"AAAH!"

With another warrior dead and another soul devoured by Shang Tsung, another battle had finished. The warriors were a man and a woman, and, although the man fought long and hard, the woman ended up winning by outmatching him with her speed.

Liu Kang this time said nothing, as he knew that whatever he could say would not make a difference. He could only wish that in the end, he would be the one to deliver the killing blow to Shang Tsung, and free all those tortured souls. However, he quickly pushed that thought away as he was a warrior with honour, not a murderer.

As the woman stepped down the arena, Shang Tsung spoke again:

"Sonya Blade!", the sorcerer called.

"Good luck!", Johnny said.

"Yeah...", Liu Kang agreed.

As Sonya stepped into the arena, her opponent entered the battlefield from the other side. The warrior was dressed in green pants. He had green hair which he wore in a mohawk, and covered his face with a golden mask.

"Your opponent will be... Siang!"-Shang Tsung announced-"Now... FIGHT!"

Without wasting any time, Siang rushed towards Sonya, revealing a rather brute personallity. Surprised at her oponnent's rushed decision, Sonya did a cartwheel, hitting Siang and sending him stumbling back. As Siang tried to roundhouse kick Sonya, the Special Forces agent ducked, before doing a handstand and grabbing Siang by the torso with her legs. Sonya then slammed the warrior into the ground with her legs, before jumping away to gain a distance. As the mohawk warrior got up, Sonya reached to a device in her wrist, before she pointed her hand towards Siang and shot three rings made of a purplish energy.

As Siang was hit by the rings straight in the chest, Sonya moved in for what she thought would be the final blow, but was surprised when Siang recovered quickly and hit her with a backhand, sending Sonya flying, and then rolling, along the ground.

"YOU BITCH!"-Siang said, pointing to the burn marks on his chest-"Look at what you did to me!" As he rushed towards Sonya, he was hit by a surprise uppercut.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A BITCH?!", Sonya replied, obviously angry. She then roundhoused Siang once again, sending him stumbling back once more. "Now, look here, you prick, when you insult someone, you better have the guts to take their backlash!", Sonya said, as she hit her opponent with a backhand.

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Back in the audience, Johnny and Liu were watching the fight.

"You gotta admire her! She has a great mind, and great fighting skills!", Johnny commented.

"It's not just her mind you're admiring.", Liu Kang joked as he shook his head with a smile.

"True...", Johnny casually agreed as if he wasn't caught perving on her.

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"FINISH HIM!", Shang Tsung called, as he saw Siang becoming dizzy.

"I'm sorry... I'll use my military training to make this as quickly and painless as possible...", Sonya said with a sad face, forgetting her previous rage.

Sonya then grabbed her opponent's neck with her legs, before snapping it in one quick move.

"Fatality...", Shang Tsung announced.

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As Sonya stepped down, she rejoined with Liu and Johnny, still feeling a little guilty about the murder she had just commited.

As Liu and Johnny moved closer to comfort her, she hushed them with her finger.

"Don't... there's always casualities in battle. It is inevitable, simply accept and move on.", Sonya said. Liu Kang and Johnny merely nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, Shang Tsung spoke again, his voice loud and clear.

"Kombatants!"-He spoke-"I would like to introduce you all to a very special warrior... I have personally invited him to compete in this tournament, so to have him here, is truly the greatest of honors! Now, meet... "-He raised his hand-"RAIDEN!"

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning hit the arena, cracking the stone floor, as the dust cleared, the electricty began to take the form of a man.

"Holy crap! Now that's an entrance!", Johnny said, amazed by Raiden's introduction.

"Wait... it's that guy from before!", Sonya pointed out.

"Which guy?, Johnny asked.

"The thunder guy!", Sonya answered as she rolled her eyes.

"Huh?... you mean that crazy guy who called himself a god and electrocuted me?", Johnny spoke in confusion.

"What...?", Liu Kang asked, also confused.

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Raiden's opponent was a bald man dressed in a karate gi. The fighter looked visibly scared from the god's entrance, but quickly shook it off.

"FIGHT!"

The fighter quickly tried to punch Raiden, wanting to end the match as quickly as possible. The god, however, simply caught his fist in his hand, before teleporting behind his opponent. Quickly turning around, the bald warrior tried to backhand Raiden, who teleported again, this time, away from the warrior.

As the warrior jumped towards Raiden, he tried to jump kick him, but the god teleported yet again, and lightning shocked the warrior on the back.

"Come on! I though only Earth's best warriors got to be here!"

"HYA!", the warrior screamed as he tried to roundhouse kick Raiden.

The thunder god effortlessly blocked the strike, and hit his opponent with a powerful punch, sending him skidding across the arena. The punch was so powerful the warrior needed to put much effort into simply getting up.

Seeing as the warrior was severely outmatched and weakened, Shang Tsung spoke:

"FINISH HIM!"

"I'm sorry... but it's truly better this way...", Raiden spoke sadly, before he approached the warrior. The thunder god then grabbed the warrior's head and sended electricty through it, frying the warrior instantly.

"Behold! This tournament's very first...Flawless victory!!", Shang Tsung said, with a fake smile.

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Back in the crowd, the three warriors had watched the fight.

"What do you mean "thunder guy"?", Liu Kang asked.

"I dunno. He just approached me out of nowhere, and started talking about some place called Outworld!", Johnny answered.

"No... It can't be..."

"What can't be? Hey wait up!", Johnny protested as Liu Kang left them to pursue Raiden. "Wait... Sonya where are you?", Johnny said as he looked around, noticing Sonya had disappeared as well.

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-Beach-

"Come on, Jax! I've finally got some signal and it won't last long!"

"Look, I cannot find this island in any map or via satelite...", Sonya's superior answered via radio.

"I'm standing right on top of it, okay!", Sonya said, getting impatient.

"Fine, I can get a few men there in... a week maybe!", Jax replied.

"I can't wait that long! I'll try to free them myself then!", Sonya decided.

"What?! No... Sonya, wai----shhssvzvz...", Jax tried to say, before the signal was cut off.

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-Palace Gates-

After leaving the other two warriors, and after much running and turning, Liu Kang had seen Raiden teleport close by, and by walking some more, he found himself at the gates of Shang Tsung's palace, guarded by two of Shang Tsung's guards. A buddhist statue rested on the garden beside the main road.

"Halt!"-One of Shang Tsung's guards said, pointing his spear at Liu Kang-"No one is authorized to enter this area without special permission from Shang Tsung himself!"

"I wish no conflict!"-Liu Kang assured-"I simply came looking for the man that entered this palace!"

"What are you talking about?!", the other guard asked, confused.

"The man dressed in the Chinese straw hat!", Liu Kang explained.

"You are a delusional one, young warrior!"-the guard mocked-"Now, leave before I have to use lethal force!"

"No! You do not understand, I need to see him!", Liu Kang persisted.

"Very well... PREPARE YOURSELF!", one of the guards yelled, as he rushed towards Liu.

As the two guards attacked him with their spears, the former monk effortlessly blocked all of their strikes, before elbowing one of them in the stomach and kicking the other.

"Listen! I've seen enough violence and conflict since I arrived here!"-Liu Kang said-"I wish no harm to you! Please, I need to get in!"

"You talk too much!", one of the guards replied, attacking Liu Kang with his spear.

The Chinese warrior once again blocked the strike, before countering with a fireball that knocked the guard out. As the other guard prepared to attack, Liu Kang hit him with a cartwheel followed by an uppercut, knocking him out as well.

Breathing heavily, Liu Kang looked around, before he found the man he had followed looking at him.

"You're good!", Raiden said, upon witnessing the warrior's strenght.

Liu Kang stood quiet for a second, not sure how to react. After a while, he finally gathered courage to speak:

"You... I've heard legends about you!"-Liu Kang said, admiring the god-"Legends of a being who could manipulate thunder..."-Liu Kang said, still astonished-"Who stands guard for all eternity..."-Liu Kang still in wonder, continued-"Who makes thunder strike the earth at will and the heavens shake with it's voice..."-He looked at the man straight in the eyes-"A being who, throughout history, had many names, various origins, inumerous roles..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know the gig, I'm the god of thunder, so just call me whatever name your people gave me and let's move on...", Raiden said as he rubbed the back of his head, getting a little bit annoyed at the former monk's excessive speech.

"Why are you attending this tournament?", Liu Kang asked, curious as to why a god would be competing among mortals.

"I received a personal invite from Shang Tsung, so I took a mortal form to be able to compete.", Raiden explained calmly.

"But... why? Do you believe you have to save Earth Realm yourself? That we are not capable of protecting our own world?", Liu Kang asked.

"Nah... I'm just testing the other fighters here, as things are looking now.. I do have some faith in... some of them...", Raiden replied, rather vaguely.

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Nightime -Goro's Lair-

Sonya silently made her way through the dungeon, which was made of grey stone with various arc shaped entrances to other parts. Yellow eyes sometimes would look at her from the darker spots of the dungeon, and Sonya grew nervous. After much sneaking, she finally found herself in the room in which her team was held captive. Signaling for them to stay quiet, she approached the bars and spoke in a low tone:

"Don't worry! I'll get you out of there!"

"Oh, is that so?", a voice suddenly shouted from behind her.

As she looked towards the voice, she saw Shang Tsung. Standing with the sorcerer was Sonya's bitter enemy, Kano.

"You will face... KANO!"

"Hehehe... Remeber this?!"-Kano said, pulling out a knife-"It sure put a big smile on your partner's face... hehehe..."-Kano did a slicing gestured from one of his ears to the other, to further mock Sonya-"From ear... to ear!"

As Sonya growled, both warriors assumed their fighting stances.

"FIGHT!"