April 14th/2003
Shang Tsung's Island/Shang Tsung's throne room
The group of fighters waited patiently for Subzero and Scorpion to return after the fight. The fight has so far lasted a while and people were anxious about who would be the victor.
Sadly, the truth was revealed in a burst of flames as Scorpion returned to the throne room holding a skull attached to the spinal cord as his head was down and he had a hollow look on his face. Zack noticed and understood the look, but he also noticed how the person called Quan Chi appeared next to Shang Tsung quickly after Scorpion appeared making the courier think that the strange sorcerer had some kind of influence over the fight.
Scorpion said nothing as he dropped the skull onto the ground before letting out a scream of anguish before vanishing again in a burst of flames as fighters quickly left the room while Raiden, Zack and the wounded Cyrax walked up to the now shattered skull.
"Such a shame. I had hoped that my talk with Scorpion could have changed this outcome. Subzero once defended Earthrealm from the forces of Quan Chi and his master Shinnok." Raiden said sadly as Cyrax balled up his fists.
"Scorpion will pay for this." Cyrax said as Zack looked over at the ninja and at Sektor who had just been healed by Shang Tsung.
"Subzero's fate was his own doing." Raiden responded.
"His own doing?" Cyrax asked in rage before Raiden looked him in the eyes.
"The Lin Kuei has a history of making ruinous choices. Such as the cyber initiative."
"Tell me the cyber initiative isn't what I think it is." Zack said in a grim tone as he had a suspicion about the operation based on his past experiences.
"I am among the people speaking up against the grand masters' plans. Turning us into glorified robots goes against our principles. It strips us of our free will and kills our intuition. Strips us of our instincts." Cyrax said with heavy breath before he turned and walked away from Raiden and Zack.
"Are you thinking about flipping him? He didn't seem like much of a team player earlier." Zack said to the thunder god.
"Cyrax is rough around the edges, but he is an honorable warrior. If he can be turned against Shang Tsung; our odds will rise drastically." Raiden said before they both left the room along with the rest of the Earthrealm champions.
1
Cyrax
Walking through the massive compound on the island is the lone Cyrax who was questioning his clans' motives and goals. He was also nursing his wounds that didn't get healed from his fight with Scorpion.
"What is the grandmaster thinking? What is Sektor thinking for that matter? Transforming our clan into robotic assassins goes against nature itself." Cyrax said to himself as he walked through the smaller version of Outworld's living forest before his honed senses alerted him to danger as he quickly turned around and saw two Outworlders heading his way.
An Osh-Tekk and a Tarkatan. Not the champions of their races mind you, but it was still bizarre and concerning as a large man painted blue with white markings held a bone dagger in his hands while the Tarkatan readied his blades.
"What's going on? I am an invited guest of Shang Tsung and fight on his behalf." Cyrax said before the Osh-Tekk spoke up.
"Shang Tsung has no need for your services Earthrealmer. Consider this a termination of your agreement." The Aztec-like warrior said before he raised his dagger and cut his chest to draw blood while the Tarkatan rushed in.
Cyrax evaded the clumsy swings with greater effort than normal. His wounds giving him trouble as he received a sharp kick to the stomach from the Tarkatan savage before he was knocked down to the ground from being hit in the chest by a beam of condensed sunlight that burnt a whole in his ninja gi and burnt his flesh as well.
However, wounds like this wouldn't keep a trained Lin Kuei down as Cyrax quickly got up by swinging his legs in a crescent motion to knock the Tarkatan off balance as Cyrax got up and reached for his belt which held his equipment.
He didn't use any on Scorpion due to the close proximity and risk of the attacks backfiring, but against these two it would be no issue as Cyrax grabbed one of his bombs and flipped into the air in order to land on the Tarkatan's chest which forced his mouth open to release a pain filled yell before Cyrax readied his bomb and stuffed it into the Tarkatan's mouth before stomping on its chest to crush its windpipe.
Cyrax jumped off the Tarkatan and avoided another beam of sunlight as his bomb detonated and destroyed the Tarkatan's head in a disturbing display of gore. Cyrax however didn't bat an eye and neither did the Osh-Tekk as Cyrax rushed in and avoided another beam of sunlight before getting close and delivered a series of rapid punches to the Osh-Tekk warrior which had him stager back a bit.
The Osh-Tekk tightly gripped his dagger and slashed at Cyrax several times as Cyrax barely avoided getting fatally cut as he had shallow cuts on his body now before he kicked out the Osh-Tekk's kneecap which finally brought the man down to a knee.
Cyrax took out another bomb and this time he bashed it against the Osh-Tekk's face and bashed in his nose with a sickening crunch as blood gushed from the wound. Cyrax delivered a second strike of his unprimed bomb before he removed the safety pin and shoved it down the Osh-Tekk's throat before jumping and knocking the warriors' head down onto the ground with a powerful kick delivered to the top of his skull.
Cyrax used the momentum of the kick he landed to gain some distance from the Osh-Tekk as his head and upper torso exploded in a similar fashion to the Tarkatan's head.
Cyrax fell to a knee and found his body exhausted. He was at his limit and even trying to move proved to be a struggle.
"Get up Cyrax." Cyrax said to himself with a few deep breaths before he let out a strained groan as he stood up and started walking towards the main fighting area where other fighters had gathered. "Shang Tsung has betrayed me…I need to know why."
2
"This isn't a real fight." Zack said as dozens of people had gathered outside while Shang was seated on his highchair while dozens of monks sat on their knees in front of him. The fighting yard was the same yard that Scorpion had first fought in, but the atmosphere was different. Jax's and Sonya had both been eliminated from the tournament, which was bad, but what was worse was when Kung Lao got eliminated by Rain and now Rain was fighting against a random monk while Kung Lao was getting healed by Raiden.
"My duster won't be able to take another hit from that dude." Zack said to himself as his duster was now severely worn down at this point and could hardly protect him from anything.
Some members of the crowd looked away from the fight however, and saw Cyrax walking towards the fighting arena, but was stopped by Sektor.
"Cyrax where have you been?" Sektor asked in a frustrated tone of voice.
"Forgive me Sektor, but our guest tried to have me killed." Cyrax said loudly enough for Shang Tsung to hear as the old wizard spoke up in response.
"You were speaking to the thunder god! You have dishonored our arrangement!" Shang replied in annoyance as Raiden scowled after Kung Lao was fully healed.
"Cyrax is Lin Kuei! He will honor the agreement we made!" Sektor replied.
"Watch your tone Sektor. However, since you believe in him so much, he will be the next contestant." Shang Tsung said with a sadistic smile knowing that Cyrax wasn't in a position where he could decline the match for the sake of healing his wounds. "Cyrax will fight Zack!"
"Damn." Zack said as he made his way to the fighting stage while staring down Rain before turning towards the poor monk he fought and killed.
The monk had a hole blasted through his chest by a stream of high-pressured water. The horror only continued when Shang Tsung's hand glowed an emerald color as he hit the monk's corpse with a beam of magic that drained the corpse until it was literal skin and bones.
"Soul stealer." Zack muttered as Raiden had explained in detail about what Shang could do if he, Liu Kang or Johnny managed to make it far enough in the tournament. "There's no shame in withdrawing."
"There's no shame in it for you perhaps." Cyrax said back with a strained breath as the duo stood across from each other in the ring as Zack saw all the injuries that Cyrax was dealing with, but Zack also knew that he had to put his sympathy aside for now and focus on the real objective here.
Ending the tournament and making sure that Earthrealm isn't destroyed.
"Fight!" Shang ordered as Cyrax rushed at Zack, but at a much slower paste than normal and Zack side stepped the charge before hitting Cyrax in the stomach with a high knee.
Cyrax fell like a ton of bricks from the blow and was struggling to even stay on his hands and knees as he tried to stand.
"Finish him!" Shang ordered as Cyrax collapsed onto the ground from exhaustion. So, Zack grabbed Cyrax by his shirt and held him up on his shaky and unsteady legs before looking over at Shang Tsung.
"I won't kill him!" Zack proclaimed with honor before he helped Cyrax walk over to Raiden. Much to the frustration of both Sektor and Shang Tsung.
"Why are you helping me? I deserve death…I failed my clan." Cyrax said in a sad tone of voice before Zack laid him down onto the ground near his teammates.
"Shut up with that crap. Now I don't know what rules your clan has, but sending a wounded warrior to fight on their behalf and expecting him to win is idiotic and self-destructive." Zack told the ninja firmly. "When you fought Scorpion you lost, but you at least fought at your best and did everything you could. Afterwards you most likely got jumped since you have new injuries and Shang didn't even bother healing you like he did Sektor. Hell Sektor didn't even ask him to heal you…As far as I'm concerned. You didn't fail your clan, they betrayed you."
"Zack speaks the truth Cyrax. You are lucky you could still stand during the fight with your injuries. Sektor was a fool to try and send you to your death just to appease Shang Tsung." Raiden said before his hands sparked with lightning as he began to heal Cyrax who was laid down on the bloodied ground.
"Such kindness will only bring Earthrealm closer to defeat." Shang said in anger. "The next match will start! Zack will fight against Skarlet!" Shang ordered as the blood mage stepped onto the ring.
"Rest up Cyrax. After your healed and get rest, you can decide what you want to do." Zack said before he stepped into the ring while looking over Skarlet who had her knife at the ready.
"Don't think I will be as easy to best in kombat." Skarlet said as she got into her own ready stance.
"I won't underestimate you. That would be welcoming an untimely death." Zack said as he got into his own stance before Shang announced the match to begin.
Skarlet gripped her knife with her off hand before slicing it and drawing blood. She then extended her left hand outwards and sent out a pointed spike of hardened blood at Zack who barely dodged out of the way as he decided to go in close.
Zack aimed to hit Skarlet with a series of quick punches to test her defense. Skarlet on the other hand parried the blows and countered with her own strikes of her knife. One slash was all it took as she cut the back of Zack's hand when he tried to move the knife out of the way. She didn't waste a moment before she used her magic to draw blood out of Zack along with drawing her own blood as she used the blood to coat her knife and form a spear of hardened blood.
"Oh shit." Zack cursed as he kept backfooting away from Skarlet's strikes as she kept cutting him with her strikes.
Zack knew that the fight wasn't going to end in his favor at this rate, so he activated V.A.T.S to try and figure out the best course of action. With the ability, Zack saw a high chance of knocking her off balance when she stepped into an attack, so instead of backing away, Zack waited for another thrust from Skarlet's spear before he leaned to the side and moved in through her guard as he kicked her back with a spartan kick as hard as he could.
The kick sent Skarlet back a few steps, which made her lose control and the hardened blood spear became a liquid again and splashed onto the ground as her knife remained him her hand.
Skarlet simply steadied herself before chanting some strange words as she had a blood pentagram appear in front of her face as the blood on the ground rose into the air and formed individual pointed spikes the size of a railroad nail. Then she sent them flying straight down as Zack couldn't avoid getting hit and instead did the best thing he could do.
He bent down low to the ground and tucked his knees into his chest before using his arms to cover his head and neck from the spikes as three spikes punctured his arms at the places where he could have been killed.
The neck, the top of the skull and the back of the skull.
The injuries hurt and burned like hell, but he was still alive and stood back up. Pain was nothing new to Zack and he simply grit his teeth before he looked at the two spikes in his right arm and the one in his left.
"If this keeps up, I'll drain you of all your blood Earthrealmer." Skarlet said back in a warning tone of voice as Zack used his hands to remove each spike to the shock of Skarlet and a few of the warriors and monks.
"Hardcore." Johnny said in amazement as he had gotten out his phone and was recording the entire fight.
"Actually, due to some unfortunate circumstances. I can lose a lot more blood than normal people can. So, this fight isn't over yet." Zack said with a heavy breath before he rushed Skarlet again.
Zack wasn't lying about the blood loss, but he wasn't overestimating himself either. If the blood in his body went below a certain threshold, his cybernetically enhanced heart would start to malfunction and that could mean death.
Zack focused on wearing down Skarlet's defense with an overwhelming number of blows. He lands several punches and kicks but in exchange he takes a slash or kick in retaliation. The fact is that Skarlet has the advantage of magic while Zack is simply a tough and experienced human.
Ultimately Zack found himself on a battlefield covered in his own blood mixed in with hers and several new wounds on his body from getting stabbed or slashed with a knife or a weapon made from blood. Zack honestly wondered why Skarlet didn't simply absorb all the blood in his body and be done with it, but at the same time he was thankful that she didn't do that.
"You've fought well against me Earthrealmer, but this fight is coming to an end." Skarlet said as a lot of the blood on the ground flew towards her and with the blood, she formed a scythe of blood.
"I threw everything I had at you, and I could hardly do any damage to you…I guess this is the limit of my ability…I surrender Skarlet." Zack said loudly which took Skarlet off-guard and had Shang fuming over it.
In mortal kombat a person either got killed or admitted defeat and Shang hated the idea of not being able to kill any of the annoying Earthrealmer's that was ruining this tournament for him and his master.
"What? You surrender? How can you call yourself a warrior if you don't fight until your last breath?" Skarlet asked in shock as Zack gave her a smile.
"A warrior dying honorably on the battlefield is one thing, but dying for a fight you know you can't win is foolishness. I have faced many dangers that questioned my life and my ability to live, but until now I always had a chance or idea of what I can do to survive. Fighting you made me realize that I metaphorically hit a brick wall. I can't do anything to truly harm you and you have nearly unlimited tools at your disposal to end me. So, instead of dying in vain I will simply leave this fight until I am better prepared for another one." Zack explained calmly. "Besides, I don't truly want to hurt you anyway Skarlet. I see pain in your eyes, and I don't want to cause you anymore."
Skarlet was taken back by Zack's words as the blood she held in her hands once again took a liquid form and hit the ground as she sheathed her knife and pondered the couriers' words. She was confused about what he meant and even more confused about how he claimed to see the pain within her eyes…Pain was something she was used to by now, but having someone actually see it within her hardened expression made her feel strange as she too left the ring.
"I wish the outcome was different, but I understand why you surrendered." Raiden said as he was prepared to heal Zack as well before Zack spoke up.
"You don't need to heal me Raiden. I can still heal before blood loss becomes a concern. Besides I meant what I said to her. There is a noticeable gap between the fighters in this place and a semi-normal guy like me just can't keep up." Zack admitted honestly.
"Do not underestimate yourself Zack. You are strong and I sense within you an Arcana that is waiting to be awakened." Raiden replied as Zack was confused by what Raiden had just said.
Actually, the only ones who weren't confused where Kung Lao and Liu Kang.
"What's an Arcana?" Zack asked with his usual bluntness.
"A proper explanation can wait. For now, the tournament is our main priority." Raiden said wisely as the last fighters for Earthrealm were Liu Kang and Johnny Cage respectively.
3
April 16th/2003
Shang Tsung's Island/Shang Tsung's throne room
Shang Tsung sat on his throne as several fighters had gathered in the throne room once again as the end of the tournament was near.
Liu Kang was Earthrealm's last remaining champion and said Champion had just bested Scorpion and Quan Chi in a fierce battle of wills with Liu Kang still in fighting shape. The forces of Outworld looked on at the fight just like the forces of Earthrealm.
Cyrax had remained by Raiden's side but hadn't spoken much since his fight with Zack. His allegiance was still up in the air at the moment and Shang Tsung was looking like he was ready to explode in rage.
"Liu Kang! You are Earthrealm's last remaining champion! As the rules dictate, you must now face the previous champion in mortal kombat!" Shang Tsung explained as Liu Kang stared at the old sorcerer. "To the lair with you!"
Shang Tsung's hand glowed with magical power as a small portal emerged from underneath Liu Kang, causing him to literally fall in it as it closed quickly behind him.
"Where did he go?" Sonya asked in shock.
"To Goro's lair. There he will face a powerful Shokan warrior that had remained Outworld's champion for hundreds of years." Raiden explained to the group who all shared worries for the monk.
"Be strong Liu Kang." Zack said before he glanced over at Ulysses who leaned against the wall away from most of the Outworlder's.
Liu Kang
"That could have gone better." Liu said to himself as he landed on his feet by enhancing them with Chi. The place Liu found himself in was the underground lair of Goro. Littered with various skeletons and not all of them human.
"It has been ages since Earthrealm has produced a champion that has made it this far in the tournament." A booming voice said from behind Liu Kang as he turned around and saw the four-armed Shokan known as Goro step out of the shadows wearing a red fur like cape that he tossed aside.
"Goro." Liu Kang said as he got into a ready stance as his feet and hands were ablaze with Chi powered flames.
"I am the champion of mortal kombat. I will grant you're an honorable death." Goro claimed before his four hands glowed with their own flames before he thrust each one at Liu Kang.
Liu parried each mystical fire blast with his nunchaku that he kept on him before he propelled himself forward with a flying dragon kick that hit Goro square in the chest before the shaolin monk followed the kick up with a knee to the Shokan's chin and a flip kick which sent Goro onto his back for a moment while Liu Kang landed back on his feet.
Goro raised his four arms and pounded the ground with immense strength that caused the ground to move beneath the monks' feet and stagger him before Goro rushed in and savagely punched Liu Kand into one of the cave walls with intense force.
Goro didn't waste time however as he moved in to continue the assault. Liu however quickly got up and sent out a series of his own fireballs at Goro who raised his arms and blocked the flames before Liu charged at the Shokan and attacked with his own Chi enhanced bicycle kicks which forced Goro backwards several steps before Liu stopped and with flames engulfing his palm, he hit Goro's stomach and sent the Shokan flying into a wall.
"I think I left a bigger hole in the wall than you did." Liu said tauntingly as he was ready to continue the fight.
"Crafty monk." Goro said before he surprised Liu by grabbing a spiked rock pillar out of the ground and threw it at Liu who pulled his fist back before sending it forward to punch the spiked rock, which shattered against Liu Kang's fist. But what Liu Kang didn't see was Goro rushing in behind the rock and as a result Liu Kang was grabbed by Goro's lower arms before being pummeled repeatedly by Goro's upper arms until the Shokan had enough and tossed Liu into the air.
Then with surprising accuracy Goro spun in a circle with his fists outwards as he delivered a massively powerful krushing blow to Liu Kang's stomach which had the monk coughing up blood before he collided into the ground with blood coming from his lips as he got up to his hands and knees.
"You fight good for a Earthrealmer. A few hundred more years and you could have been a worthy opponent for me." Goro said proudly as he walked towards Liu Kang who slowly stood back up to Goro's surprise as Liu Kang raised his hands before bringing them down to his chest in a prayer like motion before flames engulfed him. The flames were so bright that they temporarily blinded Goro who shielded his eyes and didn't see that Liu Kang had begun healing his own wounds with his Chi.
"A trick like this won't save you monk." Goro said as he slowly walked towards Liu as the flames died down allowing Goro to see Liu Kang again as Liu Kang had focused his magnificent flames into both his hands before he brought them together in a flawless meditative motion.
"This ends here." Liu Kang said before he focused the flames into his right fist and punched his fist into the ground which created a bright flame that rocketed towards Goro and behind him formed a serpentine dragon of flames that towered over Goro.
The dragon roared before it quickly chomped down on Goro's upper body before diving into the ground and leaving nothing but a pillar of flame as Goro was within its center and fell to the ground due to not only being ripped in half by the dragon's teeth made of pure flames, but the fire itself was hot enough to go through his defenses and truly harm him.
Once the flames died down Liu Kang once again brough his hands to his chest in a prayer like manner as he took a deep breath.
"Fatality." Liu said in victory before he saw another portal appear on the roof of the lair.
Liu Kang was physically ok, but it was a temporary fix, and his Chi reserves were low, but he still has one more battle to win and he won't fail not. So, he made his way over to the portal and with Chi enhancing his legs, he jumped and entered it.
Zack
Everyone waited in anticipation for the fighter who was going to emerge from the portal that Shang Tsung had created. Both sides were on the edge of their seats until the figure appeared and jumping out of the portal was none other than Liu Kang much to Shang Tsung's shock along with the shock of the other Outworlder's including Ulysses himself.
"I have bested your champion Shang Tsung. Now face me in mortal kombat." Liu Kang demanded as Shang stood up from his seat.
"Very well." Shang said before he descended down to the floor and quickly started the battle by rushing towards Liu Kang with a high kick that missed, but Shang quickly recovered and blasted Liu with a burst of green magical energy which sent Liu back a bit as all the other fighters stepped back for a bit to give them more space.
Shang magically summoned a green looking lantern-like object that floated near him and as soon as he did everyone of the Earthrealm warriors started feeling their energy drain from them.
"What foul sorcery is this Shang Tsung?! The others have already been eliminated from mortal kombat!" Raiden said in anger as the old man chuckled.
"They have been eliminated yes, but they're in my domain and I will do as I please. Their souls are mine!" Shang said darkly as he finally lost his patience.
"The hell they are!" Jax shouted as he and the others prepared to fight as well, but they stopped when they saw Shang's lantern explode from Liu's fireball that he released.
"All of you stay back. This is my fight, and I won't let him hurt any of you." Liu said in a serious tone of voice as Shang narrowed his eyes.
"You are annoying." Shang said before he shrouded his body in his magic and transformed into that of a Tarkatan and extended his own magically created arm blades. He charged at Liu with fast strikes that grazed Liu various times, but after one missed swipe, Liu grabbed the sorcerer's arm and raised a high knee at the elbow joint to deliver a krushing blow with a sickening snap.
Shang took a few steps away from the monk before changing form again into a multi-armed being that wasn't a Shokan.
"A Naknada." Kung Lao said as Shang attacked with his own krushing blows of a multi-armed combination of devastating attacks what left Liu staggered before Shang changed forms once again. This time he returned to his normal form and fired several flaming skulls from his hands at Liu who raised his arms to guard the barrage before Shang continued his assault by shapeshifting once again into an Osh-Tekk warrior and blasted Liu with a powerful and large beam of sunlight, causing a small explosion to occur making all the other warriors in attendance cough and struggle to breath.
"Liu Kang your days as a warrior are over. Your soul is mine." Shang said victoriously as he started walking towards where Liu had been blasted and as a reward, he received a flying dragon kick to the face which sent him back onto the ground.
"I'm not done sorcerer." Liu said back with heavy and wounded breath as he had bruises and burns marking his chest and parts of his arms, but he still stood tall as Shang stood back up and raised his arms with magic coursing through them as he sent his hands outwards and blasted Liu with a condensed beam of soul magic, but Liu countered with his own blast of flames.
The energies collided like fireworks and the people watching were in awe at what they saw before the beams both receded with neither getting the upper hand. Liu closed in with enhanced speed as he hit Shang with a combination of jabs, crosses and uppercuts. Each blow made Shang shift into a new form before Liu delivered a flaming uppercut to the sorcerer's chin which sent him high into the air before crashing on the ground as Liu Kang planted a foot firmly on his chest with his right fist lit with Chi flames and ready to deliver the final blow.
"Say it!" Liu demanded as Shang swallowed his pride and cowered in the face of possible death.
"I concede. Earthrealm wins." Shang said before a mysterious golden light emerged from the room and focused on Liu Kang who stepped away from the sorcerer and reunited with his allies.
Rain had created a portal to Outworld and the Outworlder's walked into it with Skarlet and Kitana looking back at the fighters. Skarlet looked at Zack while Kitana looked at Liu Kang before they entered the portal.
"He has won." Raiden said happily before he removed his mystical amulet that he wore on his chest and glanced at it expecting to see the cracks within it healed. But to his shock the cracks only grew as he looked on at Liu Kang being celebrated by his peers as the newest champion of mortal kombat.
END!
A/N: Woo baby I love mortal kombat and let's just say that this first Arc is only getting started and some of you may notice that I didn't include Ermac in the tournament or any of the other talented Outworld players…Don't worry, they have their parts and will come into play soon, but for now the tournament was small and hopefully all of you are enjoying the story.
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