As Raiden prepared to leave, he heard footsteps coming from behind him. Turning his head slightly, he spoke "You can come out." With a sigh, Sub-Zero appeared from behind the statue of Goro.
"I guess Gods have a good sense of hearing." He said.
"Among other things." Raiden said. "It has been a while since you reclaimed the amulet. Do you still want to be thanked?"
"I would appreciate it, after all, I was the one, who went into the depths of the Netherrealm. I was the one who got the amulet back." Sub-Zero said, irritated with an angry glint in his eyes.
"You were also the one who gave Quan Chi the amulet in the first place." Raiden politely responded.
Sub-Zero made clear that he was annoyed, but decided to drop the subject. "I didn't come to be thanked. I came to ask you that warning you gave me, the evil in my soul… is there anything more to it?"
"No, there isn't. I warned you and you refused, that's all there is to it."
Sub-Zero paused for a moment and then continued to speak, desperate to change the subject. "What about Scorpion?"
"What about him?" Raiden asked. "This is partly why I warned you, I've witnessed you mercilessly kill your opponents, even those who pleaded for it. You and Scorpion will fight, but I will not interfere. You will be on your own."
"Why won't you?"
"Because I have no involvement with your quarrel." Raiden replied.
Sub-Zero chuckled. "I'm not worried, I've beaten him twice. I have no problem with doing it a third time." He finished, rather cockily.
"I wouldn't underestimate him if I were you Sub-Zero." And without another word Raiden vanished.
O-O-O
While the warriors rested for the second day of the tournament, Shang Tsung sat on his throne room chair inside his palace, sipping a glass of wine, recalling the events of the day. When suddenly an unknown figure entered the room.
"You may show yourself Reptile." He said, before he took another sip. Suddenly a puff of smoke appeared in front of him and what materialized appeared to be a ninja, that look remarkably similar to Scorpion and Sub-Zero, but he was not clad in yellow or blue, his ninja uniform was clad in green.
Bowing to one knee, Reptile placed his left arm over his chest and spoke. "Sssssssshang Tssssssung. What are your orders?"
"I want you to keep an eye on three warriors: Liu Kang, Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade. They have aroused my suspicions."
"Yessssssss, Sssssshang Tsssssung. I will do as you ask." And with another puff of smoke, Reptile disappeared. With Reptile's disappearance, Tsung could hear thunderous footsteps approaching the door to the right and out of the doorway, stepped the 4-arm Shokan Prince, Goro.
"Welcome Prince Goro, I take it that you got my message." Tsung said, greetingly.
"Yes, Shang Tsung, I received your message, what is it that you wish to tell me?"
"Well, in turns out that the one chosen to represent the Shaolin is the one who we desired."
"Ah, you mean the one called Liu Kang?"
"Yes." Tsung said. "The Tarkatans did their job those 6 years ago. I analyzed the Shaolin for their possible representatives. He seemed like the weakest one."
"It wouldn't matter if he was their best." Goro replied, arrogantly.
"Yes, I did not want Kung Lao's descendant to take part, but apparently he had no interest in the first place."
"Do you doubt my power Shang Tsung?" Goro replied, somewhat annoyed. "It wouldn't matter if Kung Lao's descendant was here, he'd meet the same fate as this Liu Kang will."
"Do not talk to me in that tone again Goro!" Tsung shouted. "We are so close to attaining our goal, I was not willing to risk anything at all. You will end up fighting Liu Kang and you will rip him apart, but be sure to leave his soul for me."
Goro bowed solemnly. "Forgive me Shang Tsung."
"The Emperor will not tolerate failure and neither will I…"
O-O-O
The next day dawned, and the fighters were preparing for their next matches. As Liu, Johnny and Sonya trained and sparred with each other, they were interrupted by a sudden clash of thunder and once again Raiden materialized. Suddenly they stopped practicing and turned their attention to Raiden.
"You three fought well yesterday, but your toughest challenges are yet to come. One of you is soon to face Goro in Mortal Kombat."
"What about Shang Tsung? Will he fight?" Liu asked, quickly.
"If he chooses to." Raiden said. "As a former champion and the tournament holder, he has the right to do so."
"Raiden, what about the ones who were defeated in the tournament?" Johnny asked the Thunder God. "What happened to them."
Raiden remained silent, he could tell them that the losers had their souls absorbed by Shang Tsung. But fortunately, he did not have to tell them the answer as the gong sounded signaling the beginning of the matches. Raiden pointed his head towards the arena and they headed towards it without question…
However before Raiden could vanish once again, he heard a voice. "Are you the Thunder God?"
Raiden turned his head around and was surprised to see of all people, Scorpion standing before him.
"Yes." Raiden replied, unsure of what Scorpion wanted.
"I've heard stories of you, but I never fully believed it." Scorpion said, walking toward Raiden. Raiden took a cautious step back, however Scorpion made it clear that he had no intention to fight.
"I know of your feud with Sub-Zero." Raiden said.
"If you know about that. Then you know what I'm going to do to him after I defeat him."
"Yes, I do."
"But right now, the one thing I want to know is… WHY?" Scorpion screamed.
Raiden was stunned by this outburst, but remained calm as Scorpion spoke.
"If the Gods are to protect the realms and everyone in it? Why did you allow my family and clan to be massacred!"
"We do not interfere with personal affairs, we merely make sure the realms exist." Raiden said, calmly.
"But look at what happened to me! I was murdered and condemned to the Netherrealm all because I wanted to provide my family with a good life? I wouldn't call that justified!" Scorpion shouted.
"Perhaps you are right." Raiden said, nodding slightly. "But I have watched you Scorpion and I have sensed that although you may be a spawn of Hell, your soul is not consumed by evil, but rage."
"Sub-Zero took everything from me, my life, my honor, my family and my clan. Everything that ever mattered to me was taken away…"
"I do feel your pain Scorpion, but your feud with Sub-Zero will only remain between the two of you. Although I warned Sub-Zero of his actions, he has apparently ignored them. However, I would've said similar to you had it been you instead of him those two years ago." Raiden did not tell Scorpion the next part, but he knew that deep down within this hellspawn that was out for revenge was a man fighting for the love and honor of his family and he also believed Sub-Zero could change his ways, but would he finally listen? No matter who the victor in this conflict, Raiden knew a tragic fate awaited the loser.
O-O-O
At the arena, Liu Kang had already won his match and had returned to the stands. Now the next match would come and much to the surprise of Liu Kang and Sonya and even Johnny Cage, Johnny would have to fight Raiden.
"Aw, come on!" he shouted, somewhat whining. "Why'd it have to be me?"
"Relax, you're the perfect man for the job!" Liu said, patting Johnny on the back.
"Yeah, just go out there, we'll see how badly Raiden kicks your ass and take notes." Added Sonya. Johnny tried to ignore these two statements as he made his way down to the arena.
Panting, Johnny made his way into the arena where he found Raiden already waiting for him. Sweating slightly, he then asked Raiden. "So you going to kick my ass now?"
But he did not receive a reply from Raiden at first. "No Johnny Cage. I believe the time has come for a new generation of warriors to rise. You are one of them." And without another word, Raiden dropped to his knees and just sat there.
For a moment there was silence, whether it was awkward or was merely stunned was unknown. Shang Tsung impatiently broke the silence and said. "What are you waiting for? FINISH HIM!"
But after looking at Raiden, Johnny shook his head and said. "No." And without a word, Johnny turned and left the arena, as Raiden teleported out. Although Tsung was angry at Cage's refusal to finish the Thunder God, a speck of curiosity arose within him. "Why would Raiden surrender to a mere mortal? It doesn't make sense. Unless…"
And so another day passed, night fell on Shang Tsung's island. As the surviving fighters rested and relaxed. Meanwhile, Liu Kang once again left dinner early and headed out into the night.
"Good job today, Sonya, that guy didn't know what was coming." Johnny complimented while eating a piece of bread.
"Yeah…" Sonya said, sighing. "But still… ow…" she said, holding her hand in pain. Johnny reached over and tried to touch her hand, but she quickly pulled it away.
"Would you just let me look?" Johnny asked, solemnly. With a bit of hesitance, Sonya slowly extended her hand and Johnny took it carefully in his own hands and rubbed it with his fingers. "You're a tough lady." He said, admirably.
Sonya's stern face slowly turned into a smile as Johnny continued to rub his fingers on her bruised hand.
O-O-O
Meanwhile Liu Kang returned to the Warrior Shrine where he found Raiden waiting for him. "I've been expecting you Liu Kang."
"Raiden. Why did you surrender to Johnny Cage?" Liu asked, curiously.
"Because I want to be sure that Earth can be protected by others besides me."
"Is that all?" Liu asked.
"Yes, that's all there is to that subject. So do you still feel responsible for your brother's death?"
"Well, I never told anyone at the White Lotus Society that I had killed someone and I told them that my brother died of an unfortunate accident. It's been my secret shame every since, but I was restless. My brother had died, I had failed to protect him, like I promised. Shortly after, I left the White Lotus Society. I traveled through China until I met him…"
"Would this happen to be Master Bo' Rai Cho?"
Liu Kang's face reeled back in shock. "How did you…" he started.
"I know him well, he trained many warriors in preparation for the Mortal Kombat, including your hero Kung Lao."
"Oh, well yeah that's true. But I told him of what had happened and how I had desired to defeat Shang Tsung. He agreed to help, for many years I trained with him, he taught me how to bury my guilt and confront it. After the training was over, I thanked him and returned to the Shaolin Temple where I earned the right to compete in the Mortal Kombat tournament, I was specifically asked to compete by Shang Tsung in his invitation. There's something strange about it really."
Raiden slightly nodded as Liu Kang continued to speak. "But now I want to know, what happened to the original Kung Lao after he won the tournament?"
"If you win your match tomorrow I will tell you, however I should warn you." Raiden said, a bit concerned.
"Yeah…?" Liu asked, curiously.
"If you win, your next match, you will have to face Goro the following day and then I will have no choice but to reveal the truth to you."
"All right, I understand."
"Now go, you should get some rest." Raiden said as he teleported out leaving Liu Kang alone in the night, with a deep sigh, Liu turned around and headed down the path of which he came, soon his training would be put to the test…