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You know the story. The legend of Onaga. The self proclaimed Dragon King. But before he was a king, or an emperor, he was a prince. A foolish, but eager prince.
Eager for combat. Even more eager for war. And like with most families that come from royal blood, he was expected to rise to greatness. But instead, what came from him was arrogance... as well as paranoia.
In his youth, long before his reign, it was foreseen by a powerful sorceress that should the young Prince Onaga continue on his current path of darkness, an Edenian would one day rise up to bring about his downfall. The previous ruler of Outworld, Empress Tiamat, wished to save her son from this fate by trying to quell his hunger for power and turn him away from his path of darkness.
But despite the Empress's love for her son and her best efforts, it was already too late for the Prince. For the thought of his impending doom plagued and corrupted Onaga's mind to the point that he would make a drastic decision that would forever seal his fate.
500,000 years ago, Realm of Edenia, Late Afternoon...
Night had begun to fall through the land of Edenia. Many people had turned in early after a hard working day while the younger generation, who had also worked hard, did not want to turn in for the night just yet. They instead decided to have a night of celebration and merrymaking for living wonderful and fulfilling lives.
This would soon be cut short as a fire arrow suddenly lands in one of the wooden posts, shocking many citizens and bystanders before more fire arrows followed. The Edenian guard rang the alarms to alert the people that the city was under attack as the citizens all run inside the nearest building they could reach and hid.
The General of the Edenian Army ran to the palace to warn the Queen of the attack while the army held off the invading forces, but when they go to also warn the Princess, they find her missing from her room. Princess Yumina, rebellious and headstrong individual, ran to join the army in the fight to protect her home and people.
But despite her prowess as a fighter, she had bitten off more than she could chew on this particular night. As she joined the fray, she had taken down many Tarkatan and Shokan warriors. With Yumina's help, she and the Edenian Army were steadily pushing the invading forces of Outworld back, but that quickly changed when Onaga flew into the battle and made short work of the Edenian guard.
No matter how much the Edenians tried or how hard they fought, none of it mattered against the likes of Onaga. The Outworld Prince was just about to strike down another Edenian soldier, but Yumina saves him and knocks Onaga away from him.
"You dare get in my way, girl?! You shall die like all the rest!" Onaga angrily shouts at the Princess as she glares at the large humanoid dragon.
"You invade my home, kill my people without cause, and you think your anger is justified when I get in your way?! You are not worthy of your bloodline, Onaga!" She shouts back at him before Onaga backhands her away in anger at the insult. Yumina is sent flying into a burning wooden shack that crumbles and collapses on top of her.
She stands up slowly and stumbles her way out of the wreckage as Onaga approaches her. She collapses to the ground and looks up at Onaga in defiance as he prepares to strike her down, but instead stops when a pillar of fire appears out of nowhere between the two.
Another humanoid dragon, a female, steps out of the fire pillar and glares at Onaga furiously. It is his mother, Tiamat, Empress of Outworld. The Outworld forces all stop in their tracks before kneeling down low and bow as Tiamat confronts her son.
"Enough, Onaga! We've been at peace with Edenia and Queen Haruka for centuries! Why have attacked the Edenians and broken our treaty with them?!" Tiamat angrily shouts at her son, who lowers his head but has a defiant expression.
"You know damn well why, mother. You heard what the sorceress said. An Edenian will one day rise and bring about my downfall before I can even ascend to the throne. I intend to prevent that from happening. Now, stand aside!" Onaga shouts defiantly at the Empress, but Tiamat continues to glare before smacking her son down to the ground.
"You do not give give orders to me, Onaga! I am still the Empress! You are not Emperor yet! Now, go home so I can clean up this little mess of yours!" She furiously shouts at her son before glaring up at her army. "And the rest of you go with him! I shall deal with you all when I return!" She then orders them, causing them all to instantly obey her command and escorts Onaga back to Outworld while also heading back themselves in order to avoid the wrath of the Empress for the time being.
Tiamat glances down at the Edenian Princess, Yumina, and goes to help her, but Yumina snatches herself away from the Empress angrily as Queen Haruka and her personal guard approaches them. Harkua's personal guard and the remaining Edenian soldiers leave her side at her command to assess the damage of the city and help the wounded.
Tiamat, understanding of Yumina's anger, leaves the Princess alone before walking over to Haruka. The guards that were still close by come to her defense, but Tiamat makes no attempt to attack the Queen and instead bows elegantly in an apologetic manner. "Queen Haruka, my dear friend, I am ever so sorry for my son's actions against Edenia. I have already sent him and my armies back to Outworld. I give you my word he will also be punished severely for this transgression." She politely says to the Edenian Queen as Haruka initially gazes upon Tiamat with a look of indifference, but eventually sighs and shakes her head.
"I accept your apology, Tiamat, but this transgression cannot be so easily let go. You may have sent you son home, but if he is to be punished, he must be punished by the people of Edenia. This is not the first show of arrogance and cruelty that your son has displayed. I'm sure you know that all the realms do not hold your son in the highest of regards." Haruka says to Tiamat as politely as possible without insulting her, but Tiamat nods with understanding.
"Yes, yes, Haruka, I'm fully aware of the realms opinions of my son. But I'm afraid that I cannot grant you your request. His transgressions tonight against Edenia were indeed cruel, and he should not go unpunished, but Onaga is my son, Haruka. He will be punished, I assure you, but he will only be punished by-" Tiamat says while refusing Haruka's request for Onaga to be punished by the residents of Edenia, but is swiftly interrupted by Yumina.
"No! Your son shall face punishment by hands of the Edenias, Tiamat! You've protected your son for too long and have allowed him to get away with far too much! If any other resident of the realms had caused damage like this to your empire, you'd be demanding their heads be put on a spike! Your son does not value the lives of others or even his own heritage! He does not deserve the freedom he has, Tiamat! If you do not hand him over to us, or severely punish him like you've promised, then I shall face and punish him myself at the next Mortal Kombat tournament held in Outworld!" The Princess says with no fear as she glares up at the Dragon Empress with fury in her eyes.
Haruka sighs deeply and proceeds to apologize to Tiamat, but the Empress stops her and shakes her head. "No, Haruka, do not apologize for your daughter. Her anger is justified and understandable, but I'm afraid, still, that I cannot honor your request." She says sadly before looking from Yumina to Haruka. "As your friend, I give you my word of honor that I will punish Onaga as severely as possible for this transgression. I will also punish those in my army for following his orders blindly without coming to me first. I know you and your people are angry, and justifiably so, but this is my matter to deal with. If the situations were reversed, you would do the same for Yumina." She says with understanding.
Haruka, however, wasn't convinced and was slightly insulted that Tiamat compared Yumina to the likes of Onaga. "But unlike Onaga, Tiamat, my daughter is more compassionate and not as foolish or arrogant as your son." She says sharply as Tiamat winces at the insult, but remains calm and nods before bowing elegantly to Haruka once again.
She turns to leave, but not before glancing over her shoulder back at the Queen and Princess. "I truly am sorry for this, Haruka. I know things have not been easy between us since Onagakilled-" She begins with an apologetic tone, but Haruka had had enough.
"Please, Tiamat. Just go. And be sure to keep your promise. I will not be able to stop my daughter or any of my best fighters when the next Mortal Kombat tournament begins." She says coldly while looking at Tiamat sharply, which causes the Empress to nod before walking away, leaving a great stain on the relationship between her and the Edenian Queen due to the foolish actions of her son.
Yumina just continues glare at Tiamat as she walks away, not once believing that the Empress will not deliver on her promise to discipline and punish her son for this ludicrous act against Edenia.
Outworld, Tiamat's Throne Room...
Onaga paces back and forth in mother's throne room while waiting for her to return.
The doors of the throne room are suddenly blown wide open as Tiamat storms into the room with an expression of pure fury. "You damned foolish CHILD! Do you have ANY idea of what you've just done?! First you kill the King of Edenia in cold blood in the previous Mortal Kombat tournament and boast about it, THEN after a fucking prophecy that could have been avoided, you take MY army and invade Edenia out of fear?!" She furiously shouts as she approaches and grabs Onaga then harshly holds him up against the wall by his throat.
Onaga gasps and looks at his mother with defiant contempt. "I! Fear! NOTHING!" He manages to choke out while Tiamat glares at her son, wondering how she raised such an arrogant child. After a moment, she eases her grip on his throat to allow him to talk better, but still held him in the air against the wall.
Finally able to breath, Onaga continues. "You heard what the sorceress said, mother. One day an Edenian will rise up and bring about my downfall! I cannot allow that!" He explains and reminds Tiamat of the prophecy the sorceress told them, but Tiamat remembers the full prophecy well and grits her sharp teeth at Onaga's incompetence.
"An Edenian would one day rise to bring your downfall IF you continued on your current path of darkness! The prophecy would NEVER have been fulfilled if you had just remembered my teachings and how you were raised!" She shouts at him angrily before bluntly dropping him to the floor. She loses her angry expression before she looks down at Onaga with sadness. "What you've done... Your actions... Your arrogance... The path you've taken... You've only ensured your own demise, my son. Your fate... is now sealed because of your fear." She says dejectedly before proceeding to walk out of the throne room as Onaga rises to his feet in fury.
"I already told you, mother! I! FEAR! NOTHING!!! There is no mortal strong enough in all the realms to defeat me! No one will be able to defeat the Dragon King! NO ONE!!!" He shouts at his mother ferociously as Tiamat stops and doesn't spare her son a glance.
Instead, she sends a large fireball his way that blasts him against the wall and knocks him unconscious. "Guards." She calls dejectedly as multiple Shokan warriors run up to answer the Empress's call. "Take my son to the dungeons. His punishment will be to stay there for one year. And only serve him what you feed the prisoners. Until his punishment is over, he is no longer your prince. As such, no one in the palace is to obey a single order from him until his punishment is over. Is that understood?" She asks them with a sad, but cold tone, causing the guards to nod before gestures for them to take him away and begin his punishment.
Tiamat says nothing more and just walks away to her room to get some rest.
5 years later, Outworld, Tiamat's Colosseum...
5 years after Onaga's attack on Edenia, the Prince of Outworld had served his one year punishment for undermining his mother and for nearly destroying the peace between the two realms.
Tiamat had given word to Haruka of Onaga's punishment, and the Queen felt that time in the dungeons would do some good for Onaga, but for Yumina, it wasn't nearly enough.
Feeling that it was still a slap on the wrist of the Prince, Yumina declared to her mother that she would be entering the next Mortal Kombat tournament, as promised, and would give Onaga the punishment she believes he deserves, much to her mother's dismay, but Haruka did not try to change her daughter's mind. She knows that once her headstrong daughter has put her mind to something, there's no stopping her until she does what she set out to do.
Training hard with the best fighters in Edenia and pushing her body beyond its limits, Yumina focused on nothing else but beating down the Outworld Prince until she couldn't feel her arms.
Over time, during the course of her training, Yumina unlocked the ability that could control white hot flames that earned her the name of Yumina the Phoenix Princess throughout Edenia. A name she embraces proudly.
5 years had past and Yumina honed her fighting and fire abilities to near perfection until the day of the tournament had come. Knowing that Onaga was also participating, Yumina couldn't wait for the opportunity to eagerly smack the smug grin off Onaga's scaly face when she shows him what she can do and what she has learned since the last time they fought.
Failure was not an option.
Both Yumina and Onaga fought all the way through to the finals of the tournament, and her long awaited confrontation with the Dragon Prince had arrived.
The Princess of Edenia and the Prince of Outworld approach one another and stare up at each other with sharp expressions. Each one feeling nothing disdain and absolute hatred for one another.
Onaga just smirks while arrogantly looking down at the Princess. "I suggest you give up now, little girl. You wouldn't want to ruin your makeup or break a nail, would you?" He says to her mockingly, which causes her to glare heatedly at him before shifting into her fighting stance.
"I am not leaving Outworld until I give you the beating you rightly deserve, false Prince. You are nothing but a leech to realms, Onaga. You killed my father in cold blood because you felt like it and because of you, the peace between the realms has never been the same." She hisses angrily as Onaga smirks proudly at the reminder of killing the Edenian King.
"When my mother's time has ended as Empress, all the realms will learn to fear me during my reign. Emperor Onaga, the Dragon King." He proclaims arrogantly with a toothy grin, but Yumina scoffs.
"Don't flatter yourself, Onaga. You might frightening now, but that won't last forever. There will be people that will stand up to you in defiance. And if I have to be the first one to show everyone that you're nothing more than a incompetent fool, then I'll gladly be the first to oppose your reign." She says confidently as she prepares to fight Onaga.
The Outworld Prince snarls furiously before spreading his wings with a roar. "If there is to be a rebellion that opposes my birthright to rule, then they shall all FAIL! Just as you will here today when I kill you!" He declares before flying towards Yumina while breathing fire out of his mouth, which begins the final match of the tournament.
Yumina and Onaga fiercely attack each other with devastating and pulverizing blows, but neither one wanted to give up. Onaga, because of his arrogance and supposed superiority. Yumina, because of her vengeance, but also because of her determination to show everyone that even a being as powerful as Onaga can be defeated.
The fight goes on for many hours, the sun had even begun to set in the realm of Outworld, but neither the Yumina or Onaga would yield or admit defeat. Eventually, having worn down Onaga enough for one last strike, Yumina breathes deeply with her fists in front of her with determination burning in her eyes before her fists are engulfed in white flames.
Onaga, frustrated at Yumina's defiance and resilience, but also for fighting for as long as he has in the final match, snarls and grits his teeth before roaring one more time then flies towards Yumina, aiming to kill her in the most painful way possible.
As Onaga comes upon her to strike her down with his large claws, Yumina, at the very last second, dodges the attack and delivers multiple, devastating strikes to the Prince before stepping away while Onaga collapses to the ground in the arena. The crowd goes silent before erupting into a thunderous cheer that causes Onaga to growl furiously.
Yumina had done the impossible. She had indeed proven that even individuals like Onaga could be defeated. Onaga continues to growl as Yumina walks over to the downed Prince of Outworld and flips him over on his back to face her.
"No fear, Onaga. Do you hear it? Everyone here now knows that even the Empress's son, the bastard Prince of Outworld, can be defeated by even the smallest of people. You were arrogant to believe that you were unbeatable and unstoppable. It's foolishness like that that causes the downfalls of many. You are no different." She says to him coldly as Onaga glares up at the Princess furiously.
"So, what are you waiting for? Finish me. Kill me. It's what you came here for, isn't it?" He asks her with a snarl as Yumina looks down at him with pity and indifference.
She eventually shakes her head, shocking him. "No. I'm not going to kill you, Onaga. I kill you, your worries and problems will be over. Your mother's punishment for you was not enough. So here is my punishment." She declares to him as she continues to look down at the Prince. "My punishment for you is that you will continue to live in fear of the prophecy you were told. If an Edenian is to one day rise up and cause your downfall, then I shall allow fate to run its course." She tells him before leaning down close to his face as he snarls furiously at her.
"There are fates worse than death, Onaga." She say ominously before beginning to walk away from the defeated Outworld Prince. Onaga painfully sits up and glares daggers at Yumina's back as she walks away and eventually leaves the Colosseum.
Haruka and Yumina soon leave Outworld and bid their farewells to Tiamat before heading back to Edenia.
Many years later, centuries after their encounter in Outworld, Onaga had indeed ascended to his mother's throne after her passing under mysterious circumstances.
However, he eventually learns from one his newly appointed advisers, a young Outworld resident by the name of Shao, that Yumina, instead of ascending to the throne, she was anointed by the Elder Gods themselves and became Phoenix Goddess Yumina.
This news highly infuriated Onaga to the point that he cursed the Elder Gods for allowing a lowly mortal, an Edenian, to ascend to godhood instead of a clearly superior being like himself.
Still paranoid about the rise of an Edenian warrior that is destined to kill him, and the multiple failed attempts to exterminate the Edenians after his mother's passing, Onaga set his sights on a new goal now that the realm of Edenia will no doubt be under Yumina's protection.
"If the Elder Gods will not rightfully grant me immortality, then I shall just take it for myself. I'll become immortal on my own. I will not die. I will never die. I will NEVER allow Death to have me! I am Emperor Onaga, the Dragon King! No one can kill me!" He declares as Shao looks upon the Emperor with an expression of contempt.
500,000 years later, Earth Realm, New York...
Heavy rain fell as Delilah, a blood sorceress, stands on the top of the George Washington Bridge, watching closely as a tanker ship passes under the bridge. On the deck of the ship, she can see Navy, Marine, and Earth Realm Special Forces soldiers patrolling the deck with high class weapons and equipment.
After the invading attack on the city from Outworld last year, the United States government, by order of the World Government, deployed army patrols around the world at all major cities and countries in order to shorten the response time in case of another invasion.
A hooded and cloaked man walks up behind her and watches as the ship continues to pass under the bridge. The man looks up at her with an expectant expression. "Is it time?" The man asks simply.
Delilah grins before looking at the man behind her. She nods her head slowly with a twisted grin. "Indeed, it is. Shinnok and Quan Chi believe they've waited long enough. But it's also time to put my plan into action as well." She answers as the man smiles from underneath his hood sinisterly before she steps aside to allow the man more room. "Have fun." She giggles wickedly.
"About damn time." He says eagerly before running to the edge of the bridge before jumping off towards the tanker ship.
Delilah grins maliciously. "Let the games begin."