"I froze, Lance. I couldn't move, couldn't speak, I couldn't even breathe!" Exclaimed Sonya as her team sat in the courtyard surrounded by the other fighters, each waiting for Shang Tsung's arrival.
"You're lucky that actor was there, Sonya." Added Pedro. Another Lieutenant under the command of Jackson Briggs, but here with Sonya on an unofficial mission. She sighed and nodded.
"Don't worry, Sonya. Kano isn't gonna make it off this island." Said Lance not removing his eyes from the notebook he sketched a drawing in.
"Here I am telling you I can't fight and you won't even pull your eyes off that notebook." Said Sonya frustrated.
"Sorry, I thought it would be a good idea for someone to keep a log of the events here. Ya know, just in case." Replied Lance.
"I would rather focus on just getting off this island." Spoke Pedro.
"Unfortunately, that will not be possible until the tournament is finished." Spoke Raiden as he approached the three with his favorite champions close behind. Johnny Cage, Liu Kang, Sub-Zero, Kenshi, Art Lean, Stryker, and Nightwolf each followed closely, waiting for Raiden to speak.
"You must be Raiden." Presumed Lance. "I'm…." He began before being cut off by the thunder god.
"I know who you are, Edward Lance. I know all of you." Said Raiden looking towards the fighters before him. "Johnny Cage, Liu Kang, Kenshi Takahashi, Edward Lance, Sonya Blade, Pedro Martinez, Nightwolf, Art Lean, and Kurtis Stryker. I personally selected all of the earthrealm defenders."
"I'm sure you can win this thing, no problem, if you're really a god that is." stated Johnny before Raiden spoke again.
"I can only participate if directly challenged." stated Raiden to the disappointment of his champions.
"Well, then consider yourself lucky I'm here…" began Johnny before Raiden cut him off again.
"Listen…. What you're about to face is vastly more important than your ego." He said looking towards Johnny. "Your enemy, Or your quest for vengeance. You've embarked on a sacred mission to defend the realm of earth. In a tournament called Mortal Kombat." Finished Raiden.
"Defend it from who?" Asked Lance as the heroes listened intently.
"Your world is but one of many realms. One of them is a forsaken land called Outworld. ruled by an immortal who has crowned himself emperor. Now he seeks a new world to conquer and enslave."
"So if this guy's so powerful, why doesn't he just invade us?" Asked Johnny.
"To enter the Realm of earth the Emperor's demon sorcerer, Shang Tsung and his warriors must win ten straight mortal kombat tournaments. They have won nine, this is the tenth tournament."
"How many of us are there again?" Asked Stryker, obviously concerned.
"Over sixty warriors represent earthrealm as of now, and I regret to inform you that over half won't survive the first day." Answered Raiden.
"What makes us any different?" Asked Lance.
"They are all great fighters, but I have looked into their souls, as well as yours. One of you will decide the fate of the tournament." Spoke Raiden.
"One of us?" Sonya asked, looking at her new allies. "So what happens next, Raiden." Spoke Sonya Blade.
"You will each fight In preliminary matches scattered across the island. I will warn you now that these fighters will be unlike any you've ever seen before, and they will fight with the intent to kill."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, I'm not going to kill anyone." Said Johnny Cage with Art Lean nodding in agreement.
"You are not required to kill anyone, but just because you chose to hold back does not mean others will. Know this as you fight. Now go, fight, and rest. I will revisit you tonight. May the elder gods protect you." Finished Raiden before disappearing in a burst of lightning.
"Warriors!" Spoke a masked guard "Shang Tsung has other business to attend to. Each of you will fight in one match today. Come forth and you will be randomly assigned opponents and locations for the preliminary round."
Random earthrealm fighters lined up to begin being assigned locations to report to. Some like our heroes had stayed back waiting for the line to die down.
"Okay, we're doing this now." Said Johnny somewhat surprised.
"You gonna be alright, Sonya?" Asked Lance.
"I have no choice now. So long as it's not Kano, I should be fine." She replied.
"No point in drawing this out." Spoke Kenshi before getting into the line. Nightwolf and Sub Zero quickly got into line behind him.
"We will all be meeting in the dining hall after the day is over. Best of luck to you all." Said Liu with a bow before getting into line himself.
"Not even twenty four hours on this island and I already have to fight again. This shit is rigged against me." Spoke Johnny as he stretched out.
"Quit whining, Cage." Said Stryker giving him a slap on the shoulder before he and Art Lean followed. Pedro and Lance followed as well leaving only Johnny and Sonya.
"You wanted to talk to me, right?" Asked Sonya somewhat aggressively. "That's why you're lagging behind the others."
"I'm a little worried after…." Began Johnny before being cut off abruptly.
"You saved my ass, Cage." She began. "And I owe you, but I've seen more action than you ever will. You just make sure you're still alive so I don't have to explain how I got Johnny Cage killed to my CO when we get home." Stated Sonya.
"Yes ma'am." Cage answered, with a half salute before heading over to the line himself. Sonya followed, ready for some action herself.
Hours later and Sonya Blade's opponent had yet to show as the sun had begun to go down. Another hour or maybe two and the sun would completely set. She spent her time waiting with some brief stretches and gear checks. As time went on she pondered her situation, and became quite curious of her allies and how they were fairing in their battles. She had not seen a single one of them since they gathered in the courtyard the morning before, when Raiden revealed some pretty daunting information. Of course Sonya wanted her team to succeed in their respective matches. She knew Pedro and Lance for years, and she considered them family. She would say she cared for them almost as much as she had for Jax. She trusted them to win their matches as she understood exactly what they were capable of. She was far more concerned about her new allies. Raiden had warned them that one of them would decide the fate of the tournament. Sonya had no idea who that would be let alone who would survive the first round. Nearly seventy earthrealm fighters represented earthrealm in the tournament. It was possible the whole lot of them were wiped out as far as Sonya knew. The fact that she was even competing with Kano on the loose drove her crazy, but if the fate of the world was at stake, then how could she turn her back.
Firstly was Liu Kang. Sonya had little interaction with the monk thus far, but he had vast knowledge of the realms and their opponents. However, he was fairly young, and Sonya wasn't exactly threatened by him. Therefore it's not impossible to think he could have been defeated already. Of course he seemed close to Raiden which could make him a wildcard of sorts.
Kenshi was like Sonya in the respect that he joined the tournament for a shot at vengeance. That was the only similarity she could find between them. He was determined, so determined that he hunted Shang Tsung across the realms for years. Meanwhile Sonya had not once taken a shot at Kano after the incident. An incident that ended in the deaths of nearly her whole unit including her brother. Put within five feet Kenshi would attack Shang Tsung immediately. Sonya instead froze, and relied on the actor to bail her out.
Johnny Cage was an enigma to the Lieutenant as it was clear he had serious skills that he displayed against Sektor. Then again when facing Kano. He also controlled abilities that put him on another level from moat fighters. Where he gained these abilities was a mystery all its own. His choice of career was the next question. Why choose a life in acting when you have abilities like that. Every super powered being, or meta humans as they were called, Sonya Blade had ever come across had been an enemy. Surely acting was better than that, but still a strange choice. At the very least Sonya considered him trustworthy enough.
Art Lean seemed to be the most normal of the bunch. A popular name amongst professionals worldwide, but not nearly the superstar variety. Sonya herself sometimes followed these martial arts circuits as a fan and had heard his name more than a couple times. He had skill undoubtedly, but monsters could prove to be too much for anyone.
Otherwise Sonya had little knowledge of her allies. Kurtis Stryker had yet to fight, but she remembered the name from somewhere before. She did remember him saying he was a cop, but nothing else. Raiden would not be fighting in the tournament unless directly challenged. She had no interactions with Nightwolf or Sub Zero with both staying quiet and distant. It was of course possible that none of them survived and that she would need to surround herself with new allies in a few hours. She hoped for the best and decided not to think about the worst.
There was still Raiden who had not revealed much about himself to the heroes of earthrealm. He had told them he was the God of thunder and lightning, and that he was the earth's protector. Otherwise, he was an enigma to Sonya and the other warriors. If he was truly a God then she had to wonder about the afterlife, if there was one? And why Raiden had never stepped into human affairs. Wars could have been prevented with the intervention of a God. Raiden also explained he selected the warriors to defend earth, and that he had looked into their souls. Sonya couldn't help but question what her soul, or really what any soul looked like.
A scream in the distance pulled her from her thoughts. The scream sounded human, but Sonya had noticed many outworlders actually appeared human. Not to mention, outworld had a handful of humans fighting for their side, so it could have been an enemy as far as Sonya knew. The pitch of the scream followed by a quick stop certainly led Sonya to believe the warrior was killed. She couldn't investigate as she had to wait for her opponent, and it's not like she could interfere with another match anyway.
"Sonya Blade!" Announced a feminine voice as another woman approached. She wore a red ninja attire similar to Sub Zero or Scorpion. Sonya was somewhat surprised to see her opponent wearing a full garment unlike Shang Tsung's bodyguards. " I will be your opponent."
Sonya quickly gathered the few items she actually wanted to fight with. She knew this was just the beginning of what was likely to be a small war. If she wanted to survive, or her team to survive, and to get her revenge on Kano then she had to win here. It was her first step to reaching her goals, and she wasn't about to be beaten.