Most of the kombatants sat at the long table and chair sets, some eating some of the food provided for them by the Outworld servants. Sonya Blade took the most interest in their newly discovered ally.
"My father told me stories of the Matoka." She, sitting at the opposite side of the table to him. "Of their wars against the Europeans, the supposed magic they wielded, their supposed defender whose mantle would be passed down. We never believed the mystical side of things. But with what I've seen, and you being here, I suppose I have no choice but believe it..." Sonya said while lightly chuckling as she finished her sentence.
Nightwolf smiled and was happy he had someone to talk to about this. "Your father seems like a knowledgeable man."
"He was an avid reader of American history." Sonya's tone turned mournful. "He was my entire world...my mom wasn't there for most of my life. She was always preoccupied with work. My dad worked just as hard as she did and yet he always took time out of his schedule for me. If it weren't for him I probably wouldn't have even joined the Special Forces, and I wouldn't be here right now."
Jackson Briggs decided to join in on their talk. "And how lucky we are to have you in our ranks, lieutenant. I don't think we would have accomplished half of what we have today without you."
Sonya smiled in appreciation, though this positive emotion quickly faded, which Nightwolf took notice off.
"So, tell me Blade, why did you and Jackson Briggs here join Earthrealm's defense?" He asked the two of them, which was met with stares that showcased the soldier's slight confusion.
"Why wouldn't we join? We're defending our realm, our home, and if what Raiden tells of Outworld's Emperor, there wasn't a way in hell we would say no." Sonya quickly responded.
Nightwolf's gaze hardened, his light smirk turned into a clear frown. "You tell the truth, Lieutenant, but only part of it. The Great Spirit that guides me tells me you're purposefully leaving a part of this story out. So, Lieutenant Blade, care to tell me what it is."
Sonya and Jackson looked shocked, they did not intend to tell anyone here their second motive for assisting in Earthrealm's defense, but after a quick glance at each other and both subtly nodding, Sonya decided to tell the truth. It wasn't like the rest of the Special Forces were aware of who Raiden said would be there.
"We're here for an old target of ours, the leader of the Black Dragon, are you familiar?" Sonya said.
"The weapons dealers? I have heard of them." Nightwolf responded.
"Well." Sonya continued. "The leader of their international crime organization, Kano, is on this island and working for the guy who runs this place, not only to provide weapons, but to fight in the tournament for...Outworld? Was that what the other realm was called? Anyway, if Raiden was telling the truth, he is on this damn island right now with another Black Dragon member, Mavado I believe, and will be facing us in the tournament."
Nightwolf's face barely changed but was internally appalled at the thought of a fellow Earthrealmer doing such a thing. "This Kano... he is working with the side that wishes to conquer his own realm? Why would he do such a thing?"
Jax continued the conversation. "Don't know, but trust us, we are not surprised. That son of a bitch has been an absolute piece of scum since day 1. This ain't even in the top 5 of the scummiest things that Australian bastard has done. One time he-" Before Jackson could continue, he noticed Sonya's harrowing expression and bawled fists on the table. "I...maybe we can save that part for another day."
Nightwolf stayed stoic, but could feel the two soldier's pain and hatred for the man they spoke of, and was ready to stand by them once the moment came. "When we win this tournament, I promise to help you catch this man. I've never heard of him until now, but I am aware of the Black Dragon's crimes, and if he is even partly responsible for any of it, he must pay."
Sonya's expression loosened and she smiled lightly. "Thank you Nightwolf, we appreciate it."
Nightwolf smiled back, but a thought came into Sonya's mind that made her curious. "You know, my dad told me a lot about what the Great Spirit of the Matokans could do, but being able to tell when someone's being dishonest was not one of them." She lightheartedly said, a great contrast with her previous tone of voice.
Nightwolf found it amusing. "The Great Spirit is capable of many things, Sonya Blade."
It's true that it was, but he did not use its power in this case. He was always quite talented at telling when someone is lying, but he figured pretending like a great deity was by his side would convince the pair to reveal what they were hiding easier. Though he would never tell them that.
Meanwhile, on the other size of the long table, sat Johnny Cage and two White Lotus Shaolin Monks. The two of them decided to humor the actor, as he explained his latest film series' and other career ventures
"...and after that was Ninja Mime 6: The Silence Breaks, where my character's peaceful retirement is broken after the villain from the 3rd movie returns." He said enthusiastically and energetically, as if a film enthusiast explaining a film series he loves. Except in this case, this enthusiast was the star of said film series.
"The third one? The rival from the mime academy? Wasn't he thrown off a plane in that one?" Kung Lao replied on the other end of the table that Johnny was; far more invested in this than he thought he would be.
"Yeah, well you see, they were near water when that happened, so he landed on the water and washed up on shore in an area in Rural Japan that taught him the ways of the ninja, just like my character!" Cage explained.
Liu Kang, mildly intrigued (though not to the degree that Kung Lao was), had a question of his own. "Wouldn't landing into water at that height from a plane kill him anyway?
Kung Lao decided to provide his own answer. "Didn't he say the mimes went through tough, rigorous training in Mime Academy? It probably hardened his body to the point he could survive such a fall."
"Exactly! Now you're getting it!" Johnny said while pointing at Kung Lao to further emphasize his excitement.
Liu Kang was just as confused by the popularity of Cage's films as he was at the beginning of their conversation, but he was having fun regardless. But as he remembered the box office success of Johnny's films that he detailed to them earlier, a question arose in his mind.
"Say...Cage, if you are as successful and rich as you are, why would you agree to help Earthrealm, knowing the risks? You weren't even aware of any of this prior to Raiden's visit to your home. Why would you agree so quickly?" Liu Kang asked. Upon hearing this, Kung Lao's mind was sparked with the same curiosity that sparked in Liu Kang earlier.
Johnny hesitated to answer, but ultimately decided to be honest. "Ah...well..." He gathered in his mind the best way to say this. "All those box office successes I mentioned earlier? They were mostly from films that were 10 to 8 years old. My modern movies have been performing decently, but haven't really been the box office smash hits that they have been. If the earnings and reviews of Ninja Mime: 11 and Massive Strike: 8 were any hints, the people are tired of the same old plots over and over. But no one in Hollywood, or at least anyone who wanted to hire someone like me, had anything original for me. Doesn't help that some of my associates and friends got into pretty massive scandals that they dragged me into for some damn reason."
"Why would participating in this tournament help your career in any way? Almost no one on Earth even knows this is happening, so it wouldn't help for publicity." Liu Kang asked again.
Johnny seemed to be particularly nervous to tell this part, and even as he told it, he would not be the main target for blame. "Welllllllll... Raiden may have sort of promised to give me full permission to turn this whole thing into a movie."
"What?!" Liu Kang and Kung Lao said in unison.
"He promised me that all the crazy shit that would happen here would be the proper kick in the nuts my career needed to get it going, alright!. If anything, blame him, not me!" Cage defended himself.
Liu Kang stayed in silent judgment, while Kung Lao decided to question him further.
"Were you planning to ask us for our permission beforehand?" He asked the actor.
Cage stayed in awkward silence long enough for the Shaolin to know that the answer was no.
"I would have changed your names and appearance! They would have only been lightly, extremely loosely, barely any relation, inspired by you guys!" His tone became more and more shaky.
"You were going to commodify our image for your own personal gain?" Liu Kang asked with a clear irritation.
"Look, what do I need to do to convince you guys to be okay with this shit?" Cage sheepishly asked.
Liu Kang shook his head in disagreement "There is nothing you could do that would make this okay for us-"
"40% of the film earnings." Kung Lao interrupted.
The other two were surprised by this. Cage by the enormous amount of money that was asked of him. And Liu Kang by his friend's desire for such money.
"Kung Lao! How could you say that? The Masters, Raiden... growing up they always told us to never indulge in such greed." Liu Kang said angrily.
"I am not indulging in greed, I am indulging in common sense." Kung Lao quipped. "If this film ends up being as successful as Cage says, wouldn't you want some of that? We could use the money to improve the conditions of the White Lotus temples and improve our training, I wouldn't have to even look at the bill any time we eat out at any restaurant." Liu Kang became progressively annoyed by his best friend's words. Partly because he saw it as a betrayal of their Shaolin principles, but also because of the fact that what Kung Lao was describing was quite appealing to him.
"F-F-F-F-FORTY PERCENT? ARE YOU INSANE!?" Cage said as calmly as his body would allow him. 'Do you have any idea how expensive making an action blockbuster is nowadays? That isn't even accounting for the marketing and the distribution, not to mention how much of that money is supposed to go to ME. Besides, how am I even gonna explain this to the studio? 'Hey before I agree to be in this movie, can we include a clause in the contract that states that 40% of what this movie makes goes to two random Shaolin Monks in the middle of nowhere China that I promise I have never met before' I doubt that would go over well at corporate."
Kung Lao smugly crossed his arms and smirked. "Hey you're the Hollywood expert here you figure it out.
—
Shang Tsung walked across his Island's arena, where the tournament's fights were meant to be held. The ground was solid and hard concrete mostly gray, with the one exception being the middle being a large bronze circle with a smaller metal circle containing a dragon emblem. This ground was the arena meant to contain the mayhem and carnage to come. It was a wide symmetrical square ground, where the sides elevated to about 4 meters high to a spectating area, similar to that of any professional sport. Each of these spectating areas had doors at the top for the kombatants and spectators alike to enter through. To the side of each viewing area were stairs that lead to the kombat arena.
Shang Tsung had wanted to make the spectating area lower and closer to the ground, but after the incident at the last Mortal Kombat victory, where half the spectators died in the ferocious final battle, he knew he could not make such a risk. He looked at his throne located in the middle of the top of one of the viewing areas and then to the clear blue sky above him.
This moment of silence was broken by the monstrous and raspy voice that he recognized to be Reptile's
"Lord Shang Tsung, our kombatants are ready, shall I bring them here to see you?" He asks.
"Please do so, Reptile."
Reptile goes up the stairs and into the door and eventually brings out all of Outworld's Tsung took his time to inspect and go over all of them.
A horrifying creature with sharp, bladed teeth and yellow eyes. He wore white leather straps that covered his chest, black pants and a brown flap that connected to his belt which covered his crotch.
A creature wearing a dark blue hood with golden accents which connected to a vest that only covered the sides of his chest. He appeared to have blue skin and his eyes subtly glowed gold. He had 6 arms, with an assortment of weapons and tools being carried on his back
A tall, human-looking man with his hair shaved on the sides of his head and what's left of it being kept in a neat bun. The areas around the eyes were marked with black body paint. He wore a silver chestplate, with silver shoulder pads connected to it with brown straps. In the middle of this armor was a skull design. His arms had metal gauntlets connected to his shoulder pads by the same type of brown strap. His black pants were accompanied by silver plating protecting his hips and his crotch being covered by a red fabric that was wrapped around his waist.
A woman nearly as tall as the previously mentioned man. She wore a predominantly blue metal suit with black patterns across. Her boots went from her feet to the upper areas of her knees. Her biceps were left exposed between the sleeve of her blue suit and blue metal gauntlets. A blue, ninja like mask covered her mouth and nose, and her hair was kept neatly within a bun. In her hands were two metal, bladed fans that she kept retracted for the moment.
Close behind her, an even taller woman. Her outfit was made of a fine, green cloth. Her upper stomach, her collar bone, and her shoulders were covered up by a regal, sublime golden metal. She wore green, fingerless gloves of the same fabric as her outfit. Her foot wear consisted of boots that reached until her upper thigh, the bottom half being that same green fabric, and the top half being a darker shade, separated by shining strip of silver. Just like the woman in front of her, her mouth and nose were engulfed by a metal ninja mask, with the same emerald green as the rest of her outfit. Tightly in hands was a staff, made of what looked like a green mineral or metal, with the area she grabbed onto being wrapped in an old, decrepit looking bandages and rags, worn out from decades of use.
Right next to those two stood two men with matching dragon tattoos on their right shoulder, who just so happened to be the ones who were chewed out by the Reptilian just an hour earlier.
The lesser of them in rank was a white, Spanish man with black hair that spiked upwards. He wore a black trench coat that reached down to the middle of his calves, and black two piece body armor the went from his chest to his feet. On his back, were two iron hook swords that stayed holstered.
Right beside him was a tall, far more muscular man. His hair was brown and combed to his left, accompanied by a mustache and sideburns of the same color. Rather than having his clothing expose his chest like the others, he stood out by having no upper clothing at all, his hair chest on full display. He wore green army pants and fingerless gloves of the same color. But that was far from his most notable feature. If one were to see him, the thing they would undoubtedly notice first would be his right eye. Or rather, his like thereof. It glowed red, and the area surrounding it had its flesh replaced by metal plating.
Once Shang Tsung finished inspecting his kombatants, he realized one that he expected was mysteriously absent, much to his dismay.
"Reptile." Shang Tsung sternly demanded his minion's attention.
"Yes, my lord?"
"Where is the specter that Quan-Chi promised me?" Shang Tsung asked without expanding the bare minimum effort to face Reptile.
"...he...informed me that his Specter was still preparing for the tournament. And that he would only spend as much as he absolutely had to here..." Reptile responded.
Shang Tsung's face soured and he let out an aggravated sigh. "Are all of Quan Chi's creations this much of a defiance? If he does not exceed my expectations I will have that vile Netherealmer's head."
As this conversation went on, the man with the cybernetic, glowing crimson eye looked at Reptile. The disgusting, inhuman creature who just chewed him out earlier that day, groveling before his master, quite cathartic, he thought.
"Shang Tsung." The woman in blue armor suddenly spoke, but unlike Reptile's subservience, she talked with a dismissiveness towards Reptile's master. "This tournament is meant to be a contest of kombat skill against Outworld and its enemies, that being Earthrealm now. If so, why have you hired Earthrealmers?" She said while pointing her retracted fan at the red-eyed man and the man in a black trenchcoat. "That defies everything we as Outworlders stand for."
Shang Tsung returned the woman's condescension with his own. "That was never an official rule of Mortal Kombat, Princess Kitana. Merely, an unspoken agreement between realms. However, this is the tenth and final tournament between Outworld and Earthrealm. If we win, the Elder Gods will permit the emperor to finally merge the two realms after almost a millennium. The chance of failure must be kept as an absolute minimum, even if it means betraying your self-imposed principles."
Kitana's stare sharpened and turned her attention once again to the Earthrealmers. "What makes you so sure they will even be of use? The two of them have been nothing but intolerable pests, the one with the metal eye in particular."
"Kano and his Black Dragon clan have been excellent business partners for longer than you might think, Princess. I have seen him fight for myself, he brings a certain unpredictability that I see lacking in most other warriors." Shang Tsung replies.
"And what about the man who has been with him the entire time he has been present on this island? What sorry excuse of a justification do you have for allowing him to be here." Kitana demanded.
Rather than watch Shang Tsung defend him and his organization in vain once more, Kano decided to speak up. Whether it was out of genuine desire to defend whatever pride he had in the Black Dragon, or if it was merely out of sheer boredom, no one could really tell. "Oi, don't speak to Mavado like that, I've known him long enough to know he's got my back. He's quite knowledgeable and skilled at killing and...well that's about it really, but trust me love, he's REALLY fucking good at that one thing in particular."
"You say that as if your approval is something to be desired, Earthrealmer." Kitana replied, before a deep, commanding voice behind her decided to butt in.
"Is this really how the emperor of Outworld, Shao Kahn's daughter, behaves? Like a spiteful brat? You must learn how to contain your anger. Princess, I speak from experience here, this level of misguided and unchanneled anger will be nothing but a detriment to your kombat ability."
Kitana turned around, the man who said these words was the one who bore a silver chestplate that covered his upper chest. Upon realizing this, she scoffed at his indolence in the face of the sole heir of Outworld's throne.
"Silence, General Reiko!" She yelled with fire. "Do not speak of me as if I am but a child when my existence precedes yours."
Reiko rolled his eyes. " 'my existence precedes yours', does using unnecessarily complex and pretentious language make you believe you are smart, Princess Kitana?" Reiko put his arms behind his back, but rather in the way that one would do to show respect to a superior akin to how Reptile had done to Shang Tsung, Reiko did to display how he viewed her as below him.
A woman in jade green, annoyed by all of this, decided to speak up. "Is this how the emperor's daughter and Outworld's greatest general should act? Squabbling like petty children?" She turned towards Kitana. "Kitana, you are my greatest friend, you know that. But your unfettered temper will be your downfall if you refuse to control it like lady Li Mei said. What would your mother think if she was still here?"
Kitana's expression softened at first. Until the woman uttered those last few words, which activated a need to defend herself even from her best friend. "How do you know what my mother would think, Jade?" She yelled at the woman in green, hastily and angrily. "You cannot tell me what she would think, NO ONE can do that. No one."
A feeling of empathy showered over Jade. She tried mustering a response, but no matter what she could think of, all of them would only lead to a scenario where Kitana's rage worsens.
Before the tension could boil into something worse, green, bright light began sparking about 5 meters behind Shang Tsung, which quickly morphed into the same portal that visited Shang Tsung earlier that day. Through it, Quan Chi once again walked through.
"My Specter is still preparing, Sorcerer, I shall inform you once he can be called upon." He said to Shang Tsung.
Shang Tsung smiled, the first one he had in the past few minutes. "We cannot wait for him any longer.." He then turned to Reptile. "Reptile, tell the guards to bring in the spectators, and to the thunder god to bring his Earthrealm kombatants to come to the arena. It shall begin shortly."
Reptile nodded before quickly scurrying up one of the stairs, across the spectator seats and through the exit.
Shang Tsung turns to the Outworld kombatants. "Do not fail me."
—
In the resting room provided to the Earthrealmers, along the long table, was a great fiery negotiation.
"...Alright, alright, so.." Johnny Cage continued. "Once I get my base salary to do the movie, I'll give Jax 10%, Sonya 10%, and you two 15% each right? There, you happy?"
Jax and Sonya were not originally a part of this, but Kung Lao called if they wished to join in, earning some money, after the massive task before them was done with. He called for Nightwolf too, but he declined, saying he did not need such money.
"Depending on how much you get, there's a chance I might get paid more than I get in salary in a year." Sonya said while turning to Jackson.
"Hey, I'm not the one who decides how much we get paid, Sonya."
Liu Kang began to feel somewhat bad for Cage, seeing how eager and vehemently Kung Lao had been negotiating as much payment as he could from him. "You know, you don't really need to give me too much, Johnny. There is not much I would even do with it anyway."
Kung Lao looked to his friend the same way one would look at a fool. "Do not let your humility get in the way of something this beneficial for us Liu Kang. I doubt your job as a fisherman pays you that handsomely."
"It pays just enough, Kung Lao."
As the sound of hustling from Kung Lao, Jax and Sonya slowly turned into nothing more than white noise no different than the sound of the lanterns illuminating the room's flame burning, Liu Kang quickly noticed that the Lin-Kuei warrior was the only one absent, most likely in one of the rooms to spend time alone with himself.
While he did not wish to admit this with the others, he had been silently observing him during the boat ride and throughout the journey through Shang Tsung's island. Growing up, his teachers and masters told tales of the Lin Kuei's reputation. Of their brutality in kombat. That they would take the life of whoever if given enough money. That they were honorless, bloodthirsty beasts. The time spent with Sub-Zero did not change much of Liu Kang's views. His rude and callous behavior did nothing but confirm what he had been taught. Still, Liu Kang remained curious and wished to know this new ally more. Despite the years being told of the Lin Kuei, Liu never met one until now, so this was a fascinating experience for him. At times he was even tempted to strike some kind of conversation with the assassin, but no conversation starters that seemed like they would be humored in any way by Sub-Zero came to his mind.
The tournament shall begin shortly anyway Liu Kang thought to himself. I'll be able to see a Lin Kuei in action, and perhaps even take the opportunity to talk with them.
Right as Liu Kang finished this thought, blue flashes of lightning began appearing in front of the doorway, and in less than a second Raiden through a lightning bolt that struck where he now stands now. All those who were seated at the table stood in varying levels of attention.
From the corner of his eye, Liu Kang noticed one of the provided rooms open up, and Sub-Zero walked through it, overhearing Raiden's grand entrance.
"You have been requested to come to the arena, the fight fights of the tournament shall happen shortly, I hope you are all prepared."
All the kombatants complied and got up. Johnny and Kung Lao agreed to continue negotiations for royalties afterwards. Raiden as before led the group forward, opening the leading to the hall, only to be met by a tall, scaly humanoid creature creature.
He gestured the heroes to come and follow him, to which they obliged with some hesitation.
They walked through the glamorous halls of the palace, walls adorned in a slight muted red, with statues of foreign, strange creatures placed against them. They presumed it was that of previous Outworld champions. Johnny Cage observed the abnormal reptilian creature leading them down the halls.
"Jeez, you know I figured there would be some ugly monsters since, you know, another dimension trying to conquer us, but man I did not prepare myself. And the smell too." Johnny commented loud enough that everyone could hear.
Liu Kang nudged the actor. "Be careful what you say, I am almost certain it heard you."
Cage rolled his eyes unconcerned. "Its a lizard man from another dimension, do you really think it can understand us."
Right as he said this, the Reptile stopped in his tracks, bawled its fists angrily and grunted in uncontainable annoyance. While keeping his back to them, he turned his head, with one eye very clearly directing its fury at the actor. "It is a good question, Shaolin, do you really think I would be advanced enough to understand the sheer complexity of Earthrealmers' tongue?" He said angrily and sarcastically.
The creature's venomous stare kept Johnny standing still awkwardly, he looked away and tried to focus on whatever unimportant object he could to try in vain to ignore the situation.
After the moment subsided, they continued and eventually reached the door way leading into the arena. They stepped through and all squinted due to the beaming sunlight after a while of being without it. Once they adjusted they were met with the stares of the Outworld's spectators in the three other viewing areas. The Earthrealmers mere presence renewed an area of conversation into one of silence and contempt.
Liu Kang noticed how while sprinkled with the odd savages with razor sharp teeth, gargantuan four armed monsters who were about 1 meter taller than he was, the crowds of spectators were made of men and women who looked no different than a human.
Just in clothes far from similar to how an average Earthrealmer would. Wearing robes, vests of all different colors. Some colorful, some muted.
"Welcome, Earthrealmers." A voice they did not recognize said.
The source of the voice, an old man with a long white beard, in a blue and gold robes. He sat in the viewing area to the left of the one they were standing in an lavish and decadent throne with gold around the armrests and back that stood out not only in elevation, but a shade of red that particularly clashed with the gray, concrete seats and the barriers that were in a far more muted shade of red.
None of the Earthrealmers knew who this might be, save Raiden.
"In case that god of yours has not properly introduced me, I am Shang Tsung." the man said mischievously. "I shall be the host of this tournament."
Liu Kang noticed that around the old man's throne, stood several individuals who stood out so much that it was made clear that these would be the champions they would face.
Shang Tsung stood up, and began his speech to formally announce the tournament..
"This shall be the last of the 10 tournaments required by the Elder Gods for a realm to legally annex the other! If Outworld wins this, Earthrealm shall finally be conquered. Once and for all. This conflict has been a long and hard one for both realms, particularly Earthrealm. Many once legendary champions with their flames snuffed into nothing more than a story to tell new warriors to motivate them into some kind of success. Let us see if they can make things different this time around." Shang Tsung said pridefully.
"If one of the Earthrealm kontestants manage to make it the final stages of the tournament, they shall face the final champion, Goro!" As Shang mentioned Goro the crowd roared and applauded.
Raiden and the monks recognized that name, the other Earthrealmers remained in the dark. "What's a Goro?" Johnny Cage even asked.
As the cheers and applause from the spectators died down, Shang Tsung continued. "Let us waste no time further." He motioned his hand down towards the arena and his hand glimmers in a green glow. A green flurry akin to a tornado erupted from the ground, howling and shrieking around the area before it slowly dissipated.
"It has begun."