April 14th/2003

Shang Tsung's Island/Underground Cave of Souls

"Is this the place?" Zack asked in total confusion. Raiden brought them into this dark cave via teleportation through his lightning powers; teleportation wasn't new to Zack but it was a strange process and it was even stranger when electricity and magic was added to the mix.

Zack looked over his Pip-Boy and checked his biological status and saw that his implants and cybernetically modified heart, brain and spine are still in good shape. Zack let out a sigh of relief when his modified organs didn't short circuit from the forced teleportation.

"This should be near General Blades location. Everyone be on alert, Shang Tsung might have set up tracks to distract or hinder us." Raiden explained calmly before the group started moving through the underground cave system of horrors and bizarre experiments.

"What is all this?" Johnny asked as he glanced down at the gore and bones all over the place.

"This place will be your grave." A familiar voice spoke as the group saw Baraka walking up to them from an open passageway along with a few other of his fellow Tarkatans, and behind them was a four-armed woman in armored robes with a yin yang sign on the belt. The woman was also flanked by other Tarkatans.

"Shang Tsung has ordered the death of any intruders. Prepare yourselves form combat" The woman said before tossing the robe aside and revealed that she was wearing some tough looking armor made from the leather of animals not native to earth.

"Well, this could have gone better." Johnny said before getting into a combat stance along with Zack, Liu Kang and Raiden.

"You guys handle the weird blade mutants. I'll handle the four-armed one. Its finally time for me to fight seriously." Zack said in a serious tone of voice. The reason he used guns and weapons was to end things quickly during combat. In hand-to-hand, Zack had become a monster based on his physical abilities, experiences and body modifications.

"Your either brave or stupid." Johnny said before the Tarkatans charged at the group, causing the three of them to attack in response.

"You're a brave human. Not many would choose to fight a Shokan. My name is Sheeva, and I will give you an honorable death." Sheeva said before each fist of hers ignited in mystical flames and she shot each one out at Zack, who dodged out of the way of the flames and got close to Sheeva before attacking with a combination of punches and hooks, but four arms are better then two and she blocked the strikes before Zack kicked her right knee as hard as he could.

She staggered for a moment before Zack delivered a powerful dropkick to Sheeva's chest, sending her falling onto her back. Zack didn't relent and jumped on top of her and unloaded several punches to Sheeva's face before she used her arms to launch him off her. Zack landed hard on the ground a fair distance away, but quickly got back up to his feet.

Sheeva stood up and wiped some blood off her lip with a smile. However, she got into what looked like a runner's stance before she used her powerful legs to launch herself towards Zack at insane speeds. Zack blocked with his arms, but Sheeva had force like an RPG and with her four fists extended in front of her, she punched Zack even farther away and into a wall.

Zack fell to the ground and got back up to his knees and hands, but his head was low as he started hacking up some blood. However, Zack wasn't scared of the mutant and instead he felt a rush of adrenaline and smiled with excitement.

"I'm really in a bad way. I'm weaker than this mutant but fighting like this always gives me so much fun. Maybe I'm a fool." Zack said to himself as his mind was brought back to the Mojave.

Zack and Cass always got into fights with others whenever Cass got too drunk. Hell, Zack was crazy enough to knock out a Deathclaw with a punch boosted by a power fist, before he got his mechanical enhancements. It was like a primal force inside of him always wanted to push himself to the brink of death in order to become stronger.

"You've got power lady. So, tell me. Do you like fighting as much as I do?" Zack asked as he forced himself to his feet and walked over to Sheeva with his guard up.

"Fighting is the way of the Shokan. I'd be an embarrassment to our race if I didn't enjoy combat. However, it is rare to see a human like you enjoy it, despite being on the losing end." Sheeva said before she rushed Zack.

Sheeva was paying Zack the proper respect in this fight. He more than earned the right. He didn't whimper and cower in fear of her superior strength and ability, instead he kept fighting and giving everything just for his chance of victory to improve by the slightest amount. Or maybe he just enjoyed the thrill of the fight, either way, Sheeva would give Zack the proper honor he deserved.

Zack evaded a few blows from Sheeva, but even with V.A.T.S; Zack was in bad shape. He countered a few punches but not all of them, each punch felt like he was being hit with a sledgehammer and her kicks were no joke either.

Zack managed to fake out Sheeva though. He gave a few feints in his strikes and was able to fool the Shokan. In response to that, Zack was able to deliver a powerful uppercut to the woman. Unfortunately, she didn't have a glass jaw like many people would and was a trained fighter, so she shrugged off the hit with her own smile.

Zack now activated his V.A.T.S once again but this time aimed at a critical spot in the chest before he altered his fist a bit before he delivered a trick punch that he learned from some of the deadliest fighters in the wasteland. The punch was called the Paralyzing Palm Technique.

The strike would hit a nerve cluster near and above the heart in order to temporarily paralyze the opponent and leave them open to deadly attacks, however with added force and lower aim at the heart, it would kill. Your palm must be open with your fingers curled.

The technique struck Sheeva, and with Zack's inhuman strength, the Shokan was rendered immobile for a moment as her legs started to wobble. She was still standing but her body control was distorted, and Zack pounced on the chance. He hit her with a Ranger Tackle before putting Sheeva in a tight neck hold to restrict her breathing.

The strategy worked and since Sheeva couldn't breathe properly after the Paralyzing Palm Technique, she didn't take long to pass out. When that was done, Zack made his way back to his friends and saw that they were rushing towards him as well.

"Zack you look like hell. What happened with that four-armed monster chick?" Johnny asked bluntly.

"She's out but not for long." Zack said as he started to walk forward but fell to a knee and held his chest. The adrenaline started to wear off and he started to really feel the blows that he took during the fight.

"Let me heal you." Raiden said in a concerned voice before Zack once again forced himself to his feet.

"There's no time. We've got to find this Sonya chick. My body will heal soon anyway." Zack said with a tough front. His healing implant would heal his body, but damage like this would take hours. Technically this healing was his own body's healing responses that are being amplified by the implant and not true regeneration. But right now, Zack doesn't care about the science behind it.

"Courier…Never mind." Liu Kang said before the group started to move through the cave system before they eventually came up to the proper location. They saw Sonya Blade, knocked down to the ground and standing over her is a blue ninja and behind the ninja is Shang Tsung.

"Looks like we have company." Shang said in a superior sounding voice as the group also noticed a buff man with dark skin and terrible injuries was on the ground behind Sonya.

"You old bastard." Zack grunted out as he made his way towards the sorcerer, but was stopped when the blue ninja extended his hands and released torrents of ice magic in front of Zack's feet, forming a sizeable pool of ice on the ground.

"If you want him, you'll have to go through me." The ninja said in an arrogant voice.

"Taking out other warriors before they have a chance to fight Shang Tsung? How gutless." Raiden responded in anger.

"The Elder God's aren't here to stop me Raiden, and Sonya Blade was snooping through my private affairs." Shang responded with a hard to read look on his face.

"If you want a fight, you've got one." Zack said bravely before Liu Kang stepped up and put his hand out in front of Zack's chest.

"You're in no condition to fight. I will handle the ninja." Liu Kang said before he stepped over the frozen puddle. His feet caught on fire and melted the ice. Zack was equally shocked to see Liu Kang's fists catching on fire as well. "I will be your opponent."

"And I will freeze your fire." The ninja said before the two of them rushed each other and the fight was intense to say the least. Liu Kang had more skill than the ice ninja, and his fire stopped all the ninjas' special attacks from landing and doing damage.

It didn't take a genius to know a bad match up like this. The fight ended with Liu Kang delivering a powerful kick to the ninjas' face, which knocked him onto the ground and rendered him unconscious.

Shang had a disgusted look on his face before he moved his hands and vanished in a cloud of green energy.

"Thanks." Sonya said in a grateful but still sour tone of voice while Johnny helped her up.

"Don't worry. You're going to get better soon." Zack said as he helped up the man who seemed to have come to, during Liu Kang's fight.

"Thanks kid." The man said and soon enough the group got teleported out of the cave system via Raiden's teleportation magic again, and they emerged near the beach of the island.

Raiden put his healing magic to use and healed Sonya, Zack and Jax. He didn't even seem tired from the effort before he started speaking.

"As you all know by now. This tournament is of extreme importance, and Shang Tsung will stop at nothing to help his dark master win this tournament. The fighters here are ruthless and will stop at nothing to see Earthrealm destroyed. If Earthrealm is to survive, you all must win this tournament." Raiden said in a commanding but still sincere and honorable voice.

"You can count me in. It wouldn't be the first time I helped saved the world." Zack said with a smile.

"Same here Raiden. That old bastard has people like Kano on the payroll. With the black dragons being involved, I'm not backing out of this fight." Sonya said with her own determination.

"I owe that bastard a beatdown for what he did to me and my unit." Jax said in anger.

"I'll always be with you master." Liu Kang said with honor in his voice.

"This situation is a lot like my movie Shatter-Star. You'll need a kickass hero like me on your team if you want to win this thing." Johnny said arrogantly, making Sonya, Jax and Zack roll their eyes.

"Thank you all." Raiden said before they saw people gathering for the next fight, and sure enough the group followed the crowd towards the large fighting arena in the open space of the island.

1

"Combatants, the next fight shall begin." Shang said from his highchair overlooking the crowd, and in the center of the fighting stage came a large burst of flames. When the flames vanished, everyone saw a yellow and black clad ninja with two swords on his back standing front and center.

"I have come here to avenge my family and clan! Bring me Subzero!" The ninja demanded Shang as Zack and Liu Kang both noticed Raiden walk off and speak to one of the robed monks nearby.

"You will not make demands of me Scorpion. Now, who here is brave enough to step forward?" Shang asked the crowd of fighters, before the monk who Raiden spoke with, walked up to the stage.

"Kung Lao?" Liu Kang asked in confusion as the monk shed his robes and revealed himself to be a monk similar to Liu Kang, except he had a strange looking hat on his head.

"Who?" Zack asked back in confusion.

"He is my friend and fellow Shaolin. But he should not have come here." Liu Kang said back.

"Forget about this Subzero. Now you face a Shaolin." Kung Lao said before getting into his own combat stance.

"You will regret this fight boy." Scorpion said in anger before getting into his own stance as the battle began.

Scorpion rushed Kung Lao with blinding speed, he was a blur and Kung Lao was quickly knocked down to the ground with a savage punch to the chest. Kung Lao did a roll and stood back up before spinning in a 360 of equally fast speeds, which Scorpion inadvertently collided with, and as a result he was knocked back in turn from the force of his own attack being bounced back at him.

Kung Lao stopped his spin and threw his hat at Scorpion. The hat spun around like a saw blade as Scorpion ducked underneath it and tried to rush Kung Lao again but noticed that the hat was catching up behind him. The ninja Scorpion drew both his swords and used them to block the hat. When the two objects collided, sparks flew into the air before Scorpion stepped to the side and saw the hat fly back into Kung Lao's hand.

Kung Lao leaped towards Scorpion with a powerful jump and in the air he almost seemed to defy gravity as his trajectory changed and he landed on Scorpion's torso and delivered a series of rapid punches and quick succession, which ended with a powerful elbow to Scorpion's jaw, before the monk jumped off and took a few steps back.

"Ha! Is that the best you can do?" Kung Lao asked mockingly and with a laugh before Scorpion's body burst into flames. For a moment a few people wondered if he just died, but Scorpion quickly appeared behind Kung Lao and struck the back of his head with a sharp kick. The kick created a gash on the back of the monk's head.

Kung Lao again stood back up, but this time was assaulted from various angles by Scorpion as he teleported around the battlefield. Sadly, Kung Lao didn't know how to fight against something like that and was just striking towards the location he thought Scorpion would strike, but Kung Lao was knocked down for the final time by Scorpion putting him into a complex hold, before he tossed Kung Lao aside and out of bounce of the fighting stage.

The fight was over.

"Next time listen to your elders when they speak. You could not win this fight." Raiden said sternly to the downed monk, who was flanked by Liu Kang and Zack, who tried helping him up.

"You put up a hell of a fight though. I bet if you train a bit harder, you'll win the next time around." Zack said back to the monk, who looked up at him with a black eye and bloodied nose…Also about a dozen other injuries but that isn't important.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Zack but you can also call me Courier Six." Zack said back to the monk.

"Great. I got humiliated in front of the milk man." Kung Lao said in a sour tone, which made Zack scowl before he lightly punched the monks damaged arm, making him recoil and groan in pain.

"Call me a milk man again and I'll break it." Zack said back before noticing that the next fight had already started.

Scorpion was fighting against a fighter that Zack could have sworn, was a tribal who could have stepped right out of Zion. The powers of warriors in this place honestly confuse Zack. This tribal has spiritual abilities like 'Shaw-Man' from the Unstoppable comics.

Thankfully Hubris comics exist in this universe as well. Anyway, the tribalistic man uses bows and axes as weapons against Scorpion, who seemed to be a bit on the backfoot. Zack could respect the man because he didn't underestimate his enemy like Kung Lao had done and was fighting seriously.

The tribal fired and landed a spiritual arrow on Scorpion's chest and from the sky came down a bolt of lightning that struck Scorpion down for a moment. Scorpion quickly got back up and fired a series of fireballs at the tribal who's body glowed with a bright green light as the fireballs hit him and somehow got reflected at Scorpion; in response, Scorpion used both his swords to slash through his fireballs as he closed the distance between them and decided to end things with his swords.

"He's good." Zack said while watching the fight.

"No kidding. Who is he?" Johnny asked as he came up to his newfound teammates.

"That is Nightwolf. He is a Shaman of Earthrealm and he is a trusted ally." Raiden said before the fight ended. Nightwolf was strong and had Scorpion for a moment, but Scorpion had tricks up his sleeve, like his kunai on a chain. He used it to take out Nightwolf's kneecap in a brutal fashion before he used his strength to pull Nightwolf close to him and deliver a jaw breaking uppercut.

Thankfully Scorpion refused to end Nightwolf's life, much to Shang Tsung's annoyance. Raiden and Zack went to Nightwolf's side and saw that Nightwolf had already started healing his own injury with his mysterious magic.

"You fought valiantly Nightwolf." Raiden said as Zack looked on at the process and saw Nightwolf's bone, cartilage and flesh repair itself with magic.

"Thank you, Raiden. I'm ashamed to say I underestimated that demon's thirst for revenge. He won't stop until he achieves his vengeance." Nightwolf said before turning at Zack. "You should be careful as well."

"Thanks for telling me." Zack said back before Shang Tsung spoke again and several other fights took place. Zack took note of all the other fighters around and noticed a few other Earthrealmer's or at least who he assumed to be from Earthrealm. Those people were dressed in ninja fashion as well and were yellow and red.

"Raiden, could they help us?" Zack asked the thunder god, while he pointed towards the direction of the two ninjas.

"I do not believe so. Those two are assassins of the Lin Kuei clan. Shang Tsung hired them to fight for Outworld."

"Great. Fighting assassins seems to happen in every reality." Zack said with narrowed eyes before he saw the glance that the two ninjas gave him.

Soon enough the fights moved on to Shang Tsung's small castle or more specifically his throne room and the remaining fighters all gathered in the room. Zack noticed the two ninjas speaking and seeming to argue before Scorpion himself entered the room.

Raiden had spoke to him about something important before the fighters relocated and Zack along with the rest of the growing team of Earthrealm defenders could only guess about what the thunder god and demon could talk about.

"Your inferior clan is dead, Scorpion. Soon, you will join them." The yellow clad ninja said with a mocking tone.

"Asshole." Zack said loudly enough to get that ninja's attention.

"My clan…May walk the earth once more." Scorpion said back before the ninja rudely pushed him back, which got Scorpion pissed and into his own fighting stance.

"Now our next fight will start." Shang said as he capitalized on the opportunity. "Scorpion will face Cyrax and Sektor of the Lin Kuei."

"How the hell is that fair?!" Zack shouted at the old man who smirked.

"This tournament isn't about being fair, boy! But since you are eager to fight. You will join Scorpion in this fight." Shang demanded as Zack narrowed his eyes and stepped forward.

"I won't back away from a challenge old man." Zack said before he walked towards Scorpion's side across from both ninja's and soon enough the fight started.

Scorpion rushed Cyrax and Sektor charged at Zack, who barely had enough time to guard against the attack. Sektor was strong but not as strong as Sheeva, so Zack had no issue in countering his strikes with his own.

The ninja was letting his anger make him sloppy and vulnerable. After Sektor missed a high kick, Zack countered by jumping back and pulling his dominant arm back before leaping forward and struck Sektor in the chest with his Legion Assault Technique.

With Zack's strength the attack did a modest amount of damage, but Sektor was still standing and rushed Zack again. Zack ducked under a strong hook punch, but that punch was a fake out and Sektor landed a high knee to Zack's chin, which rocked him for a moment. The moment was all Sektor needed before attacking with lethal strikes in a powerful combination of punches and palm strikes.

Zack was knocked down to the ground for a moment and hacked up a bit of blood. Sektor had delivered a strong chop to his throat to try and cut off his breathing, but time in the Mojave had more than toughened the Courier up. Besides, he survived being tortured by the Legion. So, he could survive against a pissed off ninja.

"Is that the best the Lin Kuei can do?" Zack asked tauntingly before he charged at Sektor and delivered his own combination of strikes. Zack, however focused on Sektor's pressure points and delivered strikes to vital areas to disrupt Sektor's body and blood flow.

He thanked the gods for finding the insane amount of books from the Big Empty.

Anyway, Zack saw his attacks successfully hindering the ninja, before Sektor had started throwing some of his shuriken at Zack out of desperation for some distance. Zack did evade them and was left open for Sektor when he rushed the Courier with two kunai in hand. Zack responded by kicking out Sektor's exposed knee, and with a sickening crunch he saw Sektor drop to the ground, holding his destroyed knee cap.

"Do you yield?"

"I am Lin Kuei. We yield to no one." Sektor said and through brute force alone stood on one knee to try and strike down Zack with a punch, but Zack caught the fist before delivering his Paralyzing Palm Technique to Sektor. The man dropped like a rag doll.

Scorpion finished his fight as well and had Cyrax laid out on the floor. With a few broken bones of his own.

"These ninjas don't have any weird powers, so there was no problem." Zack said with a scowl as he looked down at both Lin Kuei warriors.

"I did not need your help, but I won't forget it." Scorpion said bluntly to Zack as Zack noticed Raiden nodding his head in approval before Scorpion turned towards Shang Tsung.

"I will fight Subzero, but I won't kill him." Scorpion said, causing the man next to Shang Tsung to scowl in response.

"Will not, or cannot?" A familiar voice said from the doorway. Everyone looked on and saw that it was none other than Subzero, with both his arms giving off mist like vapors.

Now Zack did the smart thing and backed away when Subzero got close to Scorpion and saw his fellow Lin Kuei on the ground.

"To hell with your clan Scorpion."

"No, to hell with you!" Scorpion shouted before putting his hands on Subzero and teleporting them both away in a burst of fire.

"Do you think he can win?" Liu Kang asked Zack.

"I don't know. Hopefully Scorpion will keep his word. Killing for revenge doesn't heal the pain, it only leaves you hollow on the inside." Zack said back to Liu Kang before glancing over at the other enemies in the room along with them and more importantly, he looked over at Ulysses, who had kept his eyes on Zack's fight the entire time.

END!

A/N: Another chapter done, and things are heating up ladies and gentlemen. Now, I'll be blunt and say that power level rating in MK is difficult to say the least, but it isn't impossible. Sektor and Cyrax are skilled human ninjas, but they lack the same powers that Bi-Han and his brother have, so realistically in a MK tournament they wouldn't be any harder than fighting another skilled human fighter.

Sheeva on the other hand is a Shokan warrior who has been fighting since birth and simply underestimated Zack. It won't happen again. People will get stronger and advance through this story so stay tuned for that.

Anyway, please fav, follow and review.