Disclaimer: I do not own Mortal Kombat or any of its characters. All rights belong to Ed Boon, Nether Realm Studios and Warner Bros.
There have been powerful warriors throughout millennia, but the ages of Mortal Kombat have begun to tear the fabric of the realms.
The critical point has finally been reached.
It was foreseen the combatants would one day grow too powerful and too numerous. If left unchecked, their intensifying combat would weaken and shatter the realms and bring about the apocalypse.
The Elder Gods demanded a safeguard be put in place to avoid total destruction. One that would make use of the combatants insatiable bloodlust.
Like moths to flame, they would be drawn to battle.
At the apex of destruction, alliances will be broken.
And old hatreds will be revived.
At last, it has come down to this final battle.
Armageddon has begun.
Top of the Pyramid of Argus...
The fire creature known as Blaze turns around and roars at the quickly aging sorcerer, Shang Tsung, and the zombified Shaolin monk, Liu Kang, as Scorpion and the fallen elder god, Shinnok, runs past them to engage in Mortal Kombat with Blaze.
Shang Tsung struggles to get away from his now undead adversary to fight the fiery creature himself, but Liu Kang just continues to hild him back.
"Arrrgh! No! This is my moment! I shall be the one to win that prize! Today will be my moment! My time!" He shouts as Shinnok and Scorpion try, and fail, to take down Blaze.
The sorcerer turns his head back towards the undead monk with a glaring scowl. "Let me go you filthy, disgusting corpse!" He shouts as the zombified Liu Kang snarls at the insult before maneuvering one of his hook chains around the old mans neck and began to pull him away from the top of the pyramid.
"Ah! No! Let me go! Let me go! You're dead! You have no more power over me, Liu Kang! You're dead! You're no longer the chosen one!" He manages to choke out as more combatants run past him to the top of the pyramid to fight Blaze.
Scorpion and Shinnok are then seen flying from the top and back down to the battle below where many other warriors of all kinds are fighting and battling tooth and nail to make their way up to the top of the Pyramid of Argus.
"ARRRGH!!! No! Damn it all! I will have that power! I shall become a god and shape the realms in my image!" Shang Tsung shouts as more of the combatants are sent flying off of the top and land back at the base of the pyramid.
"Not... if I... have anything... to say about it... Shang Tsung..." Liu Kang manages to say which made the sorcerer freeze up.
Taking advantage of this brief moment, the undead monk unhooks his second hook chain and wraps it around Shang Tsung's waist before sending him up into the air then slamming him down multiple times against the floor of the pyramid.
Groaning and shouting in pain from being slammed down into the ground, and from his now advanced aging, Shang Tsung painfully looks up at Liu Kang in shock.
"That's... not possible. How are you able to speak? You're nothing but a walking corpse now. It's... impossible." He says fearfully as Liu Kang walks towards him.
With a cold, dead glare, the fallen monk looks down at Shang Tsung and growls as he holds the hook chains tightly in his fists. "A small piece... of my soul... returned to me... sorcerer... And now... now that you've... lost your edge... there's no need for me... to worry about... stopping you..." He says to the old man with each struggling word as Shang Tsung just looks at Liu Kang in fear and shock.
"You will lose... Shang Tsung... Just as you... always have... And there will be... nothing you can... do about it..." The zombified monk says to the sorcerer with an almost smug tone and a disturbing, twisted smirk as he looks down at his former nemesis.
Liu Kang then yanks Shang Tsung back up into the air again and slams him down against the steps near the top of the pyramid before unraveling the chains off of him.
Shang Tsung groans in pain and reaches out to Blaze, who had been making short work of the multiple warriors who had challenged him to Mortal Kombat.
Each one had failed to take the fiery beast down, many of whom were Liu Kangs friends and allies.
Sonya Blade, Johnny Cage, Jade, Sindel, Major Jackson Briggs, Cyrax, Bo Rai Cho, Fujin, Sub-Zero, Night Wolf, Ermac and so many others. Even his one time lover, Princess Kitana didn't stand a chance against Blaze.
Each one fell to the monsters might before Liu Kang and Shang Tsung heard steady stomping footsteps behind them.
They both turned their head to see a worn out and exhausted Shao Kahn with the decapitated head of Onaga in his left hand. Dropping it, he snaps his head up at Liu Kang and swings his war hammer at the undead monk.
Liu Kang tries to dodge the attack, but it was too late, Shao Kahn had hit Liu Kang with his hammer as he intended.
CLANG!
Landing on his belly against the pyramid steps, Liu Kang was now dead once again.
"And stay down this time, foolish monk." Shao Kahn said as he approached the steps to issue a challenge of Mortal Kombat against Blaze, but not before glancing down at Shang Tsung, who had his hands up in defense.
"My... My Lord Shao Kahn-" He began, but the emperor of Outworld cut him off.
"Save your speeches, your empty words and promises, Shang Tsung. Because of your unwillingness to accept your punishment all those years ago, look what we've all come to. Armageddon. So many years wasted, and all because you refused to accept your punishment for your failure." He said with an exhausted and tired tone, before glaring down at the sorcerer.
"Well, I won't make that mistake again now. Goodbye, Shang Tsung." He said simply before raising his war hammer above his head.
Shang Tsung gasped in fear before turning around to try and crawl away from the former emperor. "Wait! No!" He cried pleadingly before Shao Kahn swung his hammer down on the sorcerer's back, killing him.
Shang Tsung made no sound as his body went limp.
Shao Kahn sighed deeply before looking down behind him to see the scene below him.
At the base of the pyramid, all the warriors, except one, were now dead. The ones that never even made it to the pyramid to begin their ascent and the others that had been defeated in combat by Blaze, now lie dead as the ground surrounding the pyramid was now covered and littered in blood and gore.
Not one single warriors soul remained.
All except for one.
The thunder god of legend. Lord Raiden.
The former elder god, now turned dark god of thunder, began his ascent to the top with staggering and unbalanced steps.
Kahn just smirked and chuckled as he watched Raiden make his up before turning around to face the only remaining soul that stood atop the pyramid.
Blaze.
"Shao Kahn! Stop! You can't do this!" Raiden shouted from the base of the pyramid, but Kahn didn't hear him. And even if he had, he wouldn't have listened.
"Blaze! I challenge you to Mortal Kombat! Do you accept or yield?!" Kahn declared as the fiery creature looked him over with his arms crossed.
"You believe you can defeat me? You are exhausted, frail and weak. You may as well leave now before I destroy you like I have the others that now lie at the base of this pyramid." Blaze said tauntingly to Kahn, who glared at the creature and grit his teeth before readying his hammer.
"Destroy me, you say? Let's see if you can back up that claim, Blaze. Otherwise, I'd just say you're a coward. Although, I assure you. I am more than a challenge for you, Blaze. And I don't intend to lose. It's you that will lose and I will be the one to claim that power." He said to the living body of molten fire, hoping to goad him into accepting his challenge.
Blaze sighed deeply and uncrossed his arms. "So be it then, fool." He answers as Kahn now smirks dangerously.
An hour and a half later...
An hour and a half.
An hour and a half was how long it took for Raiden, the dark god of thunder, to get to the top of the pyramid.
Raiden looked around him as he continued his ascent to the top. There were some he recognized as his former friends and allies. Others were his greatest enemies and adversaries.
With an exhausted and frustrated sigh, Raiden continued to the top.
He then noticed the body of his former student and friend, Liu Kang. Who had been killed earlier in the year by the combined efforts of the two sorcerers, Shang Tsung and Quan Chi.
He had later brought Liu Kang back from the dead to help aid him in his fight against the former ruler of Outworld, the Dragon King, Onaga. But the results weren't what he was expecting and hoping.
Instead of Earthrealms greatest warrior and champion of Mortal Kombat, what came back was a mindless walking corpse that went around killing many of the Wu Shi Academy students and members of the White Lotus Society. Along with many other innocent people that had no connection to the tournament of Mortal Kombat or anything else related to it.
With a deep sigh and a shake of his head, Raiden just whispered. "So many lives lost. Wasted. All for the pursuit of power." He thinks solemnly to himself.
"Liu Kang. Everyone. I am sorry. I am so sorry. For everything. I wish there was a way I could go back and do things differently." He said quietly before a sudden burst of energy jolted him from his thoughts and a beam of light shot up into the sky.
After a moment, the beam of light died down and Raiden could then hear someone laughing before long.
Realization dawned on the thunder gods face. "Oh, no. I'm... I'm too late." He whispered softly in despair before using whatever energy that remained in him to run up the final flight of stairs and reached the top of the pyramid.
He didn't have a moment to himself to look around before he was sent flying from an attack that had struck him.
Landing roughly near the corpse of the now deceased Blaze, Raiden quickly turned over on his back to see Shao Kahn smirking down at him with a glowing fiery orange aura.
"Kahn." Raiden growled as he stood back up quickly and charged at the former emperor to fight him.
Shao Kahn just laughed in the thunder gods face as he dodged each attack with ease. The energy he absorbed from Blaze rejuvenated and healed him to the point where he didn't feel exhausted like had felt earlier.
Kahn just smirked as he dodged another attack from Raiden and countered with his hammer that sent the god flying across the pyramid.
"Oh, Raiden. You can try all you want to fight me, but it's over. I have finally won, while you have lost." Kahn taunted Raiden while the god, suffering from exhaustion, struggled to get back on his feet.
Raiden turned his head and glared at the now seemingly unstoppable emperor. "You haven't won yet, Kahn. Not until you've killed me." He hissed in defiance.
Kahn just chuckled darkly with a smirk. "So be it, Raiden. Come. Let's see how much longer you can last." He says to the god as Raiden stands up takes in a deep breath and rushes the emperor.
At the base of the pyramid...
A hooded figure can be seen walking towards the Pyramid of Argus. The stranger looks around at the brutal scene before them.
They look around at the fallen combatants until their eyes land on 3 certain individuals.
Jade, Kitana and Sindel.
"Mother! Jade! Kitana!" The stranger shouts as they run towards them, but they already know that they are beyond the point of possibly being saved.
The mysterious character kneels down and holds Sindel's deceased broken form in their arms while looking around again at the carnage around them.
The stranger shakes their head in sadness as they look down at Sindel. "Damn it. If I had just gotten here sooner, maybe I could've prevented all of this." They whisper as their eyes land on their fallen friends, many Earthrealm and Edenian warriors they had made friends with over the years since they first came to light.
They had even been close friends with the Shokan and a few Tarkatans, which only made them wonder which side they were on during the slaughter on this battlefield.
A battlefield that would decide the fate of not just Edenia itself, but of all the realms.
"AHHH!!!"
The stranger looks up at the pyramid after he hears a yell in the distance coming from the top. "I have to get up there quickly. I may still have a chance." They say to themselves before looking back down at Sindel.
Placing a kiss on the fallen Edenian Queens cheek, the stranger whispers. "I love you, mother. I'm sorry. I'll try to make this right, I promise." They whisper quietly while gently placing Sindel back on the bloodied ground before standing up to run towards the top of the pyramid.
Raiden vs. Shao Kahn...
"AHHH!!!" Raiden shouts as he tries and fails to land a hit on Shao Kahn, who easily attacks and dodges the gods own attacks like he was a rookie fighter.
After sending Raiden flying in the air again from an attack of his war hammer, the thunder god lands on his back roughly with his hat being knocked off his head. He leans up and watches as Shao Kahn walks towards him with a chuckle.
"Where are the Elder Gods, Raiden?" He asks the weakened god tauntingly with another chuckle. He takes another step to grab Raiden and hold him up. "Their pathetic Mortal Kombat shackles me no longer!" He declares before repeatedly smacking Raiden with his fist, then launches him across the pyramid.
Raiden's medallion then falls off of him and shatters when it hits the ground just as Raiden himself lands on the ground. He groans in pain and exhaustion as Shao Kahn approaches him again as a sinister green aura envelopes his hammer.
"They masquerade as dragons, but are mere toothless worms." He says to the god, who turns over on his back, but doesn't get the chance to breathe before the emperor stomps on his chest, getting the wind knocked out of him. "My venom spreads. It is the end of all things. Armageddon!" He declares as the fiery orange aura covers him.
"Stop!" Raiden shouts at the man, who only looks down at the defeated god before picking him up with one hand and holds him close to his face.
"It is done. Your time has passed." Kahn taunts him before once again launching him across the pyramid, making him land near his now shattered medallion. "Ages wasted in foolish resistance. Now is the dawn of my rule." Kahn declares as Raiden lifts himself up as his eyes land on his destroyed medallion.
Scooping up what he could in his hands, Raiden begins a chant. He begins to glow his natural blue lightning aura as Kahn walks up in front of him with a chuckle. "Yes. Pray to the worms, Raiden. Pray as your world ends." He says to the god as he lifts his war hammer over his head and prepare to deliver the final blow.
"RAHHH!!!" He shouts before being interrupted by an attack from someone he wasn't expecting.
Landing on his side, Kahn glares up at his attacker. "Who dares?!" He shouts as the stranger removes their hood and cloak to reveal a young looking man with jet black hair, tied up in a samurai ponytail, tan skin and brown eyes.
Kahn's eyes widen in shock. "Kurai?! How dare you?! You're too late, boy! I have already won!" He shouts at the young man, who smiles and shakes his head.
"No, Kahn. Not yet you haven't. This is just the beginning." He says before looking at Raiden, who was looking at him also in shock, and nods his head.
"Finish it, Lord Raiden." He says before looking back at the emperor, who had quickly got up to attack and kill Kurai before finishing off Raiden. But Kurai stops his attack by grabbing hold of the war hammer and holds Kahn in place. Kahn just glares at Kurai with a scowl as he tries to overpower the young man.
"What do you hope to accomplish here, Kurai?! It is done! There was no way to prevent Armageddon! You and Raiden have lost! There is no way to save your mother, your sister or your whore lover now! They're dead, they're all dead!" He shouts, making Kurai glare dangerously at him.
"Maybe I can't save them now, Kahn, but when there is a will there will always be a way." He says to the man with a smirk as Kahn looks up at Raiden, who was now looking at him and Kurai with his eyes returning to their former lightning blue glow.
Raiden's next words would shape the fate of himself, Kahn, Kurai and all the realms in the past, present and future. For better or worse.
"He. Must. Win."
Everything surrounding him, Shao Kahn and Kurai then faded and disappeared after those words were uttered.
Thus, Armageddon was reversed.