Mortal Kombat: Vestroia Chronicles

by Leonidas1994

A New Era has begun, new heroes and new threats have appeared. New realms to explore, dangers around every corner. Will Dan Kuso and Lord Liu Kang find ho these threats are? Or will the New Era suffer endless war? Mortal Kombat has begun anew. With Bakugan in the mix. (Rated M: Extreme Violence, Intense Action, Vulgar Humor, Lemons)

3. Chosen One Part 1

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the rights to Mortal Kombat, or Bakugan Battle Brawlers. Mortal Kombat belongs to Netherrealm Studios and Warner Bros. Bakugan Battle Brawlers belongs to TMS Entertainment, Dentsu Inc., and Nelvana Limited.

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Chapter 3: Chosen One Part 1

(Wu Shi Academy - Earthrealm)

Two months had passed since Liu Kang recruited his champions, he and the monks had taught them things they never knew in their lives. The differences between each of the realms, their cultures, and the beings that lived in them. The monks along with Raiden and Julie were training in the courtyard as the two champions were in a friendly spar. Maybe not friendly enough, given that Julie has been wanting to spar with Dan. But he was doing his best to keep as far away from her as possible, because Julie would more likely try to get into his pants.

Speaking of Dan, he was at one of the combat training posts as he struck against the arms and base of the wooden dummy. Focusing his strikes a he used the Dragon style of Kung Fu to strike the base and slam a hard palm against it as it shattered on the other side. He exhaled as he sensed an attack coming, he dodged it and saw it was Runo as she struck at him with her Tiger style of Kung Fu. Dan blocked her attacks as he evaded her power strikes and grabbed her arm and smiled at her. "You've gotten better since you came here, Runo." He complimented her skill.

"Thanks Dan, but flattery won't work on me." She informed him as she kicked him in his shin, causing him to yelp and back away as Runo rushed up and unleashed a backspin kick against him. Elsewhere, several monks were punching their hands in burning ash to test their durability. Shun was among them as he jabbed his hands in the burning ash, ignoring the heat from within as he went through similar training like this with his grandfather. He pulled his hands out and walked to practice with Kenshi who was enhancing his sword skills with the katana he had. Shun rushed over and lunged towards him as he swung a hard kick against him, Kenshi avoided it as he put his katana away and blocked his attacks.

Meanwhile, Raiden decided to take a break from Julie for she was being too rough with him. Instead he decided to take on seven monks. One went for an overhead strike, only to get blocked by Raiden as he also knocked his arm away and punched him in his chest. He turned and blocked another monk's kick and deflected his punches as he leapt and landed a hard kick to his head. He turned towards another monk who went to attack him, he redirected his punches and landed a solid punch and kick against his face as he stood in various stances as they circled him.

He watched them but smiled as he stood up calmly and waved his arms in a circular motion, to show that he was finished as the monks bowed to him and walked away. It was then that Raiden noticed Kung Lao approaching with a completely customized hat, covered in blades to resemble the chakram that he used on Sub-Zero. Dan noticed it with Runo as they walked over and examined it. "That is not a good idea." Dan commented just how dangerous it looked.

"It is genius, Daniel. The next time we see Sub-Zero, I will have to thank him for inspiring it." Kung Lao told him as he rubbed his fingers across the blades, only to later cut himself on one of the blades. "OW!" He cried out.

"See? It won't be effective." Raiden said in agreement with Daniel as he nodded his head.

Kung Lao however, was ready to disagree with them as he took his chakram hat and threw it at a training dummy as it sliced its head off and flew back to Kung Lao. He caught it on his finger as it spun around and he put it on his head, Runo looked at it as her left brow was up when she stared at it. "Maybe it's too effective." She said as Kung Lao brushed his fingers carefully across the blade.

"This coming from a former waitress?" He asked her.

"Hey, watch it! My family ran the best restaurant in Wardington, and I had to learn self-defense because guys kept touching me on the butt just to get some kicks!" She informed him.

"You should really find better ways of making friends here, Kung Lao." Raiden reminded him.

Meanwhile, Johnny was letting out a sigh as he approached them. "We just need to get on with it. We've been cooped up here for months. I can't base a cinematic universe on Outworld's monsters and magic if I don't ever see them." He complained.

"That's why you're here?" Kenshi asked in disbelief.

"That's a little typical." Shun commented.

"Liu Kang said that this gig would change the arc of my life. That's how it gets done." Johnny told him while Kung Lao was rolling his eyes. "My ex'll rue the day she gave up on me." He told them.

Kenshi let out a sigh after rolling his eyes. "So selfless." He said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Oh please, Tattoo. You're just here to get your sword back." Johnny reminded him of his reason for being here.

"No offense Johnny. But I think your wife only married you for your money." Shun pointed out as Dan chuckled.

"He has a point, I mean the way I hear it? She sounds like a real gold digger." He told him.

Johnny was about to slug him till Julie caught his arm to stop him. "Easy Johnny. Let it go." She advised him.

"We all have our reasons for being here. Some better than others." Raiden pointed out between Kenshi and Johnny.

"But we are not here to fight among ourselves. We are here to fight for Earthrealm." Dan reminded them as Raiden nodded his head in agreement.

Johnny was about to argue, till the gong was finally rung as he looked towards who rang it. "It's about damn time." He muttered.

Liu Kang walked towards them after ringing the bell to gain their attention. "And today one of you will be chosen to fight for it at the tournament." He informed them.

Dan approached with his comrades as he had a curious look on his face. "Only one of us, Lord Liu Kang?" He asked him as Raiden approached.

"Isn't Outworld fielding several champions?" He asked him.

"The tournament rules give the host realm that advantage. And it is Outworld's turn as host." Liu Kang informed them.

"You know I don't know why I never asked this, but… uh…" Johnny chuckled nervously about the answer he was about to get. "What's our record at this tournament?" He asked.

"Earthrealm and Outworld have long been evenly matched. But Outworld is gaining strength. Should it win, its more militant factions will be emboldened." Liu Kang explained.

"I thought you admired Outworld." Shun said to him as Raiden nodded in agreement.

"It is a place of great knowledge, wealth, and beauty." Liu Kang explained as he walked past his champions. "But our realms do not share goals and beliefs. We coexist peacefully because Outworld respects our strength. Should we show weakness… our rival will become our enemy." He told them.

"I will not lose, Lord Liu Kang." Kung Lao declared as he walked beside him.

"First you must win the right to represent us." Liu Kang informed him as he walked to his chair. He turned around to face them as he stood with his fellow monks. "Whichever one of you outlasts the others will be chosen." He told him as he sat down with the monks. "Daniel, step forward." He ordered as Dan approached and bowed respectfully.

Johnny meanwhile was chuckling from his choice. "Good call. Cull the weak first." He said as Dan shot him a glare.

"You shall face him, Johnny Cage." Liu Kang said to him.

Johnny was not expecting that as Kenshi smirked and looked at him. "Ready for your close-up?" He asked him.

Julie patted Johnny on the shoulder as she smirked. "You got this Johnny." She told him as she gave him two thumbs up.

He smiled from her encouragement and stepped up feeling ready. "All right, let's do this." He said as he turned to Dan. "But remember, firebender. I'm a global martial arts icon." He reminded him as Raiden and the others took their seats. "I don't think you can handle this much boom." He told him as Liu Kang looked towards Dan.

" I am ready, Johnny Cage. My mind and spirit fight as one. And again, this isn't Avatar The Last Airbender." He told him as he stood ready.

"FIGHT!" Liu Kang shouted as Johnny leapt into the air, going for an aerial attack as he tried to kick him. Dan quickly moved out of the way as Johnny slammed his foot against the ground and turned to where he went. He yelled as he swung his leg back in an attempt to slide kick him, but Dan moved his leg out of the way only to see Johnny lunge at him as he connected his elbow to Dan's face, knocking him down as he let out a grunt and hit the ground. Runo gasped when she saw it as Dan shook his head and saw Johnny about to slam his heel against his face, he managed to block it as he raised his legs up to his chest and thrust them both up and slammed both his feet against his face. Johnny let out a painful grunt when he felt it as his nose started bleeding, he saw Dan standing on his hands as he swung his legs around and landed on his feet and stood ready for him.

He shot a glare as he shook his arms and wiped the blood away. "Okay, if that's how you wanna play? Let's play." He told him as he held his fists up and jabbed at him as Dan blocked each jab he threw at him, he blocked a low punch from Johnny as he landed an elbow strike against his chest while grabbing his his wrist and pulling him back to him and slamming his whole arm across his chest, causing Johnny to flip backwards as he slammed against the gravel. He groaned from it as he spat out a few rocks. "That hurt." He commented as he picked himself up from the ground. "But now youre gonna get it." He told him as he went to shadow kick him, Dan quickly shielded himself from the kick as it caused him to slide back. Dan narrowed his eyes as Johnny ran towards him in an attempt to sucker punch him, Dan quickly caught his fist as he slid back on his own, he soon unleashed a fiery kick against Johnny as he was sent flying across the training grounds.

He rolled against the ground and slammed against a gong as everyone groaned feeling the pain he was probably feeling, even Kung Lao winced when he saw it. "He's probably going to be feeling that during the tournament." He commented as Johnny groaned and got back up, he glared as he shook off the pain and walked towards him. Dan stood ready as Johnny lunged a few kicks at him as Dan deflected each kick and redirected the next kick as he smacked him against his face and caught his next punch as he threw him over his shoulder and slammed him against the ground. But Johnny grabbed onto his arm that surprised Dan, he yelled as he threw Dan over and slammed him on the ground and went to punch him while he was on the ground. Dan rolled away as Johnny punched the ground, one could easily hear his bones cracking.

Both Runo and Julie grimaced when they heard it as they glanced at each other. "Think maybe we should ask Lord Liu Kang to call off the match?" Julie asked.

"Fat chance of that happening." Runo replied as she looked back to the fight as Johnny yelled out ignoring the pain, he charged at Dan as he flipped towards him and went to kick him. Dan avoided it only to receive a punch to his face from Johnny as he landed several jabs against him. Dan felt it as he backed away and avoided a kick as he flipped back as Johnny went to shadow kick him, Dan saw it coming as he ducked under it and used Johnny's own momentum against him as he threw him over. Johnny felt it as he panicked and quickly broke his fall and landed on his feet safely, he exhaled only to feel Dan kick him in his ass like a slapstick comedy routine as Johnny let out a yelp.

He shot a glare towards him as he rubbed his ass after getting kicked there, he yelled angrily as he kicked gravel at him. Dan shielded himself from it as he blocked a few punches from the actor as he and Johnny threw a kick at each other. Both of them blocked as Johnny punched at him and kicked at his right leg tripping him as Dan let out a grunt. Johnny soon pulled a backflip as he went to kick him across his head, Dan avoided it as Johnny managed to touch down to the ground and slam both his elbows against Dan's chest and went to pull his signature nut punch move on him. "Cock shot!" He was close to hitting him.

But Dan quickly caught his punch and pulled him back up as he landed a few hard punches to his face and kneeled down as he punched Johnny in the groin, hearing him groan and scream in agonizing pain from it. The monks, even the chosen champions, winced and groaned when they saw it as Johnny fell to the ground and held his stood back up and smirked. "Consider that an Uno-reverse." He told him.

Johnny was groaning heavily from it as he could barely breathe. "That… was… my move!" He exclaimed as he gasped for air. "I can't breathe!" He groaned as he held it.

"Come on Johnny, don't be such a baby! It's just a hit in the nuts!" Julie exclaimed.

"Easy for you to say… you don't have nuts." Johnny told her as he got back up and tried to shake it off, he took in a deep breath and let out a long exhale as he cracked his knuckles. "Alright kid, lucky shot. But I'm not out yet." He told him as he went to hit him, Dan avoided his attacks and redirected each punch he threw at him. He landed a few punches against Johnny as he saw him block his next attack and go for a high kick, Dan ducked under it as he slide kicked Johnny's leg as he flipped in the air. Dan leapt into the air as he spun a backspin kick and slammed it against Johnny's face as he was sent flying across the courtyard and slammed against the ground. Johnny shook his head as he exhaled, he turned to Dan as he waited for him to get back up. The actor wasted no time as he pushed himself up and rubbed his face, shaking off the pain he was feeling as he glared at Dan. "Alright kid… gloves off!" He lunged at him and went for a hard punch.

Dan evaded each attack as he landed a few jabs against him, smacking him in the face a few times as he avoided a right hook and smacked him again. Johnny growled as he grabbed hold of Dan and started punching him hard in his abdomen and elbowed him in the face as Dan let out a grunt. Johnny threw him over as Dan rolled across the ground while Johnny went to slam his heel down on top of him in a hammer-like motion, Dan quickly kicked him behind his knee to keep him from finishing the attack. Johnny let out a painful cry as he held the inside of his leg from the sharp pain it was feeling.

Dan flipped himself back onto his feet and threw a roundhouse kick as it slammed into Johnny's face that forced him to back up, the shaolin warrior thrust kicks against his torso and he landed a solid uppercut against his face as Johnny screamed as he slammed against the ground. Dan smiled as he stood up, seeing that he was down for the count. "This fight was an honor, but you really shouldn't take it personally." He told him as he lent him a hand.

Johnny looked at it and sighed as he took his hand and got up with his help. "You're welcome." He told him.

Liu Kang nodded in approval of Dan's skill as he turned to Raiden and Kenshi. "Raiden, Kenshi Takahashi, you are next." He informed them as Raiden and Kenshi stood up and proceeded onto the courtyard.

Kenshi meanwhile was smirking at Johnny as he walked out with Dan from the courtyard, the ronin soon turned his attention to Raiden as the two faced each other. "I've been observing your fighting technique. You have skills, Raiden, but you're inexperienced." He told him as he held his katana.

"Whatever experience I lack, I make up for it in heart." Raiden replied.

"It's nerve, not heart, that wins fights." Kenshi informed him as he stood ready. "I should know. I've been in hundreds of them." He told him as Raiden prepared himself for combat.

Seeing the two were ready to fight, Liu Kang nodded as he awaited the results of the next battle. "FIGHT!" He called out as Kenshi went for the first strike with his katana, Raiden avoided his blade to keep himself from getting cut by it. Kenshi meanwhile was relentless in his attacks as he swung his sword at him, his blade managed to land a few cuts into his uniform as Kenshi went for a strike to his neck. Raiden panicked when he saw it and flipped himself in the same direction the blade was coming, the blade just barely missed his neck by a few centimeters as it almost took a piece of his skin and almost took a chunk out of his hat. Raiden needed to think of something fast as Kenshi went to strike him again, he avoided each sword strike as he backed up towards the weapons rack and grabbed a bo staff and blocked his attacks with it as he swung the staff around and went to strike him with it.

Kenshi blocked the staff with his katana as he backed away as he watched for each strike that came at him. Raiden swung the staff in each direction at Kenshi to land a blow against him, but the ronin blocked and avoided each attack he sent at him till Raiden pulled the staff back and thrust it towards him. It landed a hard blow against his chest as Kenshi slid back, letting out a grunt as he stuck his sword in the ground and kneeled from the harsh hit. Shun saw it and nodded his head. "Raiden does have good skill." He commented.

"But like Liu Kang said… only one of us may be the chosen champion." Dan reminded him as Shun nodded his head in agreement as he watched the match, Raiden swung the staff around him as he went for a strike. Kenshi quickly blocked it as he slid across the gravel from the tremendous force that Raiden put in his strike. He groaned from it as he spun around and went to strike Raiden's hands, Raiden quickly pulled his hands away from the staff as the katana slammed the staff onto the ground. Raiden kicked the katana out of his hands and landed a few punches against Kenshi as he flipped over and landed a cartwheel kick against his head and elbowed him in his stomach.

Kenshi let out a grunt as he punched Raiden in the face and kneed him in his chest as he pushed him away, as he kicked his katana up to him and caught it. He went for a strike as Raiden leapt over him as he caught the staff and swung it at his legs, tripping him over as Kenshi fell onto the ground. Raiden smirked as he swung the staff around his neck and stood ready as Kenshi pulled himself off of the ground. "No shame in surrounding, you know." He told him as Kenshi ignored his advice and went to strike him, Raiden held his staff out only to see Kenshi slash through it as it cut the staff in two. He panicked as Kenshi went to strike him again, he narrowly avoided his katana and used the two pieces of the staff he had to defend himself from the sharp blade.

Kenshi blocked his attacks as well to avoid getting hit, because even if the staff was broken, it is still a powerful weapon. Raiden used the two pieces against Kenshi as he attempted to strike at him, but the ronin blocked his attacks as he went to strike him. Raiden dodged each slash he threw at him, his hat meanwhile was getting shredded as he blocked the next slash with his foot as he kicked it away on the blunt side. He smacked one of the sticks against Kenshi's stomach as he took both pieces and smacked them across his back, making him cry out in pain and roll across the ground. Raiden went for another strike, only to see Kenshi slash through both sticks as they were cut in half. He slashed at Raiden again as the shaolin warrior rolled away and threw the pieces he had at Kenshi.

The ronin blocked them as he raised his sword to attack, but Raiden had already charged up and landed a few palm strikes against him. He slammed his elbow against his face as he spun his arms in a circular motion and slammed his hands across Kenshi's head as he slammed on the ground, Kenshi groaned from it as he got himself back up and shook his head. "Clever move, but that won't save you." He told him as he put his sword away and stood ready with his fists raised, Raiden smirked as he went in to attack him. Kenshi meanwhile was prepared as he leapt above him and landed a few kicks against him, Raiden took a few of the kicks but managed to block the others as Kenshi landed on the ground and threw quick jabs against Raiden as he tried to defend himself from them.

He soon saw Kenshi go for a swift uppercut that made him pull back, only to get struck against the chest as Kenshi slammed his elbow against him and went to land a strong left hook. Raiden saw it coming as he evaded and grabbed hold of his wrist, twisted it behind his back as he grabbed Kenshi by his neck and yelled as he slammed him against the ground. Kenshi let out a painful cry when he felt his body hit the ground hard, Raiden pulled away from him as Kenshi groaned in pain from it and slowly got up. He was far from finished as he shook his head, he turned towards Raiden and exhaled as he stood ready.

Raiden smirked as he prepared himself for his final assault, Kenshi charged towards him as he went for a quick jab against Raiden. The shaolin warrior evaded each jab that Kenshi threw at him as he managed to redirect each one that was thrown at him, the ronin was not going to relent as he kicked at him. Raiden blocked the kick as it nearly knocked him off his feet, Kenshi went to roundhouse kick him while he was still off the ground, only to see Raiden avoid it by spinning over his leg and slam his palm against Kenshi's chest as he caused a few ribs to crack.

Kenshi backed away when he felt it as Raiden charged towards him as he landed some punches against his torso, slammed his elbow across his face and slammed a backspin kick against his abdomen. But Kenshi caught his kick as he held Raiden in place, the shaolin warrior smirked as he leapt and threw a kick at him as Kenshi ducked from it. Raiden landed on the ground only to land a kick to Kenshi's face when he didn't expect it, Kenshi backed up from it as he groaned from it while Raiden got up and threw a roundhouse kick and kicked him in the head that caused him to spin uncontrollably and slam against the ground. Kenshi groaned as he felt the pain that Raiden just unleashed against him, accepting defeat as he held his hands up while Raiden smiled as he lowered his fists. "Do you still question my nerve?" He asked him.

"I do not." Kenshi replied as he got up from the ground. "Yours was a well-earned victory." He told him as he bowed to him respectfully.

Raiden returned the gesture as he bowed to him, both warriors stood up as they turned towards Liu Kang. "You may rest Raiden. For now it is Runo's, and Julie's chance to fight." He informed them as Runo glanced towards Julie, who was smirking confidently in her skills to beat Runo's tiger style.

Both female warriors stood up and walked towards the courtyard, Johnny let out an exhale as he could feel the tension between the two beautiful girls. "Man, you can easily hear cats meow in their heads." He commented.

"Why? Because they both have a thing for Dan." Kung Lao asked him.

"Well that, I mean what does he have that I haven't got?" He asked.

"Power over fire?" Raiden asked.

"A personality that isn't at all like sanding paper?" Kung Lao asked him as both Shaolin Monks smirked at him.

But Johnny was not amused by this factor as he scowled at both of them. "Jerks." He called them as he looked towards the girls.

Julie was stretching as her mounds bounced in front of everyone present, some of the monks were literally drooling when they looked at her, earning disapproving looks from the female monks as they each smacked them for staring at Julie. She smiled as she prepared herself to fight against Runo. "You got skills, Runo, but you don't have what it takes to attract real men." She told her with a sly grin.

"Just because my body isn't well developed like yours, Julie, I don't need to be a flirt. Which reminds me, your boobs…?" She pointed at them as Julie looked down to them. "The bigger they are, the faster they sag." She informed her as the monks gasped as Johnny snickered with Kung Lao about what she said.

Julie was disgusted by what she said as she held her hips. "How dare you! I have been healthy ever since I got here, and I will not let you tell me otherwise!" She yelled as she and Runo stood ready.

Dan turned to Liu Kang with a surprised look. "This is not going to end well, for either of them, is it?" He asked him.

"We will soon see. Julie may be skilled in Kickboxing, but Runo may have the advantage in this fight." Liu Kang told him as he looked at the two girls, they were prepared to fight as they glared at one another. "FIGHT!" He called out as Julie was the first to lunge towards Runo as she went for a good punch to her face, Runo evaded it as she caught her arm and threw her over and slammed her against the ground. Julie let out a grunt when she felt it, but she glared as she reached up with her legs and wrapped them around Runo's neck which caused her eyes to widen as Julie pulled her over and threw her down to the ground. She slammed against it as she cried out painfully as Julie kept her legs around her to try and choke her out, but Runo wasn't going to let her win this way.

She struggled to break free from her grip as Julie held it tightly, but the blue haired shaolin slammed fist against her side as Julie yelped in pain from how painful it was to get hit in the side of the ribs. Runo hit her again as Julie's grip loosened, giving Runo a chance to escape as she rolled away from Julie as she got up and flipped backwards as she landed on her feet and looked at Julie. She saw her get up and hold her side from the punches, but glared as she charged towards the bluette. She sent a barrage of punches at her to do some damage, Runo blocked each of her attacks as she deflected her next punch and slammed her elbow to her chest and kneed her in the stomach as she threw her over and slammed against the ground. Julie yelled angrily as she pulled herself off the ground and pulled off her training gloves. "Ohhh man, she's pissed." Johnny commented as he watched her charge at Runo and swing a punch at her, Runo blocked it only to get a hard left hook to her face from Julie and got a few shots to her stomach from her that knocked her down to the ground.

Julie exhaled as she shadowboxed and smirked. "Get up Runo, I want to knock you down again." She told her as Runo wiped her mouth of blood and glared at her as she pushed herself up as Julie went to punch her again, but before she could connect the punch, Runo avoided it and landed a hard punch across her jaw as she threw several jabs against her chest and kicked her away. Julie screamed as she slid across the ground, she groaned as she sat up and fixed her jaw. "Whoa… what'd you hit me with?" She asked.

"Just a perfect clean shot with a perfect right hook." She told her as she dashed towards her, landing several hard punches against her torso as she spun her arms like a windmill and smacked Julie several times against her head. Julie yelped from it as she held her head and backed away, only to see Runo come at her again, which caused her to avoid her charge as she grabbed one of her ponytails and pulled her back. This made her yelp as she growled and reached back and grabbed her side ponytail and pulled hard, making Julie cry out in pain from it as both girls were in the middle of a fierce tug of war with their hair.

The boys were watching as Shun looked towards Dan. "Think we should stop them?" He asked him.

"If I've learned anything, it's never come between two angry females." Dan said with his hands raised in defense, knowing he'd sooner get his ass beat before he could stop the fighting. Meanwhile, Runo was struggling with Julie as they each growled at each other. she got tired of her and landed a fierce kick to her left knee, forcing Julie to yelp and kneel down as Runo flipped forward over her as she held onto her hair and pulled hair, throwing her over as Julie felt some of her hair rip out as she was thrown across the courtyard and crashed against a pot. The boys groaned seeing the pain she went through as Runo stood up and showed she was still holding a few strands of hair. Dan grimaced as he watched the fight and looked towards Johnny. "Why do I get the feeling Runo made a huge mistake?" He asked him.

"That's because she did." Johnny replied as he looked towards Julie.

She groaned as she held her head and sat up, she looked towards Runo and saw she still had strands of her hair in her hand as she dropped them to the ground. Julie's eyes widened as she immediately shot a glare towards Runo. "You… you…!" She was fuming as all the monks saw that she was going to lose it. "YOU BITCH!" She cried out and charged towards her, Runo went to defend herself, only to feel a hard kick against her arms as Julie managed to force her back. She stumbled a bit as she painfully grunted from the powerful impact, but Julie wasn't finished yet as she landed a few hard punches as she was becoming more brutal with her attacks. She grabbed her by her gi shirt and swung her around, yelling angrily as she tossed Runo towards a gong. She crashed against it as the gong rang, making the monks wince and groan from it as Kenshi grimaced from how painful it looked.

"Remind me never to anger Julie." He advised them as Runo rubbed her head from the crash as she looked towards Julie, seeing her lunging towards her as her eyes widened and she moved to her left as Julie's fist slammed against the gong, leaving a huge dent inside it as Runo got back up. Her eyes widened when she saw the large dent into the gong, Julie turned towards her with red in her eyes. Runo knew that this was the point she was screwed, the white haired MMA fighter yelled as she charged towards Runo in pure anger. She quickly avoided each of her attacks, almost like after every attack she took from Julie was committed to memory. She avoided her attacks with almost light speed, she smirked as she avoided more of her punches and flipped back, slamming a kick against her jaw.

The kick lifted Julie off of her feet as Runo landed on her feet and lunged towards her, slamming a few palm strikes against her abdomen and backspin kicked her down as Julie rolled across the ground. She pulled herself up as she blocked Runo's attacks, trying to land a punch against her as Runo caught her fist and smacked her in the face and pulled her arm towards her and slammed her elbow against Julie's stomach. Causing her to cough harshly as Runo threw her over and tossed her away, Julie felt her body flying through the air, but she used her momentum to break her fall and land safely as she went to attack her. Runo avoided her punches as she deflected each attack she threw at her, using her tiger claw technique to put a good grip around her arms and hold her down.

Julie's eyes widened as Runo held her grip around her, an image of a tiger appeared over Runo's face as she glared at Julie. "If anything Julie, I am not going to let you win. If Earth deserves a champion, it won't be you, or me!" She yelled as she pushed her arms aside and landed powerful blows against her chest and punched her hard in the face as she grabbed her by her gi shirt and threw her over and slammed her hard against the ground. Julie gasped deeply as Runo let her go and backed away. "I win." She told her as she cleaned her hands.

Julie groaned from it as she held her head from the impact. "Okay, you got lucky… but next time…" Before she could tell her, her head was spinning as she moaned painfully. "I'm way too hurt to even make that warning." She said as Kenshi and Johnny walked over and helped her up.

"Well done Runo, your temper still gets control of you. But you have persevered through a tough challenge." Liu Kang told her as Runo bowed to him and he looked at the others. "For now, you should all rest, for this evening will determine which of you will be the champion." He told them.

Kung Lao smirked as he looked towards Dan and Raiden. "It's going to be me." He boastfully declared.

"Keep dreaming, Kung Lao." Dan told him.

"We still have Shun, Runo, you, me, and Daniel. So don't get cocky, Kung Lao." Raiden told him as his friend and fellow monk rolled his eyes.

Dan meanwhile sighed as he rubbed his shoulders. "Well, until the next round, I'm heading to the springs." He told them as he walked away, but his words did not go unnoticed to Julie's ears as they perked when she heard it. Her eyes opened as they were sparkling as idea's were already running through her head, making sure no one would notice as she grinned mischievously.

Later that afternoon, Dan was out of his uniform as he took the moment to rest up after his fight with Johnny. He exhaled as he dipped his body inside the hot water of the springs that was outside the Wu Shi Academy, he rested his arms on the edge of the pools as he looked up to the sky. Seeing the sky with its various hues of yellow and blue, his mind couldn't help but wonder more about his heritage. "There is so much about my past that I don't know… the only thing that I could even recall from my parents is this necklace." He thought to himself as he reached down and touched the necklace with the jewel that was left to him by his father. "Where did I come from…? Who are my parents…? There is so much I want to learn." He thought as he closed his eyes, leaning his head back as he exhaled.

But as he leaned back, his head felt something soft. Almost like a pillow, but the minute he opened his eyes, he squealed in a panic as he saw Julie hovering over him. "Hi Danny~." She greeted him seductively.

He quickly got away from her before she could snatch him, he got to the otherside of the spring as his face was red as a cherry. "Julie! What the hell! This is not a coed bath! Go to the girl's side!" She ordered her.

But she got into the bath as she got rid of her towel, revealing her massive melons as she grinned at him. "Sorry, but that's not gonna happen." She said to him as she started crawling towards him, making him sweat as she was getting closer. "You know Danny… ever since I laid eyes on you, I knew that by heart, you are my destined partner." She said as she managed to corner him in the spring, she sat on his lap as her chest was close to his face. "That you can be the one to bless me with a child." She told him.

This made Dan panic as he felt his manhood getting hard with her sitting on him. "Crap! This is bad, she's gone completely mental! I gotta get out of this before she decides to pop my cherry!" He thought to himself as he struggled, but Julie wasn't going to let him go that easily as she used her superior strength to overpower him. "So strong, if she used this kind of strength against Runo, she'd be creamed!" He exclaimed his thoughts as he struggled. "Sorry Julie, but I do not see you the same way! Now please, let, GO!" He used his fire abilities to superheat the water as it made Julie scream and jumped off of him.

Dan quickly grabbed his towel and wrapped it around his waist as he ran from the springs, but Julie was even more turned on as she grinned at him. "No getting away from me, Danny!" She ran after him as she put her towel back on, Dan ran as fast as he could as he looked back and saw Julie chasing him as her hormones were skyrocketing like crazy. "COME BACK TO ME LOVER BOY, I WANT TO LICK THAT DELICIOUS MEAT STICK OF YOURS!" She exclaimed as she looked almost like Mommy Long Legs from Poppy Playtime.

He screamed when he heard that. "Oh no! No, no, no, no!" He exclaimed as he ran from her, trying to keep the distance between him and her. He ran past some of the temples as he even ran past several monks, earning surprised looks from them as they soon saw Julie run past them, cackling like a maniac on steroids. They were even more surprised as they shook their heads, knowing that Dan was literally in deep shit.

Meanwhile Shun was eating alongside Kenshi as he recovered from his fight with Raiden. "Hard to imagine Raiden had such skill, I wonder how you and Dan will fare against one another…?" He wondered.

"I still need to get past Runo if I'm gonna fight him." Shun reminded him as he ate his rice.

Runo meanwhile was sipping her tea as she smiled at him. "If anything, may the best fighter win." She told him.

Shun smiled and nodded his head at her as he was about to take a bite of sushi, that was until. "COME BACK HERE DANNY~!" Julie called out as Shun winced as he accidentally dropped the sushi and turned around, seeing Dan run from Julie as she chased after him. "COME ON, JUST ONE LITTLE KISS!" She pleaded.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" He complained as he ran away from her.

Runo saw it and immediately glared at Julie as she stood up angrily. "She's at it again…! When will she learn?!" She asked as she started stomping away.

Kung Lao chuckled as he watched Dan getting chased. "He should really give her a chance, she might be a lot of fun." He said with a chuckle.

But Raiden smacked him over the head, causing him to yell in pain. "This coming from the guy who won't respond to my sister's letters?" He asked him as he held out one of the letters he read.

Kung Lao panicked when he saw it as Johnny burst out laughing when he saw it. "OHHH, SNAP! Kung Lao, who knew you were such a player!" He commented.

"Shut it Johnny!" Kung Lao shouted at him.

Meanwhile, Dan continued running until he came to a dead end and panicked as he turned around, seeing Julie chuckling as she approached him. "Nowhere to run, Danny~." She told him as she chuckled and approached him.

Dan panicked as he tried to find a way of getting out, but he was trapped like a rat as he saw Julie getting closer to him. That was until. "Dan!" Runo called out from above him as he looked up and saw her. "Up here, take my hand!" She reached down to him.

Julie yelled as she charged at him, Dan let out a scream as he jumped up to Runo and caught her hand as she pulled him up. Meanwhile Julie slammed against the wall of the alley and let out a painful yelp, Dan climbed up on the roof and exhaled as he saw Julie lying on the ground. "Thanks Runo, I owe you one." He told her only to get flicked in the head. "OW!" He yelped.

"Damn right you owe me! Because I had to chase both your naked asses through the entire academy to make sure Julie didn't try and force you into an awkward situation." Runo scolded him as her face was red, but she turned her head away as she crossed her arms. "You do realize you need to go and get your clothes right?" She told him.

Dan let out a sigh as he held the towel over his groin. "Sorry… I just hope Lord Liu Kang will take notice of this." He prayed.

Right on cue, Liu Kang floated down before them. "I assume you'll be needing these?" He asked as Dan looked to see him hold his uniform out to him.

He took them and looked down. "Forgive me, Lord Liu Kang… I didn't mean to cause a disturbance." He told him.

"I will talk to Julie later, for now, you and the others must prepare for the next fight." Liu Kang told him as he floated down to give Julie her clothes.

Dan let out an exhale as Runo chuckled as she nudged him. "He let you off easy." She told him.

"Which surprises me to this day." He replied as he exhaled and was about to get dressed, but he quickly realized the company present. "Um, do you mind?" He asked her.

"Nope." She replied only to realize. "Oh! Oh, oh, sorry." She got up and started walking away and turned around, Dan shook his head as he turned around as he removed the towel and started getting dressed. Runo took a quick peek at his masculine body and smirked at seeing how nice it looked but turned away as Dan got his pants on, along with his gi shirt and belt as he turned to her. "Are you decent?" She asked.

"I am, we should join the others." He told her as they started climbing down.

Later that evening, Julie was sitting with the others after getting scolded by Liu Kang for her shenanigans. Meanwhile, Runo and Shun stood ready to face each other. "Shun Kazami, Runo Misaki, prepare yourselves." He told them as they each nodded their heads and stood up.

Shun exhaled as he waved his arms up in a circular motion, holding his hands together as the shinobi stood prepared as he looked at Runo. "You fought well against Julie, but you won't fare so well against me." He assured her.

"You may be a ninja, Shun. But I'm going to progress so I can face Dan myself." She told him as she stood ready.

Liu Kang saw them stand together as they were ready to fight each other, he nodded as he placed his hands together. "FIGHT!" He called out as Runo yelled out and went to strike him, Shun narrowed his eyes as he backed away from each of her attacks and dodged a kick as he twisted his body around and kicked her in her back, making her grunt as she stumbled a bit and turned towards him as she leapt and backspin kicked at him. Shun pulled back and avoided her attack and blocked each of her kicks and landed a few punches against her, landing quick jabs against her as he threw a high kick at her.

Runo ducked from it as she punched his hamstrings that sent a sharp pain through his leg as he held it, Runo went for another strike as Shun used his agility to narrowly avoid her strike and he used two fingers to hit her at her nerve points. She cried out from it as she swung her right leg back and kicked him away, he stumbled from it as he managed to catch his footing and looked toward her. She was rubbing her arm as she felt like she could barely move it, she groaned a bit and glared at Shun realizing she had to rely on one arm during the match. She prepared herself to continue fighting, Dan watched it happen as he grew worried for her. "That isn't fair, she's at a disadvantage." He protested against this.

"It is not your fight Daniel, you will have your chance." Liu Kang told him as he looked back to the fight. "Besides, Runo is much stronger than you give her credit for." He stated as Runo held her focus and yelled as she charged at Shun, the shinobi held out his fists and blocked her punches as he went to hit her nerve points again. She anticipated he would pull that trick again as she lowered herself down and slide kicked him and knocked him off his feet as he panicked and reached down with his hand and touched the ground, he turned towards Runo and saw her flipping towards him as she brought her leg down like a hammer that cause him to quickly move out of the way as her heel slammed against the ground.

She wasn't going to let him go that easily as she charged towards him and swung her good arm at him, he blocked her punches to keep them from connecting with him as he went to strike her. Runo deflected each punch he threw at her as she yelled and slammed her palm against his chest, using all her strength to force him back as he let out a runt and fell down to the ground. She smirked as her fingers on her left hand started to twitch, she looked to her arm and started moving it as she was starting to get some feeling back. She held it up and clenched a fist as she inhaled deeply and exhaled as she looked towards Shun. "That's better… Now, let's continue, shall we?" She asked as she saw Shun get back up.

He exhaled as he wiped blood from his mouth, for the hit he took caused him to cough up some blood as he scowled at her. "Lets." He replied as he stood ready and dashed towards her, she watched him approach as she went to strike him. He ducked from it as he went to strike her arm, she quickly pulled her arm away as Shun was trying to hit her nerve points. She avoided each of his attacks as he moved swiftly at her, striking with fast jabs that even made currents of wind towards her. She felt it as she tried to avoid his attacks, but the wind was getting to her as Shun managed to land a few punches against her.

She let out a painful grunt when she was hit by his attacks, he went for a powerful strike against her, only to see her duck from it and leap over him as she grabbed hold of his shoulder. She yelled as she twisted her body around as she pulled Shun off his feet as he spun around in the air, Runo touched down on the ground and leapt towards Shun as she landed three hard punches against his stomach. This made Shun cough harshly from the three hits he took from the blue haired fighter, but he was not out of the fight as he caught Runo's next punch and thrust a kick against her stomach, making her grunt harshly and fall down to the ground.

She yelped when she hit the ground, causing Dan's eyes to widen when he saw it as Shun touched down to the ground and looked at her. "Stay down Runo, save yourself the humiliation." He told her.

But his words only fell on deaf ears as she whimpered and struggled to get back up, Dan watched how determined she was as she pulled herself from the dirt. Panting harshly as she held where she was kicked, she held a scowl on her face as she held her arms up. "No… never… I made a promise to someone. That I would get stronger for the day that I face him in combat. And I'm not gonna let a ninja get in the way." She declared as Dan's eyes widened when he heard it.

(Flashback)

12 years ago, a young girl was yelling as she tried to hit young Daniel. He avoided her attacks as she flailed her arms at him, this was a young Runo as she was trying to hit him. But she was screaming angrily as she tried to hit him, but she missed every time she attacked him. "Hold still!" She yelled as she swung a hard right hook.

But Dan smiled as he pushed her arm aside as she spinned uncontrollably as she screamed and fell to the ground, her eyes spinning out of control as she whimpered. Dan chuckled when she saw it, knowing she knocked all her energy out of her. "Wow kid, you sure got spunk." He told her.

But Runo jolted up as she glared at him. "I TOLD YOU MY NAME IS RUNO!" She yelled at him.

Dan merely chuckled when he heard it, but smiled at her as he crossed his arms. "Tell you what, if you get stronger, we can fight again. Okay?" He asked as he walked away.

Runo got back up as she glared angrily. "You better be ready, because I'm going to get strong! I promise that you'll lose next time! YOU HEAR ME?! I WILL WIN NEXT TIME!" She declared as she watched him walk away.

(Flashback End)

Back in the modern day, Dan quickly realized who she was. Shun meanwhile scoffed as he closed his eyes. "A noble sentiment. But promises can only last so long." He told her as he went to punch her back down, but Runo quickly deflected his attack as she leapt up to him and kicked him hard in the head that knocked him sideways while she spun around and swung her other leg and kicked him along his back and slammed him on the ground. However, he slammed his hands on the ground to prevent himself from going down to the ground as he pushed up and got her off him as he got up and slammed an elbow strike to her stomach.

She yelped from it as blood was coughed up and Shun grabbed her by her arm and twisted it around and pinned her to the ground. She groaned from how excruciatingly painful it was, but she was unwilling to give up as she struggled against Shun. She yelled angrily as she willingly dislocated her own shoulder and threw her good arm and slammed a hard fist against his face, sending him flying across the courtyard as he slammed against the ground. Dan was shocked by her own actions as she got herself back up, whimpering from what she did to herself as tears ran down her face. She held her arm as she was panting heavily, knowing what to expect as she closed her eyes tightly and pushed it back into place as she painfully screamed from it.

Everyone winced at how painful that looked, even Johnny grimaced as he let out an exhale. "She's got some stones to pull a stunt like that." He commented as he watched her shake her arm and roll it back as she narrowed her eyes at Shun while wiping the blood from her mouth. Shun got back up and looked toward her, seeing she was true to her word. But he wasn't going to let her win as he stood ready. Runo charged as she yelled and went to hit him, Shun focused his wind abilities as he caught her in a whirlwind and held her in mid air.

She panicked as she saw Shun dash towards her, using only two fingers to strike at her nerve points. She yelped from it as he hit her in her arms first, she went to kick him while she was in the air, but Shun avoided it as he landed his nerve strike technique against her leg as she winced from it and Shun made the whirlwind dissipate as Runo fell to the ground. She let out a grunt as she tried to get up, but her efforts were in vain. "No! NOOO!" She cried out in anger and sadness as tears ran down her face.

Shun saw it as he sighed and stood up. "Sorry Runo, but I won." He told her as he saw Dan rushingover to Runo.

He kneeled down to her and helped her sit up. "You okay?" He asked her.

She kept her gaze down as she didn't look at him. "I failed… I couldn't become stronger than that boy who teased me when I was a child." She said as she cried her eyes out.

Dan looked at her and smiled at her, knowing that she was wrong. "You're stronger than you think, kid." He told her as she shot her head up and glared at him.

"I TOLD YOU MY NAME IS RUNO! AND IF YOU CALL ME KID AGAIN, I'LL MURDER YOU!"She yelled, only to quickly feel her anger fade away as she looked at him surprised.

He smiled at her as he touched the top of her head, making her realize who he was. "You didn't fail, and you can still hold onto that promise. One day, we will have our rematch. But right now, leave Shun to me." He told her as she stared at him with tears in her eyes, he stood up and turned towards Shun with a stern glare.

He walked to the courtyard to face him, meanwhile Liu Kang stood up as he walked over to Runo to help her. "Be still." He formed blue flames around his hands and he carefully rubbed her arms where Shun hit her nerves. "Dan is right, you know. You haven't failed, not to him." He told her as he helped heal her body, while she looked at Dan as he approached the courtyard to face Shun.

He had a look of determination on his face as he was prepared to fight him, Runo couldn't help but stare at him as her face was slightly red. He was in fact, the same boy she met 12 years ago. Dan meanwhile was glaring at Shun as he clenched his fists, with flames surrounding them. "That ninja training you went through did pay off Shun, but you've changed." He told him.

"My life changed when my mother passed away. You would have as well if you lost your mom." He told him.

"Unlike you, I never knew my true parents. Miyoko adopted me when I was just a newborn, but I loved her no matter what. As for Runo? You went too far with your little stunt." He told him as he stood in his fighting stance.

Shun narrowed his eyes as he did the same and stood ready, Liu Kang had finished healing Runo's injuries and helped her join the others. He turned to them as he sat in his seat. "FIGHT!" He called out as Shun made a mad dash towards him, Dan narrowed his eyes as Shun went to give him the same treatment he gave Runo. But Dan redirected his jabs as he avoided each attack and deflected his punches, he redirected the next attack as he landed a few good punches against his face and chest as he landed a kick to his side as Shun went for an overhead strike. Dan caught his arm and held him in place, he pulled his leg around and yelled as he threw him over and slammed him on the ground. He threw quick jabs at him as Shun shielded himself from it as Dan was relentless in his attacks, Dan yelled as he went to land one hard punch against him.

Shun panicked as he rolled away from his attack as Dan slammed his fist to the ground as it caused the ground to shake uncontrollably, Johnny felt it from where he stood as he almost lost his balance from the shaking earth. "Whoa, I knew Dan was strong, but all this in Runo's defense?" He asked.

"Something tells me there is a deep connection between him and Runo." Kenshi commented as he watched the fight, Shun saw Dan coming at him again as he went to strike him while he was still down. He quickly blocked Dan's attacks as he went to hit him, he avoided each of his attacks as he swung his arms at him and went to strike him. Dan deflected them as he unleashed a high kick and landed it against his head as he swung his leg around and kicked him against his abdomen. Shun coughed a bit as he gritted his teeth and grabbed a hold of his leg and kicked him against his knee as he held left leg. He went to slam his elbow against it only to see Dan catch his arm as he used his momentum to flip backwards and kick him hard in the jaw.

Shun backed away and shook his head as Dan landed on his feet and charged towards Shun, the ninja saw it and went to strike him with a swift jab to his nerves. But Dan avoided it as he punched Shun against his side, backhanded him in the face as he threw a roundhouse kick at him. Shun ducked from it as he uppercuts him and forced Dan to back away as he pulled out his wakizashi and slashed at him. Dan avoided his blade's sharp edge as he narrowly dodged his strikes and elbowed him in his side as he smacked him across his face and dodged another strike from him. He saw him go for another strike as he quickly caught his blade as it nearly cut into his skin, making him grunt as his eyes glowed fiery red. He forced the metal to heat up as it melted in his hand and he punched Shun in the face and threw him away, Shun rolled across the courtyard and threw three kunai blades at him.

Dan leaned back as he balanced himself and watched the blades fly over his face, he flipped himself backwards and landed safely as he stood in his dragon stance. Shun narrowed his eyes at him as wind surrounded him and his eyes were glowing green, the monks saw it as they noticed Dan with his eyes glowing fiery red and flames surrounding him. Johnny watched it as he took out his phone and opened the camera app and started recording as he saw their powers growing intensely. Liu Kang watched with awe when he saw two spectral figures appear around them, a red dragon and a green phoenix as they roared and screeched at one another. Even Johnny couldn't believe what he was seeing as he continued recording. "Ohhh man, did we just take a left turn to Kaiju Thriller?" He asked as Dan and Shun stood ready and dashed towards each other, leaving the ground they stood upon to crack and burst open as they clashed together that sent a shockwave throughout the grounds of the academy.

Everyone shielded themselves from the shockwave as Dan and Shun were exchanging blows as they were taking hits and deflecting each other's attacks, Dan avoided another attack as he landed a few attacks against his chest and avoided a kick from him as he threw a backspin kick against his spine. This made Shun yell out in pain as he turned sharp and landed a solid punch against Dan's face as he relentlessly started beating him down, Dan felt the devastating blows as he avoided the next punch and elbowed Shun in the stomach as he reached down grabbing his ankle and pulled hard, flipping him over as Shun flipped forward and hit the ground. He groaned from it and got back up as he blocked another attack from Dan as he landed a hard uppercut against him as he backhanded the pyromancer. A tornado surrounded his fist as he yelled in an attempt to punch him, Dan did the same by surrounding fire around his fist and yelled as his fist collided with Shun's. The impact caused a massive explosion that pushed both fighters back as Liu Kang saw the explosion approaching him and the others, he used his power to contain the flames as he made them dissipate as there was a pretty big crater in the center of the courtyard.

Raiden was stunned when he saw the crater and looked towards the Fire God. "Lord Liu Kang, this is getting out of hand. We should stop this before someone gets hurt." He advised him.

"There is only one way for this to end, one of them needs to either defeat the other, or pass out from what just happened." Liu Kang told him as he looked towards Dan and Shun, the two were getting back up from getting knocked back from the explosion they caused. Both of them were panting from the explosion they caused, Shun glared as he hardened himself and charged towards Dan as he was still dazed. Dan shook his head only to get punched down by Shun, he tried to focus but Shun was relentlessly beating him.

He knocked him away as Dan yelled and fell to the ground, panting heavily as he refused to give up, but Shun stepped onto his chest to keep him down. "Stay down Dan, you're finished." He told him as he kept him pinned.

Dan struggled to get him off, but his strength was slowly depleting as he was about to give up. That was, until someone appeared from the shadows. "Up on your feet Daniel!" He called out as everyone, even Dan looked towards the source, seeing Drago as he stood amongst five other warriors that appeared beside him. One was a female warrior with white and golden armor, markings resembling that of a tiger as she had blades along her arms. Another was a giant warrior, with stone looking armor as he had a giant hammer on his back. The other was an amphibious warrior with armor similar to that of a Zaterran, grinning with his arms crossed over his chest. The next was a female warrior, wearing a ninja outfit as she had phoenix type features. The final warrior was wearing dark armor as his shoulders had hydra looking pauldrons among them. Drago looked at Dan as he looked at the dragon looking warrior, surprised by his appearance. "Once you enter the arena of kombat, you fight to survive until your last shuddering breath. If there is a single drop of blood in your veins, how dare you give up!" He scolded him as his eyes glowed brightly of the same fiery red power. "Stand and fight! Rely on the true strength within you!" He ordered him.

Dan looked at him confused, but his words touched Dan's heart as his determination grew. He looked towards Shun as he grabbed onto his foot and began pushing him off. Shun was surprised, but he put all his weight into keeping Dan pinned down. Dan glared as his eyes flowed fiery red and he pulled his right hand back and shot Shun away with a strong fireball, knocking him down as Shun let out a painful cry. Dan pulled himself from the dirt as he inhaled and slammed his fist against his palm, causing fire to spread around his body as it healed most of his injuries. Runo was surprised when she saw it as she observed his body. "How did he do that?" She asked.

"I'm stumped, it's incredible! Not a single scratch on him!" Johnny exclaimed.

"Not just that, he's pissed." Kung Lao pointed out as Shun got up and glared at Dan, he yelled as he went to strike against his nerves. Dan avoided it as he slammed his elbow against his arm, breaking it as Shun let out a painful scream as Dan punched him three times in the face. He rapidly started beating him senseless as he landed a few backspin kicks against him and slammed a strong punch against his stomach, followed by a hard kick to Shun's neck and a fierce uppercut as he launched Shun into the air. Dan leapt towards him as he landed rapid fiery punches against his torso and kicked him hard.

Shun let out a grunt as Dan charged at him one last time and landed one more kick against him for good measure as Shun was sent towards the ground and crashed against the gravel. Dan was floating in mid air as he slowly descended and touched down to the ground. His eyes opened as they were no longer glowing as he walked over to Shun, who was groaning as he saw Dan standing over him. "Now it's over. I win." He told him.

Shun groaned as he fixed his jaw, looking at Dan with shock and bewilderment as Drago nodded his head behind his son. "I can't believe I actually lost to you, I'm just stunned." He admitted as he saw Dan lend him a hand, he looked at him for a moment but reached up and took his hand and stood up with his help.

He smiled a bit and bowed respectfully as Dan returned the gesture and looked towards the others, who were literally stunned by the whole event. Except for Liu Kang of course, he merely smiled as he nodded to them. "You both have fought well, but Daniel is clearly the victor in this match. Well done Daniel." He complimented his skill.

"Thank you, Lord Liu Kang. But who are they?" He gestured to Drago and his companions.

"All will be explained later. Right now, we have two more fights. Raiden and Kung Lao are next to face each other." He told him as Raiden and Kung Lao looked at each other, nodding their heads as they got up and walked towards the courtyard.

Meanwhile, Drago looked towards his stone friend. "Gorem, we need a leveled kombat zone." He told him.

"On it." Gorem, the stone warrior replied as he approached the courtyard, making large heavy steps as the ground shook beneath everyone. He kneeled down and focused his power and forced the earth to shift and began to repair from the damage caused by Dan and Shun.

Raiden was impressed by his skill and looked towards him. "You're a geomancer." He referred to him as such.

"I am a warrior of Subterra, but if you wish to call it geomancy, I won't argue." Gorem replied to him as he walked back to the others.

Liu Kang approached the next two kombatants and stood before them, while Johnny leaned over to Kenshi. "50 bucks says Kung Lao wins." He made a bet with him.

"Make it interesting. Bet me Sento." Kenshi offered.

But that merely made Johnny laugh in amusement as he looked at him. "Ha! Not on your life." He turned him down.

Julie meanwhile was getting fed up with his snarky attitude as she pointed at him, poking his nose as he backed away. "You know he isn't going to quit, so just give him the sword. Or I'm going to do it for you." She told him.

"Sorry Julie, it's not happening. I bought it, so it's only fair that he does the same." Johnny explained to her as he heard a sigh from Shun and looked at him.

"That pride is exactly what drove your wife away." He told him.

Johnny knew he was literally jabbing that annoying thorn into him as he turned away to ignore it. Meanwhile, Liu Kang took the chance to address the next kombatants. "Raiden. Kung Lao. The winner of this match will proceed to fight against Daniel, and only then will one of you represent Earthrealm against Outworld. It is a grave duty, not to be undertaken lightly." He reminded them as both warriors nodded at him. "You may step back and suffer no dishonor." He told them.

Raiden stepped up determined to win. "I choose to fight, Lord Liu Kang." He told him with a determined expression on his face.

"As do I." Kung Lao said with a cocky expression.

"Then may the best person win." Liu Kang told them as he stepped back to sit down.

Meanwhile the tiger warrior scoffed at Kung Lao's demeanor as she looked at him. "Someone has big stones to be so cocky." She commented.

"While skilled, Kung Lao can be a little overconfident, Tigrerra." Drago told her.

"Yeah, I mean I've seen some pretty big blowhards in my time. But this guy takes the cake." Said the amphibious warrior.

"I must agree with Preyas, if anyone should win this fight, it's Raiden." Said the Hydra warrior.

"We shall see what happens, Hydranoid." Said the phoenix warrior.

"Skyress, please. Let us see who wins first." Drago told her as he looked at the battle.

Kung Lao looked towards Raiden with confidence on his face with a bit of laughter. "Concede, Raiden. You have never beaten me. That won't change today." He assured him.

But Raiden smiled as he chuckled a bit. "No? If the monks taught us one thing… it's that the only constant in the universe is change." He reminded him of the monks' teachings as both he and Kung Lao stood ready in their fighting poses.

"FIGHT!" Liu Kang called out as Raiden sent the first punch, Raiden deflected it as he slammed his palm to his jaw and cartwheeled as he landed two kicks across his face without cutting himself along his razor-brimmed hat as Kung Lao let out a painful grunt as he went to strike him with his elbows. Raiden avoided his attacks as he redirected his attacks and hit him against his abdomen and smacked him against his face, forcing him to back up as Kung Lao unleashed a slide kick and knocked him off of his feet as Raiden fell over. But he caught his fall as he propelled himself back up, using his legs to flip forward as he front flipped and landed a few good punches against Kung Lao.

He then landed a few kicks against his legs to trip him over as Kung Lao let out a painful grunt from each kick, he went to land a palm strike against him, only to feel Kung Lao redirect his attack as he spun around him and slammed both his palms against his back, unleashing a blast of spiritual chi against him as Raiden was knocked down to the ground. Kung Lao grabbed onto his razor-brimmed hat and threw it towards him as it spun rapidly towards Raiden, he quickly rolled out of the way as the hat missed him by a few inches as it barely scratched his skin. The hat flew back towards Kung Lao as he caught it on the edge of the razor and put it on his head, Raiden stood back up as he exhaled from the fact he was almost chopped up like a fish. "Runo was right, that thing is way too effective." He commented.

"You can't handle seeing a genius creation, I'm definitely going to thank Sub-Zero when I see him.." Kung Lao told him as he went to strike him, Raiden avoided and blocked his attacks as he landed a strike to Kung Lao's neck. The razor hat wielder went to strike him only to see Raiden duck from it, he eventually grabbed Kung Lao and held him down as the two struggled. Raiden kicked at his shins as Kung Lao tried to avoid it while trying to kick him in response, he eventually pushed Raiden off of him as he rapidly jabbed at his chest and put him in a headlock and went to punch the top of his head. Raiden saw it coming and managed to block it as he pulled his head out of the headlock and caught his hat as he smacked Kung Lao in the face with it as he put it back on. Kung Lao was stunned by the unexpected hat trick as he took his and sliced at Raiden with it, Raiden carefully avoided the strikes as he pulled away from an uppercut that Kung Lao sent with his razor-brimmed hat with.

He kicked at him as Kung Lao used his hat to block his hat, he went for a slice at Raiden, only to feel him knock his hat out of his hand to finally disarm him as Raiden striked at him with a windmill attack with his arms and landed a good kick against his chest as he lept over him while grabbing hold of his shirt, pulling hard as he threw Kung Lao across the courtyard, seeing him slam against a post that would have knocked him out. But Kung Lao was still conscious as he groaned from the attack as he got back up and picked up his hat in the process. Gorem crossed his arms while watching the fight ensue. "He's more arrogant than we gave him credit for." He commented.

"Yeah, if I had that hat, I'd be trading it for a decent meal." Preyas joked as he was eating some food.

"This is an important match, Preyas. Whoever becomes the chosen champion will determine the fates of both Earthrealm, and Vestroia." Drago reminded him as he watched the fight between Kung Lao and Raiden, Kung Lao leapt into the air and dove towards him to land a kick with an enhanced chi blast. Raiden shielded himself from the attack as it nearly knocked him down, he avoided Kung Lao's attacks he redirected one of his kicks as he backhanded him in the face as he elbowed him hard in the stomach as Kung Lao hit Raiden in the head as he landed his knee over his shoulder as he pulled him down with his leg and slammed him on the ground. He went to punch Raiden while he was down, but Raiden moved his head to the left as Kung Lao's hand punched the gravel that caused his wrist to bend as he yelled out from it.

Raiden took the chance to kick him off as he flipped himself up onto his feet as Kung Lao went to knock him back down, but his rival avoided his punch as he hit him in his shoulder and landed a few hits against his chest. Raiden threw one kick against Kung Lao as he raised his other leg and kicked him hard in the chest as he knocked him hard down to the ground, causing Kung Lao to yell out in pain from it. He shook his head as he looked at Raiden, seeing him stand ready for him to attack. Kung Lao narrowed his eyes as he got up and pulled off his hat as he slashed at him with it, Raiden backed away from his attacks as he continued to slice at him. Kung Lao eventually threw his hat at him as Raiden quickly ducked from it as the hat flew towards Drago and his comrades, before it could reach them, Hydranoid reached out and caught it between his fingers as it was barely an inch from Drago's face. "I'll be holding onto this, it's not really giving Raiden a fair fight." He told him as he held onto the hat.

"Hey!" Kung Lao complained as Raiden got in the way and pushed him back, Kung Lao pushed him back as he went to punch him. But his rival deflected it as he avoided each of his punches and ducked from a right hook that Kung Lao threw, he grabbed a hold of his wrist and bent his arm behind his back. Kung Lao struggled from it as he felt his arm pinned against his back, he growled angrily as he had enough of this. "Okay… hat or no hat, I'm winning this." He declared as he twisted himself around and kicked Raiden away, he went to strike him while he stumbled back. But Raiden caught his arm as he flipped him over, Kung Lao broke his fall by landing on his feet as he pulled Raiden to hit him. His rival knocked his punch away and slammed his arm across his chest as he pushed him back.

He saw Kung Lao go for another strike as Raiden evaded and dodged his next few strikes to keep his distance, this was resulting in Kung Lao getting exhausted as Raiden kept up his stamina. He blocked a few of Kung Lao's attacks as he landed a few good hits against him, this managed to piss off Kung Lao as he went for a slide kick as Raiden avoided it to stay on his feet while Kung Lao went for a rapid punch against him. Tigrerra watched as he was overpowering Kung Lao as she nodded in approval, for she was actually impressed by his skill. Kung Lao yelled as he went for an uppercut, but Raiden kicked his punch back and landed a few good hard punches against him as he threw a roundhouse kick and slammed it against his face, knocking him down to the ground as Kung Lao groaned heavily from how hard the kick was. Raiden smirked seeing that he was down for the count as he walked over to him. "There is a first time for everything, Kung Lao." He told him as he lent him a hand.

Kung Lao took it as he groaned while standing up, but he looked at his friend in disbelief as he felt humbled by everything that happened. "How could I have–" He paused as he looked at him and held his hands together in a kung fu gesture. "Congratulations, Raiden." He told him as he bowed.

Hydranoid approached him with his hat and handed it to him. "Your hat is a unique design… but I would strongly suggest you lose the extra blades." He suggested to him as Kung Lao took his hat from him.

"Thanks for the advice, but you could lose the extra spikes on your armor, creepy." He told him as Hydranoid narrowed his eyes while one of the hydra pauldrons came to life and stretched out from his shoulder and snarled at him, snapping its jaws at Kung Lao as he backed away from it. "WHOA!" He yelled.

Everyone gasped when they saw it as Johnny caught it all on camera. "Holy SHIT! That did not just happen!" He cried out.

"I think it did!" Julie cried out in disbelief.

Liu Kang approached and pushed the head back as he looked at Hydranoid. "That will be quite enough, Hydranoid." He told him as he hissed and pulled the head back as it reverted to being a normal pauldron. "I apologize for Kung Lao's behavior, he's always been prideful." He informed him.

"Pride can keep him alive in the long run, but in the end, it will be his undoing." Hydranoid told the young shaolin as he walked back to the others.

Dan watched him go and looked towards Liu Kang. "Care to explain that?" He asked him.

"Later, Daniel. For this evening you will face your final opponent." He told him as he looked towards Raiden. "Raiden, Daniel will be using power. For this battle, you will need this." He opened a case showing an amulet within it, Raiden saw it as he reached in and pulled it out as electricity sparked from it around his hands. "Forged by the Elder Gods, it gives the wearer power over lightning and thunder. Go ahead. Try it." He told him as Raiden looked at it.

He turned out as he held the amulet in his hand, seeing it surge with power as he looked to the statue in front of him and unleashed its power against it. Johnny was recording it as the lightning blasted against the statue, leaving him stunned as he continued recording. "Holy Ark of the Covenant!" He cried out.

"That is by far, the most powerful item I have ever seen in my life." Runo admitted as she was equally stunned.

Raiden finished unleashing its power as he looked at the amulet. "It is incredible." He said with awe as he looked towards Liu Kang. "But is it necessary?" He asked him.

"In addition to possessing great might, the Outworlders that either you or Daniel will face also wield great magic. The amulet levels the playing field." Liu Kang explained.

Kung Lao meanwhile grew worried for his friend as he touched his shoulder. "You must be careful, Raiden. You could get hurt. Even killed!" He told him.

"From what I've heard from Lord Liu Kang, no tournament participant has ever been grievously injured or killed." Drago explained to him as he looked at Raiden. "He would never send his champions unwittingly into mortal kombat." He told him.

Raiden nodded his head at the Dragon warrior and looked towards Dan, prepared to face him in one last fight. Dan nodded his head in return as he and Raiden stepped to the courtyard, everyone returned to their seats as Runo sat beside Shun as she looked at Dan as he prepared himself for the final fight. "This will be more intense than the fight you and Dan had." She told him.

"Fire against Lightning, this may be a battle we should back away from. One stray lightning bolt or fire blast? And we might just get caught in the crossfire." He replied to her.

Meanwhile Dan and Raiden bowed to each other as they stood up, Raiden smiled confidently as he fixed his hat and adjusted the amulet on his belt. "This has been a fight I've been looking forward to Daniel." He told him.

"Likewise, Raiden. Let's see how well you use that amulet's power against my fire, shall we?" He asked him as he stood in his dragon stance, while Raiden stood prepared in his taekwondo stance.

"Better keep your guard up Daniel, because this is one fight you won't win." He told him as the two kombatants prepared themselves for the final fight.

(Cue Music: Divine Bloodlines from Castlevania Nocturne)

Liu Kang smiled as the two equals were prepared to fight one another, he sat down as he looked at them. "FIGHT!" He called out as Raiden stepped back and lunged at Dan with the help of his lightning abilities, yelling as he tackled Dan across the courtyard, slamming him into a wall. This made Dan let out a painful grunt as he fell to the ground as Raiden landed on his feet and stood in his fighting stance, Dan shook his head as he didn't realize how strong he was with the amulet. But he wasn't going to let that stop him as he pulled himself from the ground, Raiden charged at him in an attempt to knock him back down. Dan meanwhile glared as he raised his right leg and kicked him in his face, launching him in the air as he unleashed a fiery kick to his abdomen.

Raiden flew back and slid across the ground as he looked at him as Dan charged towards him and unleashed a fiery punch towards him, Raiden surrounded his fist with lightning as he threw it as his fist collided with Dan's as it unleashed a powerful explosion as flames and lightning bolts flew around them. Johnny held out his camera as he recorded and watched the fight between the two warriors. "Whoa, it just went from Kaiju Thriller to Dragon Ball Z." He commented.

"Keep dreaming, Cage." Kenshi told him as Johnny scowled at him and looked back to the fight as Dan and Raiden were deflecting each other's attacks as Dan landed a few good punches against the lightning wielder, Raiden landed returned the same punches against Dan as the two were beating each other senseless. This surprised everyone as they were on par with one another, even Kenshi could believe what they were witnessing. "Incredible, they're skills are equal, and their power is beyond anything we've ever imagined." He stated.

"They're certainly putting on an incredible show for us to watch." Julie commented as Dan yelled out and kicked Raiden away as he slid back and formed orbs of lightning around him. He yelled as he shot the orbs toward Dan as he avoided each shot as he formed a shield of flames to block the rest of the orbs that were shot at him. This made Julie drool just from watching his skill, hearts beating in her eyes as she was literally in heat. "Oh my… I'm in love…!" She panted heavily.

Runo groaned in annoyance as she jabbed at her arm to get her mind back in its regular mindset. "Knock it off Julie, this is important for both of them." She reminded her as Julie scowled at her for it as she rubbed her arm and looked back to the fight, Raiden kicked at Dan as he defended himself from the lightning wielders attacks. He elbowed him against his knee and hit him against his torso as he went to punch him, Raiden caught it as he sent a stream of lightning through his arm as Dan yelled out from it as he got blasted away by Raiden as he slid across the ground. He groaned from it as he shook his arm from it and looked towards Raiden, the lightning shaolin as he charged at him in an attempt to cartwheel kick him.

Dan avoided it as he landed an elbow strike to his spine and slammed his hand to his head and blasted him away with his dragon fire. Raiden rolled across the ground from it as he rolled onto his feet and looked at him as he put out a few flames that were on his uniform. Dan smirked as he stood ready for him, Raiden dusted himself off and charged at him as he saw Dan unleash a dragon flame towards him. He leapt over the flame as he formed a dome of lightning around him as he electrified Dan and kicked him to the ground, Dan felt his back against the ground as he let out a painful grunt as Raiden went to slam another kick against him. Dan held his arms up and blocked it as the ground around him crumbled, he groaned from it but pushed Raiden off as he pushed himself up and landed a double kick against Raiden's chest as it caused him to cough harshly while Dan pushed him away and blasted him with his dragon fire. Preyas exhaled when he saw it and nudged Drago's arm, letting out a chuckle as he looked towards him. "Your kids got spunk Drago, hard to believe he's yours and Wavern's." He told him.

"He inherited my warrior skill, as well as his mothers caring nature. But to this day, he still doesn't know that I'm his father. Yet." Drago told him as he watched Dan deflect Raiden's attacks as he kicked against his knees to make them buckle as Raiden winced in pain from it, as he saw Dan coming in for a punch that caused him to grab him by his wrist and wrap it around behind him as he grabbed Dan by his neck. He yelled as he went to slam him against the ground, only to see Dan vanish through flames, which surprised him as the pyromancer appeared behind Raiden and kicked him away. Raiden was stunned from the attack as he flipped himself around and landed on his feet to prevent himself from hitting the ground. He exhaled as he spat out some blood as he smirked and got into his fighting stance, Dan charged towards him as he unleashed a pair of dragon fire shots towards him.

Raiden focused his power in the amulet that allowed him to disappear and appear behind him, he copied Dan's ability as he slammed his palm against his back as Dan let out a grunt and turned sharp as he kicked him against his neck and elbowed his stomach that made him groan painfully. Preyas shared a similar groan as he slipped on a fancy suit with a set of earphones and a mic. "I'm telling you fans, Raiden is really taking a beating from Dan. He is not going to rest till he wins this match and-" Before he could continue, four of his companions grabbed him and shot menacing death glares at him that made him gulp. "Back to our usual program." He chuckled nervously as Raiden unleashed a windmill strike against Dan that stunned him as he kicked the pyromancer hard in the torso and slammed his elbow against his face, Dan let out a grunt as Raiden went to throw an electric blast against him. But Dan quickly avoided it as he rolled away and stood up on his knees and inhaled deeply as his eyes glowed fiery red and unleashed a stream of fire from his mouth.

Raiden panicked as he formed an electric barrier around him, the flames went around him as they were powerful enough to push Raiden back and leave the land around him scorched from the powerful flames Dan unleashed. He panted from what he did and exhaled in surprise as he looked at the burn spots around Raiden. "Huh, that's new." He commented as he saw Raiden flying towards him in an attempt to tackle him, he moved to his left and caught him by his belt and swung him around as Raiden yelled out while Dan pulled hard and threw him as Raiden screamed and crashed against the ground. He groaned as he shook his head and looked at Dan as he chuckled at him. "That's not gonna work on me twice." He told him as Raiden got back up and cleaned himself, he was determined to win as he charged and went to strike him.

Dan caught and redirected his attacks as he used a serpent movement to change the directions of Raiden's attacks, he avoided a few of his punches and kicks as he landed a few good hits against the human lightning rod. Raiden was getting beaten and outsmarted as he tried to teleport and attack him from behind, but Dan anticipated it as he turned sharp and slammed his palm across his chest, sending Raiden back as he landed on his feet and stumbled a bit. He groaned a bit as Dan shook his hand and exhaled, while Skyress was nodding at the boy's skill. "If Wavern were here, she would be proud of how skilled he's become." She told Drago as she turned towards him.

"I'm sure she will be." Drago agreed with her and saw Dan defend himself from Raiden as he used his electrified punches against him, Dan focused the flames as he formed a burning tornado around him and pushed Raiden back to catch his breath. But Raiden wasn't going to let him as he teleported himself within the burning tornado and grabbed Dan as he made the flames dissipate and he flipped Dan over him and slammed him against the ground. He groaned as he shook his head and looked up to Raiden as he went to slam lightning fist against him, but out of nowhere a tail reached up to Raiden's wrist as he snared him. Both Dan and Raiden were surprised as Dan looked behind him only to find that the tail came from him as he instinctfully pushed Raiden away with it.

He got himself up and looked at the tail as it vanished, returning to being a red sash behind him. "Okay, breathing fire is one thing, but the tail just made things freaky!" He exclaimed.

"You can say that again!" Johnny yelled from the crowd as Kenshi elbowed him to shut him up.

"Scorpion was right, there is something about you that doesnt seem human." Raiden admitted but got into his fighting stance. "But the fight is far from over Daniel, come on." He told him, Dan knew that he was right, and he needed to finish the fight. Raiden yelled as he went to strike him, Dan deflected his first punch and redirected his next one while grabbing onto his wrist as he pulled him close and elbowed him in his ribcage that made Raiden cry out from it. He glared as he swung a kick towards Dan, only to see him slide from it and slide kick him while he was on one leg and tripped him over as Raiden flipped onto his back. He rolled himself away from Dan as he got back up and formed orbs of lightning around him and unleashed an unending barrage of lightning blasts against him, Dan deflected and knocked away each blast that was sent towards him as he charged towards Raiden.

He soon saw Raiden attempt to blast the ground to stun him, but he quickly leapt over as Raiden electrified the courtyard. He landed behind him as Raiden turned sharp and unleashed a stream of lightning towards him, Dan quickly unleashed his fire breath against his lightning as both their attacks collided together, sending a powersurge between them as bother warriors were pushing their powers to their limits. Johnny could barely believe what he is seeing as he kept recording. "Holy shit, this is so going onto social media." He muttered only to see his camera stop recording. "Oh no, no!" He tried to get it recording again and held the camera out to see the results of the end battle as he re-recorded the power struggle. Raiden unleashed all he had, while Dan was struggling as he was growing exhausted.

But Drago's words were spurning him to keep going as his eyes glowed fiery red and he strengthened his flames, Raiden saw it as he felt Dan's power pushing him back as he tried to fight against it. But Dan stepped towards Raiden while continuing to unleash his fire against Raiden, he unleashed a stream twice as big as it pushed Raiden's lightning back and it soon got closer to him as Raiden quickly formed a barrier around him. But this resulted in the flames dissipating as Dan had disappeared, Raiden looked around for him only to look up as Dan yelled out and unleashed a fiery punch against Raiden's face as he slammed him against the ground in the process as he won the final match.

(Song End)

Dan was panting as he managed to subdue his opponent as he saw Raiden panting from exhaustion, he pulled away from Raiden and lent him a hand. "It was a well fought battle, Raiden." He told him with a smile.

Raiden exhaled as he looked towards Dan. "You sure caught me off guard, Daniel." He said to him as he smiled and took his hand and stood up with his help.

Liu Kang smiled as he stood up from his seat and walked over as Runo ran up to Dan and hugged him on his victory. "You did it!" She cheered, only to get knocked away by Julie. "GAH!" She screamed as she hit the ground.

"Oh Danny! I knew you'd prevail!" She said as she wrapped her arms around him. "Now gimme a kiss!" She said as she tried to force a kiss upon him.

But he pushed her away to try and prevent her from kissing him, but she was so clingy this time, she wasn't going to let him go. Till Runo got back up and shot a menacing glare as she growled and grabbed her, pulling her off of him. "He's not interested in forceful women, Julie! Take a hint!" She told her.

Shun walked up and patted Dan on his shoulder. "You did good, Dan." He told him.

"Thanks Shun." Dan replied to him.

Raiden took the amulet from his belt and handed it to him. "Here Daniel, youll need this." He told him.

Dan looked at it as he smiled and looked towards Raiden. "No. You keep it." He told him as he pushed the amulet back to him. "Besides, lightning is more your style." He told him as Raiden smiled and bowed to him.

Meanwhile, Kenshi approached him and patted his back. "You certainly surprised us, Daniel." Kenshi said as he walked up to him. "Not everyone could have done what you just did." He stated.

"Yeah, about that, how did you form that tail?" Johnny asked him.

Dan shrugged his shoulders in response as he saw Liu Kang approach him and the others. "Although you have all trained well, Daniel has excelled. This outcome does indeed surprise me." He said with pride.

"Thank you, Lord Liu Kang. Now would you care to explain what happened to me just now?" He asked him as he pointed to Drago and his companions. "And who these people are?" He asked.

"Yes, it is about time you learned of your true heritage, Daniel." The Fire God replied to him.

This surprised Dan as he looked at him. "My heritage? I was an orphan from Tokyo, Japan." He told him.

"You were more than that Daniel." Drago told him as he approached him. "I know, because I was the one who left you with your mother, Miyoko." He told him.

Hearing this made Dan's eyes widen as he looked at him, he couldn't believe what he just heard. "You…? You mean that you're…?" He was about to ask.

But Drago nodded his head in response as he looked at him. "I am your father, Daniel." He told him as Dan and his allies were stunned when they heard it.

Johnny let out a chuckle as he walked over to him. "No way, you? I mean I've got daddy issues myself, but Dan? Who would have guessed his old man was a deadbeat?" He asked as Skyress got between him and Drago, spreading her phoenix wings that made him gasp in awe and shock. "Oh boy…" He muttered.

"He left Daniel for his own protection." Skyress told him with a stern glare.

"Protection from what?" Dan asked, eager to learn of his past.

"From Naga." Drago informed him as Dan's eyes widened, seeing a vision of a dark creature that held a core within himself. Drago looked at him as he used his power to form an illusion around them to show them his history. "Long before you came to Earth, you were once a resident of a peaceful realm known as Vestroia." He revealed Vestroia for how it was before the war. "A realm of six infinite worlds, each with its own element." He explained.

Gorem approached as they entered a realm of the Earth attribute. "The Earth Element, Subterra. Home of warriors who wield the Earth around them to their will. Some of you would call it geomancy. Subterra was once my home before Naga's corruption." He explained as Julie was amazed, the environment changed to light.

Tigrerra saw it as she looked at the others. "Then there is the Element of Light, Haos. Where warriors of purity fight for honor and peace. That was my home." She informed them as Runo watched in awe of the realm.

The environment changed again, revealing a dark void around them as Hydranoid looked around. "The Dark Element, Darkus. A realm of fierce and cunning warriors like myself, where the light cannot reach. A home I thought I knew well." He told them.

Preyas saw the environment change to an aquatic world as he grinned. "Aquos baby, or as you humans would call it, the Water Element. This is one place where you would have all kinds of fun, just as long as you don't get on anyones bad side." He told them.

Skyress saw the environment change to a place of wind and hurricanes as she remembered it more fondly. "The Wind Element, Ventus. A place of wisdom, where wind attributed warriors fought with grace and beauty." She explained as Shun stared at her in awe.

Drago watched as the environment changed one last time to the final element. "And the Fire Element, Pyrus. A place of power and strength, that… is where you hailed from, Daniel." He explained as Dan looked around, amazed by the realm around him.

"This was your original home?" Kung Lao asked as he nodded in approval. "It makes sense." He commented.

Meanwhile, Dan looked towards his supposed father as he turned to face him. "But why did you leave me on Earth…? Didn't you want me…?" He asked him.

"Of course we did, Daniel." Drago replied as he showed a vision of him, his mother Wavern, and when Daniel was but a child. Dan looked at her and saw how beautiful she was, even Julie would grow jealous of her. "Your mother and I loved you with all our hearts, but Naga…" He showed a vision of him as he was snarling with tattered wings. "He saw you as a threat, and wanted the power to annihilate you." He explained.

"But to do that, he needed to travel to the center of Vestroia, where two cores reside." Skyress explained as two powerful cores appeared before them as Johnny looked at them and recorded it. "The Infinity Core, the source of all positive energy. And the Silent Core, the source of all negative energy. Naga seized the Silent Core first, to absorb its power." She told them.

"But something went wrong." Gorem told them as they witnessed Naga being absorbed into the core instead. "The Silent Core's energy ran rampant throughout Vestroia, if not through the rest of the realms. Before he could attempt to seize the Infinity Core, Wavern took the core and gave it to Drago along with Daniel so they could escape to Earth." He explained.

"Where we were followed by Garganoid assassins, sent by Naga to retrieve the Infinity Core. But each of them lost their lives in their attempt to steal it." Drago explained as he saw the day when he left Dan with his adoptive mother Miyoko. "It was here, where I left you with Miyoko… the one human who took care of you above anyone else." He told his son.

Dan looked at his mother seeing how different she was when he was a baby, the vision faded away as he looked towards Drago. "Why does Naga want these cores…? And what happened to the Infinity Core…? And mom… why isn't she here?" He asked him.

"The Infinity Core to this day, you have worn around your neck." He pointed to the necklace as Dan looked down to it, seeing it glow as he reached up to it and touched it. "As to why Naga want's both cores, with both of them at his command, he could use them to gain ultimate power, and rule the realms as he sees fit. As for Wavern, she hasn't been seen since I brought you to Earth." He told him.

Dan looked down, wondering what became of her. Hydranoid approached him and touched his shoulder. "But as long as you carry the Infinity Core with you, she will be safe along with the Infinity Core from Naga's grasp." He informed him.

"But if that core falls into his hands, that's goodbye peace, hello realm domination." Preyas said dramatically only to get smacked by Tigrerra.

"As long as you keep it safe, you, your friends, and all the other realms will be safe from Naga's corruption.

"It seems like a big responsibility for him, are you sure it was wise of you to leave such a sacred relic in his hands?" Kung Lao asked.

"Daniel has held onto the Infinity Core for 19 years, not aware of its existence until now. Thus, knowing how important it is now, he will be determined." Drago told the monk.

A scoff was soon heard from Johnny as he crossed his arms, "Yeah, great. So now the fate of the realms will be in the hands of a human gecko." He commented.

But this only angered Drago as he narrowed his eyes and flames surrounded his body, the flames grew bigger as he spread his wings, making the flames dissipate as he roared out and lowered his head towards Johnny as he glared at the actor sternly. "Care to revise that statement?" He asked him.

A gulp could be heard from Johnny as he chuckled nervously. "Uhh, go Daniel." He said as he gave him a thumbs up.

Dan smirked as he saw his father revert back to his humanoid form. "So, this negative energy, you were unaffected by it?" He asked him.

"Correct. Once I left you with Miyoko, I sought out warriors who were still pure." He gestures to his comrades. "Gorem of Subterra. His Vestroian form is that of a colossal stone golem." He introduced him.

"It is an honor to finally meet you, Daniel." He told him as he bowed his head.

Dan nodded to him as he looked towards Tigrerra. "Tigrerra of Haos. Her form is that of a white tiger with golden armor." Drago introduced her.

She bowed respectfully to Dan as she raised her arm to her chest. "You are a skilled warrior, Daniel. I hope that someday you and I can face each other." She told him.

"I would look forward to that, but I already made a promise to someone else." He admitted as he looked towards Runo. "One I intend to keep." He said as he smiled at her.

She smiled back at him as she moved her hair a bit trying to hide a blush, which made Tigrerra smile upon seeing it as Drago gestured to Hydranoid. "Hydranoid of Darkus. His form is that of a three headed Hydra, as you have just seen prior to Raiden's victory against Kung Lao." He introduced him.

"You are in fact skilled, but against me? You would be in over your head." He told the young Vestroian.

"We shall see, Hydranoid." Dan replied to him and looked towards Preyas.

"Preyas of Aquos. His form is tha-"

"Oh please Drago buddy, let me." Preyas interrupted him as water surrounded his being, he reverted to his true form as he revealed himself as a frill necked lizard, only humanoid as he chuckles. "Don't let the appearance fool you Danny boy, this Vestroian can still pack a nasty punch, even catch you off guard." He said with a cackle.

Meanwhile, Kenshi leaned towards Johnny and whispered. "I think we just met your long lost brother." He told him.

"Not a chance in hell." Johnny told him as he rolled his eyes.

"Anyways!" Drago interrupted them as he turned to the last member of his group. "This is Skyess of Ventus. Wise and full of care, her form is that of the mighty phoenix." He said with much pride.

"Please, Drago. You give me too much credit." She told him and looked towards Dan. "As for you Daniel, you and Shun showed much progress. I have been watching over you both as you trained together. He almost had you beat." She told him as Shun smirked and nudged Dan, who only scowled in return as Skyress smacked Shun across the forehead. "It is nothing to take pride in, Shun. Both you and Daniel possess great power, as well as your friends, Runo and Julie." She told them.

"Me?" Julie asked in surprise.

"No way." Runo said in disbelief.

"Yes." Tigrerra responded to Runo's reaction as she approached her. "There is much purity and light within you, Lady Runo. Though you are quite temperamental, you have great potential." She told her as Runo was stunned with awe.

Gorem walked up to Julie and touched her shoulder. "You possess great strength and resolve, stronger than any stone I know of. Under my guidance, you can be a great Subterra warrior." He told her as Julie had a goofy grin on her face as she was bouncing up and down uncontrollably.

Liu Kang smiled seeing that they were getting along well, he turned to the others to give his announcement. "We leave in seven days for Outworld's capital, Sun Do. The tournament will be held at the Palace of Empress Sindel." He informed him as he looked towards Dan. "One more thing Daniel." He reached behind him and pulled out a red headband, the one he used to wear. "This was once given to me by a close friend of mine. Now, I will give it to you." He told him as he placed it in his hands. "Wear it with pride." He told him as Dan looked at the headband and looked up to his mentor. He hesitated at first, but he nodded his head and took the headband, wrapping it around his head as he tied it in the back.

He pulled the headband tight as he raised his head, and looked up to Liu Kang. "I won't let you down." He told him as Liu Kang smiled and nodded his head to him, knowing that he wouldn't. This tournament will in fact test him both physically, and mentally.

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(Author Notes: Hey guys, Leonidas1994 here. Boy this was a tough chapter, I tried to lengthen the fights, but even that is hard to do. Believe me, it really is tough. I even have to watch fight scenes on youtube to get a fight perfectly choreographed. Even if I have to slow down the speed of the video itself. Now, this is going to be a two part chapter, because we all know how long Raiden's chapter is, Jesus Christ. Anyways, I hope you like this chapter. Leave a review on it once you finish reading.)