The Imperial Court of Immortals invites you to compete in the Mortal Kombat tournament The tournamet will be held on the Yin-Yang Island located in the center of the Lost Sea. Grand Prize: Your continued existence.

After having read this invitation, an old man looked up to speak to his former student :

"Is this true, Liu Kang?", he asked.

"Yes, Master Wu.", the young man said in a low tone.

"To think you came back after all these years with such important news..."-Master Wu sighted-"You must not overlook Shang Tsung's true intentions, Liu Kang... your defeat at the hands of Goro would mean the end of us all..."

"Yes I know..."-Liu spoke quietly- "BUT! Goro has grown overconfident!" He said with a sudden loud voice

."As would any warrior who has not been defeated in 500 years...", Master Wu said while looking in Liu Kang's eyes, "Your mind and body must work as one to allow you to tap into the true potential of your soul..."-He paused-"Go! I grant you permission to participate in this tournament, Liu Kang...", Master Wu said, to the surprise of all the monks in the room.

"Thank you, Master Wu!", Liu said as he bowed his head. "I will not fail..."-He said quietly before he raised his head again-"That is my promise!", he shouted.

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"Imperial Court of Immortals, huh? Sounds like a bunch of nutjobs!", A brown haired man in his early twenties said, while looking at the invitation.

"Come on Johnny, you can't actually be considering going! It's just some random invitation you found on the mail! The island they mention doesn't even show up on the maps!", his agent protested.

The young man didn't seem concerned however.

"Chillax, Chuck! The other piece of paper says there's a boat that will be coming to take the contestants there! Plus, winning a tournament is exactly the thing I need to shut up the media! They will see my chi-techniques aren't fake!"

"Why do I have a feeling you're gonna get kidnapped?", the agent said, as he facepalmed.

"Come on, who would want to hurt THE Johnny Cage?", Johnny mockingly answered as if he was tempting fate itself.

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"Is this true?", a man dressed in red robes asked. He was seated on a comfortable looking trone, while standing in front of him was a man dressed in blue and black. A cold blizzard cut through the air outside.

"Yes, Qa237; Sha232;ng (Grandmaster)...", the man who not only wore a blue gi with black pants and a loincloth, but who also covered his face with a hood and a blue scarf said.

"This is the perfect opportunity to complete your mission, Sub-Zero...", the Grandmaster deduced, while looking at the scroll which contained the invitation. "You know the legend...", he continued. "This will be the 10th tournament which means you will also be doing the world a big favor if you are the one to emerge victorious in the end..."

"Yes...", the man known as Sub-Zero acknowledged.

"Do you accept this mission?", the Grandmaster said more than he asked.

"Yes... in honour of the Lin Kuei... I will assassinate the foul sorcerer known as Shang Tsung!", Sub-Zero yelled with a voice filled with determination.

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An old man was walking through the cold mountains of Eastern China, his long hair and beard floating in the wind. He was dressed in a red robe with black pants and sandals. Suddenly, he stopped, closed his eyes, and yelled :

"Raiden! God of Thunder! Hear these words! I have travelled through your lands, spoken your language and practised your religions to deliver this message! I challenge you to compete in my noble tournament! Do you accept, or do you fear the danger of Mortal Kombat?!"

"I FEAR NOTHING!", a deep voice suddenly yelled from the sky. A thunderbolt then hit the earth in front of the old man. The electricity quickly began to take the shape of a tall long white haired Asian man, who was wearing a white gi and a chinese straw hat that covered his eyes.

"And your tournament is no more noble than the decrepit body your putrid soul inhabites, Shang Tsung! You are nothing but a weak sorcerer! Therefore I accept your challenge!", the god known as Raiden continued.

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Hong Kong; China -The next day-

A crowd of people was busy boarding an odd looking wooden boat, it's sails long rotten and shredded. However, it's appearance did not seem to scare Johnny Cage.

"Come on, Johnny! Reconsider! I mean... look at that thing! It's not even a boat, it's a piece of wood!"

"No Chuck! I've told you : these are quality people so trust me!", Johnny said. He was dressed formally for this occassion, wearing a suit and a tie, in sharp contrast to the other contestants, who where all either dressed as monks, or casually.

As Johnny was surveying this new environment, he couldn't help but sigh.

"I had a feeling I should have signed that contract with Jackie Chan...", he thought while shaking his head.

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Far away from the boat, the mercenary Kano and his Black Dragon Gang were trying to make the Special Forces lose their tracks.

"Persistent bunch, eh, Kano?", a man dressed in a leather vest, with green pants and cowboy boots said, while driving the Black Dragon van.

"You bet, Jarek!", he said. Kano had a metallic right eye, to replace the one he lost in a fight with the Special Forces two years ago.

"So... where is this boat thingy?", Jarek asked.

"Up ahead, mate!", Kano said while laughing. " I still can't believe I got invited!"

"I thought you said you stole that invitation from some guy named Nimbus Terrafaux!", one of the members at the back of the van remarked.

"Yeah, but this Shang whatever his name was guy doesn't need to know that", Kano replied with a grin. "Hehe... If the legends are correct, then he has a palace with walls made out of pure gold! If we can get our hands on that, we'll be looting for months, guys! Months I tell you!"

Suddenly, the armored van of the Special Forces they were trying to escape from hit the back of Kano's vehicle, sending it skidding along the road, and crashing against a tree.

"Shit!", Kano cursed as he quickly ran from the van to the boat, not caring about the others. But a blonde female Special Forces member, dressed in green spandex, quickly gave chase, not planning on letting him escape from her clutches.

"I'm not letting you escape, Kano! Not this time!", she shouted.

"Ah! My dear Sonya! Long time no see! How's your partner doing? Oh, right, I almost forgot I fucked him up badly! Sorry...hehe!", Kano mockingly replied..

"Why...YOU!", Sonya furiously yelled at Kano.

"My apologies sweetie, I would love to stick around, but I have a boat to catch!", Kano said, while he lept from the dock and on to the boat.

"Shit, we lost him again!", one of the Special Forces agents said.

"No...Not this time!"-Sonya said, while turning on her radio-"This is Lieutenant Sonya Blade requesting an aquatic vehicle ASAP. Over!"

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-Inside the boat-

The boat's interior was as rotten as the outside, with numerous barrels filled with supplies scattered all over the place.

As if it was a punishment for tempting fate earlier, tough luck seemed to befall upon Johnny Cage, as he was currently trapped between Kano and his newfound friends, while being beaten by them.

"Come on Cage! Say it: "I'll be back!"", one of Kano's friends yelled.

"That's an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie, you dumbass!", Cage replied.

"I'm sorry mister Cage but it looks like you ain't got no stuntman to take hits for you here, mate!", Kano said as he mocked the movie star, while kicking him in the stomach.

"I think this isn't a fair fight... Wouldn't you guys agree?", a voice suddenly said.

"Who the fuck are you supposed to be?!", Kano said, as he turned around to face the man this voice belonged to.

"My friends call me Liu Kang... but since you are not a friend of mine...", Liu said with a mocking smile.

Johnny wasted no time in making use of this opportunity as he spoke : "Thanks for the distraction, buddy! SHADOW KICK!"

Johnny then took a running start, before extending his leg forward and sliding across the floor covered in green energy, striking Kano right in the gut.

All of Kano's newfound friends rushed at Liu Kang, only to be effortlessly taken down one by one by the former monk, ending the fight before it even started.

"Thanks, bro!", Johnny said as he thanked the monk who had saved him. "Liu Kang is it? I'm Johnny Cage! Pleased to meet you!"

"Ah, yes! The movie actor!", Liu Kang said as he recognised the man in front of him. "Beware though, you might be skilled, but evil men like Kano are always happy with a chance to prove themselves, they might make the tournament more difficult for you than it should be...", Liu Kang advised.

"Tsh, thanks for advice bro, but I'm pretty sure I can take it!", Johnny said confidently.

Unknown to them, Sub-Zero had witnessed the entire scene from above, when a sudden glimpse of yellow caught his eye. As he looked towards the direction the yellow came from, he saw it came from a ninja, dressed exactly like him, only in yellow, and who was staring at him with white, pupil-less eyes.

"What the...?", he mumbled while rubbing his eyes in disbelief. However, when he looked again, the ninja had mysteriously dissapeared.

"I must be seeing things. It's a long journey, so I should get some sleep while I still can...", Sub-Zero decided.

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Ying-Yang Island; Lost Sea -Next day-

There where whispers among the crowd of warriors as they were waiting for their host. The Ying-Yang Island was a beautiful tropical island, full of dense forests and beautiful beaches. At the center of the island there was a courtyard where the warriors were gattered. Shang Tsung's guards who whore strange black and white masks and brown robes, watched them from all sides.

Shang Tsung then climbed up the stairs, a two meter-tall bulky cloaked man following him.

"Welcome, noble warriors, to the greatest of martial arts tournaments! You have all travelled great distances to be here today so I hope it proves well worth it!"-He said, adressing the crowd- "Now, allow me to introduce our tournament's latest contestant!"- He gestured to two guards carrying a woman-"Sonya Blade! I found her following one of my ships to this sacred island. Like all of you, her life will depend on her performance in this tournament... but so are the the lives of her comrades!"-He said, gesturing to another group of prisioners.

"WHAT?!", Johnny said surprised with a shocked face.

The bulky man then threw away his cloak revealing a humanoid creature with four arms. "LET THE TOURNAMENT BEGIN!", the creature roared.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE?!", Johnny yelled.

Liu Kang then turned to him:

"Wait... are you really that clueless about the ins and outs of a Mortal Kombat tournament?"