Chapter 5:

Cole held Emily's hand as they flew through the air on Sonya's small private plane. She was incredibly nervous after everything that had happened. Cole didn't know what to make of all this, it seemed so strange and he wanted to believe that he was seeing things but he knew that this wasn't a dream, it was real. He had seen someone create ice as weapons and then some kind of lizard monster and then there was Sonya's pink arm powers. He wondered if this could have some involvement with the strange figure he had been seeing in his dreams of the yellow clad ninja warrior. Allison sat next to him while Kano was tied up and still knocked out on the chair opposite.

"Hang on everyone." Sonya called from the pilot's seat "We're coming in to land."

Cole looked out of the window and couldn't see anything other than what seemed to be a barren wasteland "Are you sure we're in the right place." He called

"Positive." Sonya replied "Radian's Temple is protected by charms to prevent anyone from finding it, that's why he built it here in the middle of nowhere."

Soon the plane landed on the ground though it was not a smooth landing as they were landing on hard ground rather than a runway but Sonya was still able to land the plane. Then she helped Cole and his family out before dragging Kano out who was thrashing around having woke up.

"Just you wait girl!" he grumbled "I will get you back for this."

Sonya just smirked "I look forward to it." She sneered "Now get up." He pulled Kano up and began dragging him along.

"How long of a walk is it?" Cole asked

Sonya pointed over a nearby hill "I landed as close as I could. We just need to get over that hill; a friend of mine will meet up."

So they climbed over the hill and on the other side was nothing which made Kano laugh thinking this was all a waste. Sonya didn't react and just waited and sure enough, a new figure approached them. He wore a black and red robe and his long black hair was tied in a ponytail. Cole looked ready to fight but the figure calmly held his hands.

"Be calm." He replied "I am not your enemy." He then looked at Sonya "Miss Blade, I am glad to see that you've returned. We feared the worse."

"It's good to see you again Liu." Sonya replied "This is Liu Kang, member of the Shaolin Monks, fighter for Earthrealm."

"You're one of the champions?" Cole asked

"Indeed." Liu replied "Master Raiden has eagerly been waiting for your arrival. We have a safe house prepared for your family. After everything that has happened, we're taking no chances."

Sonya looked worried "Did you find any other champions?" she asked "Is Jax okay?"

Liu sighed "Raiden found your mentor Jax but he's badly injured." He replied "The Lin Kuei have also been killing most of the other potential champions, we managed to save another but he's in no condition to fight. Shang Tsung is not going to wait, it is imperative we begin your training."

...

Cole didn't know what to expect for Raiden's Temple. Part of him thought it might be a church, or maybe a domed building like a mosque or even one of those large buildings the Japanese used as their temples. But Raiden's Temple seemed to be hidden in the Mountains underground. In some ways it did make sense, it was a secret organisation so they hid in plain sight. The tunnels were also covered in murals which Liu stated depicted the past. Some showed a large four armed monster ripping a man in half, another showed a land of beauty and peace, one showed a massive warlord wielding a hammer but the one that caught Cole's attention was one showing a yellow clad ninja and a blue clad ninja fighting. Cole saw the resemblance the blue ninja had to the one that had the ice powers and he soon began seeing that mysterious figure again.

"Cole." Liu called over snapping him out of his trance "Come, Lord Raiden is anxious to meet you."

Liu led Cole and Sonya to another room while other monks helped Allison and Emily to their rooms while leading Kano to a cell. Cole told Emily that they would be fine before they left. Raiden was kneeling in front of a large shrine and stood up when Liu greeted him giving Cole his first look at him. Raiden was a tall man wearing blue robe like armour and a hat that seemed similar to the ones wore by farmers in south east Asian culture only made of metal rather than straw. That hat also had engravings on showing fighting styles.

Raiden got up from his kneeling position and looked at Cole "I understand you know how to fight." He said and Cole nodded "Well I want you to forget everything you think you know about fighting. The way you've been doing it is child's play. Now you're fighting to the death against experienced killers. You're starting at a disadvantage, your opponents are not just people who have been training for years but they have experience in combat and warfare. These people have long lives and even if they look like you, many of them have special powers as you've seen. If you've been chosen then it means you have some kind of power in you, you just have to unlock it like Miss Blade here did."

"Lord Raiden is right." Sonya stated "It took me some time to unlock these powers of mine."

"And we are running out of time." Liu added "I fear we will have to make do with what we have."

Raiden sighed "And if we fail, then Earthrealm is doomed. It will be Edinia all over again?" at Cole's look he added "The last realm that Emperor Shao Khan and Outrealm conquered. Once he won 10 Mortal Kombat Tournaments in a row, he was allowed to merge the realm with his own. Anyone who resisted was killed and now he's turned his attention here."

"So what can we do to stop them?" Cole asked

"I will help train you." Raiden stated "Because of the rules I cannot take part in the Tournament itself but I will help you however I can. Liu and the other fighters here will help as well."

"Come I will take you to meet them." Liu said "But first I should take you to the Infirmary, you should see your old friend Jax."

...

Liu took Sonya and Cole to a side room which had the temple's infirmary where stone beds were and monks were treating the injured although there were only two. Cole recognised Jax on one of the beds and his condition was not good, both his arms had been completly ripped off but the wounds seemed to have been cauterized.

"Sub Zero froze his arms and destroyed them." Liu stated "But his ice cauterized the wounds preventing him from bleeding out."

"Why didn't he kill him?" Cole asked "I thought these people wanted to kill all the champions?"

Liu sighed "Maybe Sub Zero thought he was dead as he threw him off the building after destroying his arms." He suggested "Or maybe he thought he was no longer a threat but considered Sub Zero has no issue with killing innocents to ensure the job is done, I have my doubts. Even so, Jax is in better condition than the other combatant we rescued."

Cole and Sonya looked over to the other bed to see a man laying on the bed, he was in worse condition than Jax as he entire body was covered in burns so bad that his skin was covered in blisters. Sonya recognised the man who was sitting beside him dressed in a police uniform.

"Wait, Stryker, is that you?" Sonya asked

Kurtis Stryker looked up and was surprised to see Sergeant Blade here "Sergeant Blade?" he questioned and stood up "What are you doing here?"

"I didn't expect to see you here?" Sonya questioned

"Are you another champion?" Cole asked "How did you get here and are you even aware of what's going on?"

Stryker sighed and sat down "Raiden and the others brought me up to speed on what's going on here. I'm having a hard time believing it but after what I just saw, I can't deny that something is going on here. I'm not actually a champion though, Raiden said I have no powers but that doesn't mean I'm going to sit back and do nothing. I'm a police officer and it's my duty to help people in need, it's wrong to just turn my back, besides I can't let them get away with what they did to Kabal."

Sonya noticed the way Stryker looked at the man lying on the bed "Wait, that's Kabal?"

Liu nodded "The two of them were attacked by other Outworld helpers, Erron Black and Sektor, Nightwolf was able to help before they were killed by not before Kabal was burnt by Sektor's flamethrower."

"He saved my life." Stryker stated "That flamethrower was aimed at me but Kabal pushed me out of the way and there was nothing I could do to help him."

Liu sighed "Kabal will live but the wounds will not go away." He replied "The worst part is that the smoke has destroyed his lungs, he will have to live with a breathing apparatuses for the rest of his life. We have what we need to save him and Jax ironically thanks to your old enemy Kano, the blueprints recovered have allowed us to construct some special arms for Jax. We'll do what we can for your friends but I must take you to meet the others, if we're going to survive this."

...

Liu Kang led Cole, Sonya and Stryker to a large room that had a large pit in the centre that seemed to serve as the training ground. It was a training arena where combatants would fight each other or train how to use weapons. The three of them noticed several other people standing nearby who Cole believed must be the other champions of Earthrealm. Two of them were of Asian like Liu Kang though one wore red robes and had a katana while the other didn't seem to have any weapons but his metal hat seemed to be very sharp. The 3rd man was native American who wore clothing to honour this past and had a few feathers in his hair.

"Miss Blade is probably already familiar with our friends here." Liu said "But for our newcomers, allow me to introduce Kenshi, Kung Lao and Nightwolf."

Kenshi snorted, he seemed to have an arrogant attitude "Are these people are potential champions." He snorted looking at Stryker "I mean he doesn't even have any powers, he's only here because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Stryker didn't like that attitude and stepped forward only to be held back by Liu "Ignore him, Kenshi's always been arrogant. Besides he relays too much on that magical sword of his. One of these days your arrogance will do him in."

"Indeed." Nightwolf stated stepping forward and held his hand to Cole "Nice to meet you Cole. You know we have a lot in common."

Cole shook his hand "We do?" he questioned

"Both of us had ancestors who were to be potential champions of Earthrealm, ones who Raiden hoped would be the ones to win the tournament, only for Outrealm to manipulate the enemies of them to take them out." Nightwolf explained "Your ancestor was a Japanese Ninja Hanzo Hasashi, a great warrior of the Shirai Ryu clan. He may have been the one to win the tournament but Shang Tsung convinced the rival Lin Kuei clan to eliminate their rivals. Now they serve Outrealm and many lower members don't even realize it."

"What of your ancestor?" Cole asked

"It was a more recent tournament actually." Nightwolf explained "Shang Tsung convinced the mercenary Erron Black to eliminate my entire tribe. Only my grandmother escaped with help from Raiden. I've lived here my entire life. Even Kung Lao is a descendant of the last Earthrealm champion who managed to break Outrealm's last 9 victories in a row 500 years ago. Unfortunately the great Kung Lao fell against the current champion, Prince Goro, you may have seen the mural showing this."

Cole remembered seeing the murals earlier and the one with the two ninjas. That must have been what he had been seeing in his dreams, it was Hanzo Hasahi, his ancestor trying to communicate with him.

Stryker was the one who broke the silence. "So what do we do now?"

The voice of Raiden came "You will all train here." He said coming into view "You all will need to train hard to fight in the tournament or if Shang Tsung tries to attack us. Although I have created a barrier to protect this place, I cannot say for sure that he might try and find a way. You will all need to train hard not just for your own lives but for the lives of everyone in this world. If we fail then it would mean the end for us all, Outrealm will invade should we lose the tournament and it will be like the apocalypse coming, the end of all human life, either killed or enslaved. I cannot say this enough but you all need to be at your best."

Cole nodded, he was unsure if he could do this but he couldn't let his family down, this was not about glory or for money but for the lives of his wife and daughter.

Chapter End:

Notes: Happy 2025 everyone and this is my first chapter of the new year. This story may not be popular but I can't just give up even if I am losing a bit of interest. The more I think about the games, the more I want to write even if my writing isn't perfect but I want to give some justice to characters that didn't live up to their games versions as in the film and with the new one coming out later this year, I want to try and do something.