After the announcement, the crowd of warriors dispersed, some still in awe of what they had just seen. However, Johnny Cage wanted answers.

"The ins and outs?", Johnny asked, in disbelief of what he had just witnessed.

"I'll explain everything to you later, but first, let's untie that woman, okay?", Liu suggested, pointing at Sonya.

The two of them walked over to Sonya, who was tied up and laying down on the floor of the courtyard.

"I don't know what you two want to do but I don't need you help!", Sonya protested upon seeing the two men.

"You look like you do.", Johnny retorded, while untying her.

"Let go of me!", Sonya said, trying to crawl away from Johnny.

"Look, you can either let me untie you so you'll be free, or you could stay here all night at the mercy of whatever or whoever roams this island at night. Now, which one will it be?", Johnny asked

"Hmm..fine...you've got a point there...", Sonya reluctantly said, as she was untied. Then she remembered Goro. "What the hell was that thing anyway?!", Sonya wondered out loud.

"That thing, as you call it, is the current champion, Goro. Judging from his appearance, it appears the legends are true...", Liu Kang said while looking at the sky.

"What legends?", Johnny asked in confusion, still not having fully realized what kind of predicament he had gotten himself into.

"The legend of Shang Tsung's own handpicked apprentice, Goro... ", Liu replied. "They say he is half-human, half-dragon, and that he brought down an entire castle by himself..."

"What? You can't be serious dude, that sounds like something out of a fairy tale!", Johnny yelled.

"Well, you are free to believe me or not but what other explanation do you have?", Liu asked.

Giving himself a composure, Johnny smiled as he said : "Simple : the guy's just good with make up! There's nothing paranormal or something like that about it... Yeah...that must be it..."

"No matter what kind of explanations mankind gives to things they cannot comprehend, the truth will always remain the same...", Liu Kang said, as he left with a head shake.

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-Afternoon-

The warriors gathered on the courtyard once more, this time to witness a fight. On the side of the arena, opposite to the warriors, a group of Shaolin Monks were seated who had come to witness the tournament. Shang Tsung sat above the monks, in a comfortable looking throne.

"Kombatants! To open our grand tournament, and to give you a taste of what is to come... I would like to have an opening match!"-Tsung explained-"On one side, Sub-Zero!"-He gestured towards Sub-Zero, who was standing on one side of the arena-"And on the other side, we have Hachiman!"-This time he gestured towards a man dressed in escrime uniform-"Now! Without further ado... FIGHT!"

Hachiman took out his sword and assumed a fighting stance, observing his opponent carefully. However, Sub-Zero did not seem concerned at all, and merely stood there staring at Hachiman's eyes.

"HYA!", Hachiman screamed as he rushed towards Sub-Zero, ready to swing his sword.

Sub-Zero seemed to frozen in place, until Hachiman swung his sword, at which point Sub-Zero jumped back, and left an ice statue of himself on his previous position. The statue was smashed to several pieces by Hachiman's sword, but instead of flying away, the ice shards started to attach themselves to Hachiman's sword,freezing it in the process. The ice on the sword then expanded until it turned Hachiman into a ice sculpture.

Sub-Zero quickly ran to his opponent and hit him with a powerful uppercut, breaking the ice and sending him flying in the air. However, despite that, Hachiman wasted no time and quickly got up as soon as he fell back on the ground, and jumped towards Sub-Zero, going for an overhead strike this time. Unfortunately for him, Sub-Zero counter-attacked with a roundhouse kick, Chuck Norris Style, before Hachiman could land his blow, sending him flying once again.

This did not seem to demotivate Hachiman at all, as he charged at Sub-Zero a third time, this time, with his sword extended. Sub-Zero easily jumped over the extended sword, but Hachiman quickly turned around to strike Sub-Zero in his back, only for his strike to be blocked. As Sub-Zero landed ,he punched Hachiman in the guts, before he roundhouse kicked him again.

Feeling his body going numb, Hachiman tried to strike Sub-Zero again in a desperate act, but the Lin Kuei warrior dodged to the side and went behind the escrime fighter, kneeing him in the back, an act which made Hachiman drop his sword.

Seeing Sub-Zero's opponent becoming dizzy, Shang Tsung decided to end the fight by raising his hand.

"Well fought Sub-Zero. Now....FINISH HIM!" Shang Tsung yelled.

"No! No! Help me!", Hachiman screamed in panic as Sub-Zero approached him. He tried to run, but it was useless as Sub-Zero grabbed his neck and pulled him up.

"HEYA!", Sub-Zero yelled as he pulled the man's head with extreme force. A loud scream was all that left Hachiman's mouth as his head was ripped off his shoulders, his spine still attached to his skull.

"Sub-Zero wins! FATALITY!", Shang Tsung yelled. The monks all bowed their head down, mourning the deceased warrior. Meanwhile, among the crowd of warriors, Johnny was yet again staring in disbelief, while Sonya turned her head away in disgust. "He... he just killed him! How can that even be allowed?", he mumbled.

"Alas... the fights are to the dead..so is the most important rule of Mortal Kombat.", Liu Kang sadly said.

"What?" Johnny and Sonya asked, simultenously.

"Why do you think it's called MORTAL Kombat? If this were a normal tournament, the grand prize wouldn't be something as unusual as "your continued existence"...", Liu Kang spoke to them as he turned his head to face them.

As soon as Liu had spoken those words, Shang Tsung began clapping, before speaking again: "Well done, Sub-Zero!"- He congratulated-"There will be a feast tonight, to celebrate the beginning of this noble competion! Be at the dining room, tonight or else....you'll find that out on your own if you don't." Shang Tsung chuckled, as he climbed down the stairs and left.

"False sympathy... Such is to be expected from one as rotten as Shang Tsung...If you need me, I will be meditating in my room...", Liu said as he left again.

Neither Sonya nor Johnny said anything, as they were still too shocked to respond.

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Dinner time -Dining Room-

The room was filled with the noise of chatter, most people where talking about the match they had witnessed earlier today. Sub-Zero, however, was eating alone in a corner of the room. He did not want anyone to see his face. Suddenly, a man dressed in a dirty old shawl with a Chinese straw hat approached him.

"Hello... Long time no see...", the man greeted the icy warrior.

Sub-Zero was startled by this sudden appearance and quickly tied his scarf. He was going to shout the man away, until he suddenly recognized him.

"Wait... what are YOU of all people doing here, Raiden?", he asked, in a rude tone.

"I received a personal invitation from none other than this tournament's host...", Raiden said before he continued. "But more importantly, is this a way to treat an old friend?", he said with a wink while smiling.

"Friend?!", Sub-Zero shouted as he slammed his fist on the table. "What happened to that "I'm the god of thunder! Fear me!" act?", he accused.

"As far as everyone here knows, I'm nothing more than a mere mortal.", Raiden said, while stealing one of Sub-Zero's pork ribs.

"Hmmm, the food is not bad...", Raiden mumbled as he enjoyed the feast that was bestowed upon his taste buds.

"Go get your own food, mister "mere mortal"!", Sub-Zero warned Raiden as he got pretty annoyed at the latter's behaviour.

As Raiden finished eating the pork rib, he spoke to the Lin Kuei warrior: "Now, on to a more serious matter, I regret to see you haven't changed..." he said, with a hint of disappointment, while looking at Sub-Zero's Lin Kuei uniform.

"Yeah, well, they say loyalty is a virtude!", Sub-Zero retorted.

"You may choose to ignore my warning, but you must know there will be consequences! Your soul is still tainted...", Raiden said, as he warned the Lin Kuei warrior on a much more serious tone.

"For crying out loud, just FUCK OFF already!", Sub-Zero yelled as he finally snapped.

"I'm tired of having my soul judged by others! I didn't tolerate it from that necromancer and I especially won't tolerate it from you!"-He paused to regain his cool-"Now, if you could do me a favor and go away, I would be very pleased. I want to eat in peace!", he finished.

"Very well... I hope you know the consequences of your actions...", Raiden warned as he left.

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On the other side of the dining room, Liu Kang, Johnny and Sonya were talking among themselves.

"So, let me see if I got this straight... That thing is a two thousand year-old human-dragon hybrid?!", Sonya asked in disbelief.

"Yes. That's how it is.", Liu Kang replied.

"And apparently, there's this energy in our body that, with enough training, we can manipulate to shoot fireballs?!", Sonya continued.

"Chi is not that simple!", Johnny complained.

"You honestly expect me to believe that?" Sonya asked sarcastically.

"Well, you did see a four-armed monster and a blue ninja who can create ice from nothing.", Liu Kang replied, while eating a chicken leg.

"If you knew all the fights were to the death, why did you even accept the invitation in the first place?!" , Johnny accused Liu.

After hearing the question, Liu Kang put down his food and lowered his head, as he spoke in a much more serious tone:

"For ages, the Shaolin Tournament for Martial Arts was a competition of skill and honor. Warriors from all around the world were invited to take part. Shang Tsung was one of these warriors. Upon entering the tournament, he immediatly won the title of Grand Champion. But, unknown to the tournament Grandmasters, each of Shang Tsung's victories added to a hidden dark and destructive power. The legends say that Shang Tsung had been cursed by his gods, and to appease them, he must not only take the life of an opponent, but also his or her soul. Through this unholy ceremony, Shang Tsung was able to keep his youth..."

He paused and looked up for a brief moment before he continued :

"Until the arrival of Kung Lao, a noble and mighty Shaolin monk. His strenght and speed proved too much for the overconfident Shang Tsung. Kung Lao won the fight, and the title of Grand Champion."

Liu looked down again as he finished his story:

"Years later, after the mysterious death of one of the three tournament Grandmasters, Shang Tsung returned, now a feeble old man. But he did not return alone... with him, came Goro. His speed was incredible, his strenght, unmatched. And, although Kung Lao gave his best, Goro emerged victorious. Goro's victory marked the end of an era... And the start of a darker one... One that would alienate the Shaolin from the tournament, and give Shang Tsung the immortality he so greatly desires..."

As Liu Kang put a look of determination on his face, he shouted:

"I'm here to defeat Shang Tsung... and end this era of treachery!"

There was a moment of silence at the table.

"Wow bro...", Johnny mumbled as for the first time since he had arrived on this island, he was at a loss for words.

"I left the Shaolin three years ago to train for this unholy competition...", Liu gravely said before he addressed Johnny :

"That is my reason for being here. Now please tell me, why are you here?"

"Hah, to prove myself of course! Have you ever seen one of my movies?", Cage asked.

After Liu Kang nodded, Johnny continued :

"The media and the audience think my chi-techniques are nothing but special effects... if I win this tournament, I will be able to show everyone that..."-He paused-"I AM THE SPECIAL EFFECTS!"-He finished loudly.

"It seems we will be competing with each other, then."-Sonya interrupted-"You may have helped me, but do not forget, I'm here to free my team and arrest that scumbag Kano... If I ever have to battle you in order to accomplish that objective, I promise you I will emerge victorious!", she finished.

"Tch! Bring it on! I'll be looking forward to showing you how THE Johnny Cage handles the ladies then!", Cage playfully challenged her, somehow breaking the serious mood created after Liu Kang's story.

"My friends, I hate to be a party pooper but if we're all honest with ourselves, I think we all know who's gonna win...", Liu Kang teased.

"Yeah, me!", Johnny yelled as he couldn't help but grin.

"You couldn't even win a Grammy if you were the last movie actor alive on Earth!", Sonya joked.

And with that, our heroes laughed, forgetting about the tournament for a moment as they allowed themselves to have a good time, as long or as short as it may last.