish-looking fighters.
"Yep, just as I suspected. I'm the best-looking guy here." Johnny said. Then, two large doors opened, and a figure walked out; an old man with a long white beard, mustache, and long white hair. He was wearing a large robe colored red, black, and gold with some flame decals on the sleeves. He had black pants and a large green orb at the center of his belt.
"Greetings, participants of Mortal Kombat. I am Shang Tsung. I will be your host. You have traveled from all over to be part of this grand tournament. Some of you are here for power, some for fame, and others for personal agendas. Regardless of your reasoning, you will participate in one-on-one battles over the next several days, ranking up the tournament until the one who rises above the others will face their final challenge. Me." Shang Tsung announced to everyone in the room.
"Heh, that guy's the final challenge? Might as well make me the winner right now." Johnny said to himself before getting shushed by another fighter.
"And now for a taste of things to come." Shang Tsung said. A shirtless man wearing a red turban face cover and long red pants walked in and headed to the open area between where the tables were and where Shang Tsung was standing. A thud was heard from across to where the man was, and a figure suddenly appeared, a reptilian man with green, scaly skin and yellow lizard eyes. He was wearing a segmented metal mask over his jaws and a leather hood on his head. His outfit mainly being a vest made up of cloth, leather, and various strapped-on bones. He had landed on his bare feet, said feet having clear claws on them, his legs having metal guards strapped on, and black pants.
"Yikes, who's the ugly one?" Johnny asked
"His name is Reptile. He is a Saurian from the realm of Zaterra." Raiden said
"Realm?"
The lizard man then took a stance, spreading his legs apart, moving his left arm upright slightly curved, and his right arm bent more and his hand aimed downward. This stance caught Liu Kang's attention.
"The horse stance?" He thought to himself. The other man charged at Reptile and attempted to do a flying kick on him, but Reptile swiftly moved his arms and grabbed the man's leg; he tossed the man over behind him. The man got back up and did several flips towards Reptile, but Reptile bent his fingers and pushed his palm outward before grabbing the man by the arm and using the same hand pose to strike the arm, the man screaming in pain.
"And the Fu Jow Pai? This Reptile is knowledgeable in martial arts." Liu Kang thought to himself. Reptile then delivered several strikes to the man's limbs, and the man screamed in pain in response to the powerful strikes. He then roundhouse kicked the man, sending him flying to the floor. Reptile then seemed to vanish; the man got up and looked around before being hit several times from various angles. Reptile reappeared at the man's side before grabbing his shoulders and kneeing him in the back. Reptile then tossed the man back across the area they were fighting in. The man groaned and got up, weakened; Reptile then spat a green liquid out of his mouth and right into the man's face. The man screamed in pain as both his turban face cover and his flesh and his face melted, exposing his muscle and bone. Reptile then grabbed the man's head and tore it right off his shoulders. Tossing the head onto the ground.
"Flawless Victory." Shang Tsung said as guards dragged away the dead body and severed head.
"Jesus...Chuck wasn't kidding about the mortality rate..." Johnny thought to himself.
"The first round of matches will begin tomorrow morning. So enjoy an evening of peace and tranquility. It may be your last." Shang Tsung said before leaving the room. Everyone else there then took seats at the tables and began eating the feasts present.
"So what was that thing you were talking about with realms and stuff?" Johnny Cage asked Raiden as they were all sitting at a table.
"The realms, different worlds. They are the reason this tournament exists." Raiden explained.
"Thought this was just a case of a rich asshole having psychopaths fight to the death for him." Sonya said
"It is not that simple, Sonya Blade."
"How do you know my-" Sonya asked before Raiden began explaining.
"When the Elder Gods created the realms, they did not know that one could conquer another realm and merge it with their own. They were made aware of this by Shao Kahn, the emperor of the realm, Outworld. As such, the Elder Gods had created a safeguard for realms to defend themselves from invaders. Mortal Kombat is that safeguard, a tournament where fighters from the realms do battle. In order for one realm to conquer and merge with another, they must win ten Mortal Kombat tournaments in a row against the other realm. Should that other realm successfully defend themselves for ten tournaments in a row, the invading realm must give up their claim to it forever." Raiden explained.
"So what? The fate of the world is settled by a karate tournament?" Johnny Cage questioned.
"The Elder Gods decided it was the best way to allow realms a chance to defend themselves. Shao Kahn has already conquered several realms and has had his sights set on Earthrealm for almost a thousand years. Earthrealm has lost the last nine tournaments; if Outworld wins this one, then Earthrealm will be lost."
"Oh, okay, good to know there's no pressure." Johnny sarcastically said.
"Shut up, big shot. Anyway, so why are people like Kano and Red Dragon here?" Sonya asked.
"Due to the promise of wealth or power, some warriors here only fight for Earthrealm by proxy. While you fight for the realm you are from by default, there are plenty who enter for their own reasons." Raiden said.
"For example, I am here to defend Earthrealm." Liu Kang said, "Johnny Cage, you are here for your own desires for fame."
"And Sonya Blade, you are here because of your personal mission against Kano." Raiden said.
"Well, what about you, huh? You seem to know so much, including about us, so what's your deal?" Sonya asked.
"Lord Raiden is the God of Thunder and protector of Earthrealm." Liu Kang said.
"Yes, while I am not allowed to participate in Mortal Kombat, I still try to do whatever I can to keep Earthrealm safe." Raiden said, "The three of you should get some needed rest. For tomorrow, Mortal Kombat begins."