Sub-Zero found himself running through a dark void, everything around him pitch black. The only thing he knew was that he was being chased, but by what or by who, he did not know. Suddenly he slipped and fell on a dark floor. Before he could get up to continue his escape from the mysterious force, a hole on the floor opened beneath him.

The Lin Kuei warrior screamed as he was dragged down the hole by giant skeleton hands. The hands then released him and let him fall down. Sub-Zero closed his eyes and prepared for what he thought would be the last fall of his life, but instead of hitting the hard ground, he fell harmlessly on something cold.

Looking down at the object that had stopped his fall, his face contorted in horror when he realised it was a corpse. Looking around, he saw nothing but thousands of dead bodies, all scattered across the ground. Suddenly, he felt something move under him. Horror overtook him once again as he saw the corpse he was atop of shake, before twisting it's neck a hundred and eight degrees and staring at Sub-Zero with cold dead eyes.

"You have doomed us all!", the body screamed.

Suddenly all of the bodies rose.

"Doomed us!", they all continously chanted.

Finally, Sub-Zero gathered enough courage to speak but was rudely interrupted by a cadaver whose skin was rotten, with bits of exposed bone on his face. Doing his best not to puke, Sub-Zero listened to what the undead being had to say.

"Hush! You have doomed us all to an eternity in this place... hehehe... but you will be punished for your sins, fool!"

Soon after these words had been spoken, all of the corpses slowly started walking towards Sub-Zero.

"Let's us feast!", the corpse with rotten skin yelled. All of the corpses roared in approval before lunging at Sub-Zero, who was shocked with fear. Knowing that screaming would be useless, the Chinese warrior closed his eyes and awaited for the pain that never came. He instead found himself on yet another dark void, but this time, he was not alone. The same yellow ninja from the boat was in front of him. As Sub-Zero finally got a good look at him, he could see his clothes where actually black, but had been stained with some sort of yellow liquid. The ninja's glowing white pupiless eyes seemed to stare past Sub-Zero's face and into his soul. As Sub-Zero tried to speak, he was once again interrupted.

"Do not say a word, Lin Kuei! I know of your crimes, of your sins, of your victims! I have judged you! And you are considered guilty! Now, you will suffer for all eternity the same way I did... I sentence you... to HELL!"

Thousands of skeletons rose from the ground and grabbed Sub-Zero, who could do nothing but scream in horror as he was dragged to the fiery pit that had opened under him.

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Back in his bed, Sub-Zero eyes snapped open as he suddenly sat up on his bed, a cold bead of sweat running down his face.

The rooms provided by Shang Tsung where quite comfortable and luxurious, with various pieces of expensive furniture and a big bed with red sheets in the middle. However, Sub-Zero took no time to admire the beauty of the room and rushed to the balcony, having been very stressed from the nightmare. As his maskless face was illuminated by moonlight, he looked around.

"Cao (fuck)..."-He cursed in Chinese, his mother tongue-"What the hell was that about? It felt so real...", he wondered out loud.

Seeing as the sun had not risen yet, he decided to forget about his dream and go back to sleep. His night however, was a restless one.

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Morning -The Courtyard-

"Fellow warriors, please give a warm welcome, because it may very well be his last, for Johnny Cage!", Shang Tsung suddenly called.

"It sounds like it's your turn...", Sonya said with a bitter smile as Liu Kang stepped down after having just fought.

"Yeah...", Johnny said without his usual confidence as he left.

Not long after Johnny had stepped into the arena, a warrior dressed in a white gi climbed up the stairs.

"FIGHT!", Shang Tsung ordered for the second time that day.

As usual, both warriors assumed their fighting stances, both getting a good look at each other, before Johnny rushed towards his opponent with a powerfull punch, which the other warrior blocked. Cage, however, was quick and hit him with an elbow to the stomach, followed by an uppercut, which made the warrior fall to the floor. Quickly getting up, the movie star's oponnent hit him with a high kick, making the actor stumble back a bit. Trying to follow up with a jump punch, the warrior was surprised when Cage roundhouse kicked him, sending him flying trough the air. As the warrior got up, he saw Cage preparing an attack.

"Shadow Bolt!", Johnny yelled as he concentrated green energy in his hand, before shooting a bolt of energy at high speeds towards his oponnent. The warrior was hit straight in the chest, but, to the surprise of every espectator, was able to get up. As the warrior rushed towards Johnny, the latter did a back flip, hitting the former in the chin and finally knocking him to the ground.

Just as Johnny feared, the warrior did not get up, and Shang Tsung spoke the words Johnny dreaded so much:

"FINISH HIM!"

As the defeated warrior slowly got up, he gathered all his strenght to say two words:

"No... please..."

Johnny closed his eyes shut, a million thoughts racing through his mind. Will killing this warrior make him a murderer? Would he he be saving a soul, or taking a life? Would he be stopping Shang Tsung, or killing an innocent? Is taking a life ever justifiable?

"Very well... I guess my collection could use another soul...", Shang Tsung said, sinisterly.

As Shang Tsung's guards moved in for the kill, Johnny's hand glowed with green energy.

"I'm sorry...", Johnny whispered before he quickly ran towards his opponent and knocked his head off in one fast an final uppercut. As the warrior's head fell to the floor, Johnny looked shocked at his own bloody hand. Johnny Cage, of all people, was at a loss of words.

"Fatality...", Shang Tsung said with a content evil smile, his expression clearly saying he enjoyed seeing Johnny's distress.

Breathing heavily, Johnny left the arena speechless.

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As Johnny stepped down, Liu Kang and Sonya were waiting for him.

"You did the right thing... he would have died anyway...", Sonya tried to confort him.

"Indeed... You saved his soul.", Liu Kang confirmed.

"Saved? SAVED?! I... I kill-killed him! I killed a human being!", Johnny protested.

"Had you not done it, he would not have found rest in death."-Liu Kang replied-"He would have become yet another restless soul that would forever contribute unwillingly to Shang Tsung's dark power..."

"Fuck... Why didn't I listen to Chuck?"-Johnny said, remembering his agent's words-"I shouldn't have come here!"

"Only Earth's best warriors get to be here..."-Liu Kang added to comfort his new friend-"To compete in Mortal Kombat is an honor, but yet, it is also a burden..."

"KANO!"-Shang Tsung suddenly called-"Please step into the arena!"

Upon hearing the name Kano, Sonya's eyes looked towards the arena, forgetting about everything else. Climbing up the stairs was an australian man dressed in a white gi with black hair and beard and an utility belt strapped diagonally on his chest. On the right side of his face, he had a metal plate with a glowing red light for an eye.

"So that's Kano...", Liu Kang concluded.

"Yes..."-Sonya replied-"A Mercenary, Thug, Extortionist Thief - Kano lives a life of crime and injustice. He is a devoted member of the Black Dragon, a dangerous group of Cut-Throat Madmen feared and respected throughout all of crime's Inner Circles."-She finished.

"I see...", Liu Kang replied.

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"You will face... Art Lean!", Shang Tsung called.

In front of Kano was a black warrior with a shaved head dressed in a grey gi.

"He doesn't look so tough... maybe he should have brought the rest of his tribe, hehehehe", Kano mocked.

Unfased by the racist comment, Art Lean assumed his fighting stance.

"FIGHT!"

Not wasting any time, Kano took out two knives and rushed at his opponent. Surprised, the warrior ducked under the first slash, but got hit by the second one. Stumbling back with a cut on his face, Art Lean tried to punch the criminal, only to be met with failure and a knee to the stomach. Uppercutting his oponnent with one of his knives, Art Lean's blood splattered on Kano.

Art Lean quickly got up and backflipped, hitting Kano in the chin, which made the thug stumble back. The African warrior then punched Kano in the gut, before hitting him in the face with a backhand. Kano, however, quickly acted, and headbutted his opponent in the face, causing the warrior to stumble back and lose balance. As the bald warrior desperatly tried to balance himself, Kano threw his two knives at him, fatally wounding the warrior, who somehow managed to stay on his feet, allbeit barely.

"FINISH HIM!", Shang Tsung shouted.

"Gladly!", Kano answered with a grim. The Black Dragon thug then thrusted his hand towards the other warrior's chest. Kano's arm went right through the warrior, his hand coming out the other side.

"Well, it seems that like the popular saying, you do not come back if you go black", the evil criminal said as he laughed with a devilish smile, enjoying the look of dread that formed on his opponent's face as the latter had realised he had drawn his last breath in life.

Much to Art Lean's horror, the last thing he saw before he fell to the floor was his still beating heart in Kano's bloody hand.

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Oblivious to the battle below and the ruthless killing that occured in them causing shocked faces to be spread all among the audience, a mysterious figure stood crouched on a tree branch high above the warriors. His gaze was focused on the Lin Kuei warrior below.

"I have found you..."-the figure muttered-"And I will not rest... until I have my revenge!"-The mysterious warrior finished his vow in a high tone.