"Hehehe... Remember this?!"-Kano said, pulling out a knife-"It sure put a big smile on your partner's face... hehehe..."-Kano did a slicing gesture 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!"

"HAHA!"-Kano laughed, while running towards Sonya-"Let's finish this quickly, shall we, babe?"

"Kano... I will make you pay!", Sonya vowed, while running towards Kano.

Both warriors ran at each other, before leaping into the air. Kano prepared to attack with a jump punch. Sonya, however, was quicker and hit Kano with a jump kick, sending the criminal crashing into the ground.

"You still got it!", Kano joked, as he got up. He did not have much time to recover, however, as one of Sonya's ring blasts came flying at him. The thug barely dodged them, making the energy rings hit the wall-"You sure don't waste time!"

Sonya tried to kick Kano, who parried the hit. Both warriors parried each other's strikes for a while, before Kano kicked Sonya in the chin, sending her stumbling back. Not wasting time, Kano hit the Special Forces agent with an uppercut, sending her flying through the air. As Sonya got up, Kano took a running start and leaped into the air while curled into a ball, hitting Sonya with all his body weight and making her fall once again. Instead of getting up, Sonya did a handstand which propelled herself forward, hitting Kano with a kick and sending him rolling along the floor. As Kano got up, he threw both his knifes at Sonya, who ducked under them.

"Not bad...", the thug said, rushing at Sonya again.

As Kano reached Sonya, the Special Forces agent ducked and tried to hit Kano with a sweep, but the thug dodged by jumping away. Sonya quickly followed with a jump kick, making Kano fall to the ground.

Kano quickly got up, only to be hit by a roundhouse kick that made him fall back, before being stomped in the gut.

As the Black Dragon member stood on the ground panting, Sonya spoke:

"You're finished!", preparing to strike Kano for the last time.

"That's wonderful! Unfortunately....", Kano said, before quickly grabbing Sonya's legs, making her fall to the floor. As Kano got up, he quickly ran to get his knifes, before stabbing Sonya in the shoulder as she was getting up.

"AAAH!", Sonya screamed.

Kano then stomped on her back, causing her to scream in pain one more time. Gathering all of her strenght, Sonya managed to kick Kano while being downed, and quickly got up soon after.

"You still gonna try and fight?", Kano mocked.

Sonya said nothing, she merely rushed towards the thug and tried to punch him, but her fist was caught by Kano.

"What? I was just toying with you! Now the real fight begins!", Kano said, before hitting Sonya with a backhand.

As Sonya recovered, she was hit by a powerful punch, followed by a kick, and finally, an uppercut.

Getting up once again, Sonya barely managed to block one of Kano's punches, before countering with a kick and a backhand, making the mercenary stumble back. As Sonya moved in for an uppercut, Kano headbutted her, making her throw her head back in pain. She was then punched in the gut, causing her to bend over, and be striked with another uppercut. After she fell to the floor, Kano crouched and grabbed her by the hair.

"Come on! You can do better than this!"-Kano mocked-"Remember? You where going to avenge your partner..."-He smiled-"The one who I put that big smile on!"

As Kano prepared to mock Sonya further, he was hit by a surprise backhand.

"Yes, I remember!", Sonya said, with fire burning in her eyes. She quickly rushed towards Kano, hitting the thug with a deadly combination of punches and kicks, before roundhousing him away. As Kano recovered, he was hit by a knee to the gut, followed by a series of more strikes.

Kano was then hit by one of Sonya's ring blasts, before being subjected to yet another furry of blows, this time, ending with a high kick.

"I like to see a strong woman!", Kano mocked.

"SEE THIS!", Sonya replied before punching Kano in the face.

As Kano stumbled back, he fell to the ground. Seeing as Kano was not getting up, Sonya turned to face Shang Tsung.

"It is done!"-Sonya said, eyeeing the sorcerer-"Now... release them!", she said, pointing at her team.

"You're fighting skills are admirable, unfortunately..."-Shang Tsung paused-"Your opponent is not quite dead yet..."

"Sonya! Look out!", one of her squad members shouted.

As Sonya turned around, she was hit by one of Kano's knifes in the stomach, making her fall down.

As she tried to get up, she saw the source of the projectile. Standing in front of her was Kano, bruised and battered.

"You actually gave me some trouble..."-Kano said, getting close to Sonya-"However..."-He crouched and grabbed Sonya's hair-You should know I don't play fair...!"-The thug said, punching Sonya in the face. The thug punched Sonya's face again. And then again. Kano kept punching Sonya's face until the Special Forces agent was nearly unconscious. As Sonya felt herself slip into unconsciouness, she heard Shang Tsung say two words.

"Kano... wins!"

Suddenly, Kano pulled Sonya's head up.

"You might wanna see this!", Kano said, gesturing towards the guards approaching her team. As the guards reached Sonya's squad's cell, they let them out, before viciously driving spears through their chests. As Shang Tsung absorbed all their souls, Sonya could do nothing but scream.

"Don't worry... You'll join them soon!", Kano said, while Shang Tsung prepared to give Sonya the same treatment.

As Shang Tsung approached, the sorcerer raised his hand, green energy flowing through it."Now, Miss Sonya Blade..."-The sorcerer said-"I would say our meeting has come to an unfortunate ending..."-As Shang Tsung prepared to start the process, he was hit by a bolt of electricty and knocked back.

"STOP!", a voice suddenly interfered. Standing at the entrance were Raiden, Liu Kang and Johnny Cage.

"Ha... mighty Raiden... what a pleasure to have you here!", Shang Tsung said as he got up.

"DAMN YOU!", Johnny yelled, shaking with rage-"You fucking prick!", Johnny insulted, rushing towards Shang Tsung. He was, however, stopped in his tracks when a hot liquid hit him, causing a large hole in his shirt and a minor burn on his stomach.

"You will not harm Shang Tsssssung!", a snake-like voice said, seemingly coming from nowhere.

"Who's there?!", Liu Kang asked. As the former monk looked up, he saw a strange outline of a human-like figure, the light slightly distorted inside the outline.

"I see you've brought your pet!", Raiden mocked.

Shang Tsung merely chuckled at the comment-"What do I own the honour that is your presence to?"

"Do not act naive, sorcerer!"-Raiden spoke loudly-"This was not a tournament match! You've violated the rules of Mortal Kombat!"

"The rules?!"-Shang Tsung half-asked, half-mocked-"This is MY tournament... I make the rules!"

"You forced an improtus tournament match upon her!", Liu Kang said, gesturing at Sonya.

"This tournament happens under MY domain!" Shang Tsung replied-"As I said, I make the rules..."

"You have corrupted this once sacred competition, sorcerer!" - Liu Kang said-"But I will not allow it to continue! I will retake this tournament!"

"You make a lot of promises!"-Shang Tsung paused, while concentrating energy in his hand-"But can you fulfill ALL of them?!", Shang Tsung mocked while thrusting his hand forward, a flaming fireball whose end took the shape of a skull coming out of it.

As Liu Kang dodged the fireball, Raiden flew towards Shang Tsung with his legs outstretched and his arms extended, shouting something that to normal humans sounded like gibberish, but to him, it was the language of the gods.

Shang Tsung quickly dodged the thunder god's attack, before shooting another fireball against him, which was countered with a bolt of electricity, causing both blasts to explode mid-air.

Meanwhile, Liu Kang and Johnny were busy fighting the seemingly invisible foe, until Liu Kang managed to hit him with a kick. The shape then briefly turned into a reptile-like creature, who quickly leaped towards the wall before turning invisible again. As Johnny shot one of his Shadow Bolts towards the now invisible creature, the reptile jumped before quickly shooting a fireball in mid-air, hitting Johnny. Instead of being knocked backwards, Johnny was strangely launched forward and towards the invisible foe, who followed up with a downward arc kick, knocking Johnny into the ground. The three warriors, however stopped fighting when Raiden's voice boomed through the chamber.

"ENOUGH!"-The thunder god yelled-"The fate of Earthrealm will be decided at the tournament! Not here!"

"Very well, Lord Raiden...", Shang Tsung agreed.

Shang Tsung and Kano then stepped aside for the warrior's to leave, with Johnny carrying an injured Sonya, bridal-style. As the warriors left, Johnny glared at Kano, who merely smirked in reply.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-Johnny's room-

"Damn it!"

"Calm down, Johnny!", Liu Kang advised.

"That fucking metal-eyed prick..." - Ignoring Liu Kang's advice, Johnny continued insulting Kano-"How can this be allowed?!"

"As much as I hate to agree with Shang Tsung, it is, unfortunately, his tournament..."- Raiden explained -"He makes the rules..."

"Damn it...", Liu Kang cursed.

"The fate of Earthrealm will be decided soon...", Raiden concluded.

"Can't you use your "godness" to see into the future or something?! See who's gonna win?!", Johnny complained.

"No... the future is not set in stone, the future is merely a culmination of a series of events... These next battles will be important..."-Raiden paused-"Anyway... it is late, and, as far as I know, mortals need sleep..."

"I'll carry Sonya to her room...", Johnny offered.

And with that, one eventful day was over for the warriors, each going to their separate rooms and thinking about the upcoming battles