"So, this is the place?" A man asked as he was riding on a boat heading towards a bizarre Island. This man is known as Zack or people might know him by his nickname of Courier.
Zack isn't native to this world and appeared here by accident. The teleportation device he'd used to travel between the Mojave and the Big Empty had malfunctioned and sent him here to this unruined world.
It took Zack time to adapt but he did and became something of a mercenary in this world. Not for illegal reasons mind you. Instead, he just did things that bordered the legal line. Zack didn't stay in one place for long, which is why he found it odd that he got invited to this 'Tournament' thing.
The invitation sounded fake to him, until he discovered that at the tournament, he could get answers from a familiar person. The person who sent him the invitation itself was none other than Ulysses.
He wasn't given the invitation in person but instead it was placed in a drop box. All Zack had to do was attend this tournament and he would get answers and hopefully find a way home.
Right now, Zack is dressed in his Courier attire that he got from Ulysses himself. The protective duster with the spade on the back, followed by the number thirteen in yellow writing. He has basic clothes underneath the duster and has two hidden 9mm pistols in his duster and an exposed combat knife sheathed to his side. On Zack's face is the breathing mask that Ulysses had given him as well. Slung over Zack's shoulder is a green duffle bag.
"What is this tournament even for?" Zack asked himself as he looked around the boat and saw various people who seemed to come from all walks of life.
After some time, the boat docked, and Zack got off along with the other people and gathered with the crowd as everyone gathered in front of a weird looking area where monks wearing robes gather in front of the crowd of fighters.
"What the hell did I walk into?" Zack asked himself before an old man appeared on the stage like area behind the monks and he was flanked by two-women, one man painted in white and the other looked to be some kind of mutant.
"Now participants. You are competing in the most important mortal kombat tournament in all of Earth Realms history." The man started before going on a speech that Zack hardly paid attention to. He was busy looking for Ulysses.
Some guy was making noise which caught Zack's attention, and, in a moment, the old man appeared behind him, shocking both the man in the suit and Zack himself.
"What in the God damn?" Zack asked.
"Our first fight will be Johnny Cage vs Reptile!" The old man said loudly as he literally flew into the air and made his way back to the stage.
After he spoke everyone saw a lizard like humanoid jump from the roof of one of the buildings nearby and land on the ground across from Johnny who moved into the designated area.
The fight was a tad bit one sided and Johnny put a serious beat down on the lizard man despite his unique abilities.
"Next-" The old man started before Zack walked up and spoke.
"Old man I couldn't care less about this tournament! Tell me where Ulysses is!" Zack said loudly getting all the attention put on him and the man smirked.
"Ulysses is here but you aren't going to be seeing him Zack, and since you are so excitable like Johnny. I'd say that you're going to take his place in this fight, and your opponent will be. Baraka!" The man said before the mutant looking man made his way across Zack and flexed his arm blades.
"Yeah, you're definitely a mutant. But I've fought worse than you." Zack said before he got into his own fighting stance as Baraka rushed him and aimed to slice him apart with his blades. Zack dodged under the slashes and barely managed to evade before Baraka knocked him back with a powerful kick.
Zack, however, adapted quickly and not only ducked under another slash but he countered with a powerful punch to Baraka's kidneys or at least where Zack assumed his kidney was. Luckily, he was right and that staggered Baraka.
Zack knew how to fight and use all his strength without limitations. So, Baraka felt the blow. Zack followed with a kick to the mutant's head which staggered him before Zack charged at the mutant and delivered a powerful high knee to his jaw which knocked him down.
Baraka was a bit slow to get up, but Zack didn't take a chance on the mutant attacking again and delivered a strong kick to his face, knocking lose a few teeth and he managed to knock Baraka out cold.
"There's your fight! Now tell me about Ulysses!" Zack demanded in anger as the old man scoffed.
"The fights will continue later! All of you are dismissed!" The old man said before he walked away along with his followers and the rest of the crowd quickly dispersed.
"Bastard. I'll shove my boot so far up his ass, he'll be puking up my shoelaces." Zack cursed in anger before balling up his fist as he saw Baraka getting carried away by monks.
"You fought well." An unfamiliar voice said to Zack, making him turn around and see two people walk up to him. The first was a shirtless Asian man with black hair and is wearing red and black pants and kung fu shoes with a red headband around his head.
The second is a man wearing a white and blue uniform with a straw hat on his head and a strange medallion or amulet on his chest.
"Thanks, but it doesn't matter. I'm stuck playing that bastards game if I want to get answers from him." Zack said with a heavy breath. "Who are you anyway?"
"This is Raiden, and you'd do well to give him the proper respect." The shirtless man said with a bit of annoyance before Raiden raised his hand up.
"Easy Liu Kang. We didn't come to fight amongst other earth realm warriors." Raiden said back before looking closer at Zack.
"I'm pretty sure this is earth but with the way you talk. I'm starting to think that not all the contenders here are from earth." Zack said bluntly to the thunder god who nodded his head.
"That's correct. Fighters from other realms have gathered here as well. Also, you seemed vaguely aware of the Tarkatan you fought. Have you traveled to Outworld by chance?" Raiden asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I don't know what that is. All I know is that the dude was some kind of mutant, and he tried to slice me with his blades. If the dude had a fair fight, I would be dead. But I don't fight fair." Zack said before crossing his arms. "Still, it makes me wonder. What exactly is a mortal kombat tournament."
"You entered the tournament without fully understanding it?" Liu Kang asked with his own confusion.
"Yeah…Is that weird?" Zack asked before his eyes wandered towards a red clad woman with fair skin. The woman walked away with a man clad in purple and they seemed to be arguing.
"Don't worry about them. They are not allies to earth realm." Raiden said sternly.
"Do you know them?" Zack asked back.
"Skarlet and Rain. Both work under the boss of Shang Tsung. A heartless being known as Shoa Khan. Don't let your guard down while you're here. Danger lurks around every corner." Raiden warned.
"I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for the information. My name is Zack, but everyone calls me Courier Six. Look me up if you ever need a job done." Zack said before he walked off in a different direction from where Skarlet and Rain had walked.
"He seems like a competent warrior, but I sense very low Chi within him. He just used pure strength against that Tarkatan and got lucky. What do you see in him lord Raiden?" Liu Kang asked as Raiden watched Zack leave.
"I see a possible hero Liu Kang. Just like I see in you. He has potential." Raiden said back to his student.
Later
"Damn this place is big. How the hell am I supposed to find any clues on Ulysses without a having any idea about where I am?" Zack asked himself before glancing down at the Pip-Boy 3000 on his right forearm and saw that the map function was totally scrambled. The Pip-Boy used satellites signals to get a geographical idea of the layout of any area within thousands of meters, but for an island it couldn't get a damn thing.
"Watch your tongue, Skarlet! Don't forget your place!" A man shouted as Zack quickly got low and behind a large tree. From behind his hiding spot, Zack saw Skarlet and Rain arguing in the distance.
"My place! I am here on behalf of Shao Khan! Not a self-declared half-god with delusions of grandeur!" Skarlet shouted back before Rain slapped her across the face.
"You will do as I tell you blood witch!" Rain shouted before Zack had enough of the nonsense and made his way to the scene.
"You're not going to lay another hand on her." Zack said in agitation as he got both fighters' attention and got a closer look at their outfits. Rain is dressed up like a ninja from a Hubris comic strip while Skarlet is wearing an armored bra like top and bikini bottom, with knee high red boots and elbow length gloves with a combat knife sheathed to her waist.
Rain is very purple, and Skarlet is very red.
"The Earth realm dog. This is none of your concern. Begone from my sight." Rain said with clear anger and hatred in his words.
"You made it my concern when you put your hands on the lady. Now I believe that fighting shouldn't be excluded to gender but abusing others isn't something I'll condone." Zack said back to Rain who laughed.
"Who are you to talk down to me earthling? I am Rain the half-god. I was not merely given my title by the commoners for no reason you bulac. Now you will learn firsthand, why my namesake inspires fear." Rain said before he raised his right hand and above his palm a sphere of water formed before he swiftly flexed his hand downwards and sent a razor-sharp blade of water at Zack who dodged out of the way and saw the blade of water cut down one of the weird and seemingly living trees in this forest.
"What the fuck kind of a mutation is that?" Zack asked with wide eyes before he turned to Rain before dodging another blade of water. Zack quickly pulled out both his pistols and activated his V.A.T.S ability.
The Pip-Boy system and glove attached themselves to his central nervous system in order to allow the V.A.T.S ability to activate. It slowed his perception of time to a near halt and showed numerical probabilities of what attacks would land where.
So, with his ability active, Zack took careful aim at Rain's torso and fired two rounds before V.A.T.S deactivated and time flowed normally again.
Rain took the shots to the chest but hardly seemed phased as he took a single step back before he pulled his hand backwards and charged it with what looked like purple and black electricity. Rain thrusted his hand outwards and sent the bolt of quantum energy at Zack who put up his arms to guard before he was forced off his feet and had his entire system rocked.
He landed hard on the ground a fair distance away and his senses were screaming in pain, but he was still alive thanks to his duster.
"I'm not going to get hit by that again." Zack said as he quickly got up and avoided a torrent of water that carved away at the ground and would have finished him off. 'Without my implants I'd be dead. The Pheonix implant is already trying to work on healing me and the Endurance modifier kept me alive but at this rate I'll be as good as dead.'
Zack continued to dodge and take shots at Rain before both his clips got emptied and Rain was still standing as strong as ever with a few shallow bullet wounds on his body that didn't even seem to affect him.
"Rain. We don't have time for this farce." A familiar voice said to both the fighters. Zack and Rain both looked to the right and saw Ulysses himself leaning against a tree with his arms crossing over his chest.
Ulysses was visually the same, if a bit older and seemed to have a spear sheathed to his back.
"Ulysses. Your here." Zack said in shock at seeing his former enemy turned ally in the Divide.
"Courier. I see you've gotten my invitation. I promised you answers but I won't be giving them to you now. The tournament is still underway."
"Screw the tournament. How did you get here? How did I even get here for that matter? And how do we get back to the wasteland?" Zack asked the courier various questions. Ulysses simply hummed in response before turning to Rain and Skarlet.
"Leave us."
"Excuse you?" Rain asked in anger.
"I said leave. I have no quarrel with you, but I will remove you by force if I must. This conversation isn't meant for your ears Rain." Ulysses said back calmly and with narrowed eyes.
Rain looked down at his words before turning away with a scoff.
"This constant disrespect will not be forgotten. Watch your back earth realm dog." Rain said to Zack before he vanished in a burst of water. Skarlet on the other hand looked at Zack for a moment before turning to walk away without saying a word.
"You have a horrible habit of creating problems for yourself Six." Ulysses said back to Zack whose breathing was a bit rough.
"I know and I can get lectured on it later. But answer my questions first."
"Yes. Your questions. I came into a place known as Outworld after I was blinded by a bright light. I traveled many roads in Outworld and saw the many dangers of it. They couldn't break me, and I prevailed in that barren land. In a sense it is almost identical to our home. However, the truth is that there is no way home." Ulysses explained with his usual practiced calm.
"There are several realms of reality, but we don't have access to the gates needed to traverse them. Using teleportation magic itself is enough of a chore. As far as I can tell, Shao Khan and other godlike beings are the ones who can travel between realms and possibly send us home, but that won't happen."
"Why won't it?" Zack asked back.
"Because I've found a place where I can put down my flag. Outworld is big enough for me to find a space of my own. After this tournament I will find my peace in Outworld. The winner of this tournament doesn't matter to me." Ulysses said back before Zack's face fell.
"A place to rest your flag…I guess that's what you've always wanted after all. Hell, I'm not eager to go back home myself. But what is the deal with this tournament and the mutants in it?" Zack asked back in confusion before Ulysses turned around and showed his back to Zack.
"You'll understand the importance of this tournament soon enough. The question is, will you survive to see the results?" Ulysses said before he walked away without another word and Zack felt a mixture of anger, confusion and sadness.
"You've found a place to rest Ulysses. But how long can you rest before you find yourself back in the fight? Where couriers. Braving the harsh roads and challenging the odds is what we are. It's in our blood and I just hope you truly know what you're doing." Zack said with a heavy breath before he stuffed his pistols back into his duster, before walking away towards the more occupied areas of the island.
April 14th/2003
Shang Tsung's Island
Currently resting on a wooden bench away from many of the other fighters is Zack. Zack is currently reading one of the books he picked up on his journey in this version of Earth.
Bram Strokers Dracula…One of the many Dracula books he wrote anyway.
"Your oddly calm for a person who walks with death." A person said as Zack looked up from his book and saw a familiar face with a neck long ponytail of blood red hair.
"What do you mean by that exactly?" Zack asked bluntly as he closed his book and put it in his duffle bag that was underneath the bench.
"I can smell the blood of many foes on you. Death follows you, yet you don't seem to care or have knowledge of it. Death was going to claim you if not for Ulysses intervening." Skarlet said bluntly with narrowed eyes of her own. "I am no damsel in distress earth realmer. Don't pretend that you can save me form Rain again. Otherwise, it will spell your end." Skarlet said before walking away from Zack, who simply took a deep breath before standing.
"There's something strange going on here. Maybe I should investigate things a bit." Zack said to himself. He had many talents after all, and if he can stop Kimball from being assassinated, then he can surely get information on an old man who can float. The problem would be his fighters though.
"Courier Six." A voice called out to him again. This time when he looked to the left, he saw Liu Kang, Raiden and the actor known as Johnny Cage rushing up to him.
"What's going on Raiden? You looking to hire me for a job?" Zack asked with a coy smile.
"We can explain on the way Courier dude. Right now, we need your help to save Sonya and her friend." Johnny said confusing Zack a bit.
"I'm sorry what?" Zack asked.
"Sonya Blade and her ally have been captured by Shang Tsung. He won't hesitate to kill them in order to gain the upper hand in this tournament. We must stop him before its too late." Raiden explained as Zack now had a serious look on his face before he picked up his duffle bag.
"Lead the way Raiden." Zack said before he followed the group towards Sonya Blade's location.
END
A/N: Okay a Fallout and Mortal Kombat crossover story. I don't think it's been done like this yet and I am ready to pioneer this tricky path of writing. Anyway, things are going to be a bit different from canon…Well the second timelines cannon anyway.
Remember to fav, follow and review.
