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Fan Fiction
| Mortal Kombat Millennium |
| Round 1 |
By: Jeremy J. Banks |
As dark as the region known as the Netherrealm was before, it was about to get a whole lot darker. The Dragon jets along with the Thunderbolt landed in a valley full of decrepit bones. The Earth realm warriors and their leader emerged from their vehicles. “What a creepy place!” Johnny exclaimed as he and Sonya came out of their Dragon jet. “Try working here,” Stryker added. “This place is like another Hell or something, man.” “I’m going to be straight with you all from the get-go,” Rayden announced. “The villain we are about to face is a fallen Elder god. He is also my father.” “Man, you got one dysfunctional family,” Jax said agitated. “First your brother now your daddy! What’s the deal, Thunder god?” “Every family has their black sheep, Jackson,” Rayden answered. “In my case it was damn near everyone.”
“I hate to interrupt the shoptalk, boys,” Liu started. “But it looks like we got company!” He, along with the others, got into their fighting stances as twenty cyber ninjas jumped from opposite sides of the valley of bones. Rayden gasped as he saw Shinook descend into the valley after the last ninja. “Greetings, son,” the fallen Elder greeted. “I see you’re still using mortals to help you win your battles.” “You’re going down, dad!” Rayden shouted angrily. “I think not, son,” Shinook corrected. “DESTROY them!” The ninjas advanced towards the Thunder god and his team of fighters as Shinook made his way out of the valley. Lord Rayden shoved aside two ninjas and shouted, “I’m going after my father! Put these bags of bolts in a hurt locker!” “With pleasure, man!” Jax yelled as he grabbed a cyber ninja and landed multiple punches in the robot’s face.
Kabal clicked a button on his mask and a small tube shot from him into a cyber ninja’s temple. The masked loner clicked another button and air began to pump into the head of the ninja, thus making it increase in size. Kabal retracted his line back into his mask and the ninja floated into the air. His head then exploded and the body fell to the ground like a sack of bricks. “Fatality!” Kabal said with a smile. Kitana slapped a cyber ninja upside his head with one of her fans and took the other and swept another cyber ninja behind her. Liu Kang did a roundhouse at a cyber ninja, who thwarted it by simply ducking. Liu then tried an uppercut but the cyber ninja moved out of the way and started laughing. “I’ll give you something to laugh at!” Liu said angrily as he performed a low Dragon fireball shot on the ninja, thus severing his mechanical legs. As the ninja crawled around the ground in pain, Liu quipped, “Who’s laughing now?”
Johnny grabbed Sonya’s arms and swung her, allowing her legs to connect into the faces of three more ninjas. The ninjas all fell while Johnny did a Rising Uppercut on a ninja who tried to sneak him from behind. Sonya used her Ring Toss to “cut” a deep trench in the valley in which two ninjas fell in. Four cyber ninjas then ran hurriedly towards her and Johnny. “Do you want to?” Johnny asked. “Let’s do it!” Sonya answered enthusiastically. He shot an Orb blast and she performed another Ring Toss. The two separate fireballs combined to form a blinding light that stopped the ninjas in their tracks. As the cyber ninjas struggled to regain their sight, Johnny used a spinning forearm on one and a 360° sweep on another. Sonya performed a Rising Leg Kick on the two remaining cyber ninjas. Stryker fitted two felled cyber ninjas with a bomb of his own design. As they exploded, he saw two ninjas attempting to rush Sub-Zero.
He yelled, “Ice ninja, heads up!” to his friend. Sub-Zero turned around abruptly and froze the ground in front of him with his powers. The cyber ninjas ran onto the ice and began to slip and slide. Sub-Zero grabbed one cyber ninja’s arm and threw him to the ground. He then flipped and fitted his legs around the neck of the other mechanical menace and brought him down to the ground. The ice ninja then joined the others atop a fallen pillar. The remaining ninjas charged at the Defenders of the Realm. In a Cuban voice, Sub-Zero shouted to the ninjas, “Say hello to my little friend!” He collected some icy blue energy in his hands, combined it, and shot it into the air. The blast formed an ice block that had to weigh approximately a ton or something close to it. The ice block fell on the unsuspecting ninjas, crushing them all into little pieces. The eight fighters got into their trademark victory poses as they cheered with joy.
“Where did Rayden go?” Sonya asked, as she looked around puzzled. “I saw him head out of the valley that way,” Kitana answered. “Better not waste any time,” Sub-Zero said. “Let’s find ‘em!” The team jumped off the pillar and headed out of the valley. Lord Rayden pursued his father into a dark cavern. The Thunder god gave chase as his father began to laugh maniacally. Shinook came to brief halt and shot a Red Eye blast into the cavern’s ceiling causing some of the rock to come down. Rayden flipped through the debris and continued his pursuit. “You can’t hold me down, old man!” he shouted after Shinook. “I’ll follow you to the ends of every dimension in reality to stop you!” The fallen Elder ran until he ran into a large wall. “Oh no!” he exclaimed with agitation as he did a karate leap off the ground. As Lord Rayden approached him, both father and son engaged in a brief Kombat. Rayden did a high kick and Shinook eluded it with a split and swept his son to the ground.
Shinook grabbed Rayden but the Thunder god got out of his reach with a small lightning flash that temporarily blinded the fallen Elder. The mortals’ leader got to his feet and tried a roundhouse kick at his father but Shinook countered with a high kick that was blocked by the Thunder god. Finally, Rayden caught his father by the arm, landed two punches to the face and abdomen, and threw him to the ground. “You made it to easy for me,” Rayden said with lightning flashing deadly in his eyes. “Surrender, now!” Shinook opened his mouth wide and a beam projected from his mouth. A small man was in the middle of the beam and Rayden realized that it was none other than Shinook on film and that he had been fighting nothing more than a superior robotic clone. “Good show, son, good show!” Shinook congratulated. “My clone turned out to be much more efficient than I had originally planned.” “What in the hell is going on?” Lord Rayden demanded. “Why did you send this thing? Why won’t you face me yourself? What in the HELL are you up to?”
“How dare you question your father’s actions, young man!” Shinook exclaimed sarcastically. “Let’s just say the Temple of the Elder gods isn’t going to be the same after this day! Neither will you or those weaklings you call fighters!” “What do you mean?” Rayden asked suspiciously. There was no reply from the fallen Elder. He just started laughing maniacally and the film cut off. Lord Rayden met his fighters at the entrance to the cavern. “Well, what happened with Shinook?” Liu asked concerned. “He has some kind of plan in store for us,” Rayden answered. “This whole thing was a setup. I have no idea what he’s up to, but we’re gonna need all the help we can get to take him down and I know where to get it.” “What about the rest of us, Rayden?” Kitana asked. “What shall we do?” “Go to the jets and wait,” Rayden ordered. “I shouldn’t be gone long. That is an order, people.” “OK, you heard the man, team, let’s move out!” Stryker said defiantly. The leader and his team them split up.
The Netherrealm jail cast a dark and demonic shadow over the rest of the realm. Rayden made his way inside and a chill went down his immortal spine as he walked down the dark corridors. After he had climbed two floors, he finally arrived at the cell he was seeking. He knocked on the door and in the dark, a figure rose from the bed. “What do you want?” the figure asked. “First things first,” Rayden answered. “Did you take your revenge?” The figure picked up something and threw it into the light so Rayden could see. It was a woman’s skeleton. “You were wrong for that, you know,” the figure quipped. “She struggled terribly.” “I need your help,” Rayden said. “Father has totally lost his mind.” The figure stepped into the light and asked, “And that’s what you dragged your ass all the way from Earth realm here for. To ask me, your eternal enemy, for help?”
“I don’t have a choice,” Rayden said. “No one knows father the way you do. You can help take him down.” Shao Kahn scratched his head and held his chin. “So what’s the stipulation, brother?” Kahn asked. “What do I get out of it?” “A full pardon for your crimes against Outworld and Earth realm. One catch, though, you cannot show your face anymore in either realm.” “Sorry, little brother,” Kahn refused. “I’m just not interested.” “You mean to tell me, your own flesh and blood, that you would rather sit your ass here and rot in this jail rather than helping to save lives and regain the respect of the Elders?” “Yes, I would!” Kahn answered snobbishly. “OK, I gave you a chance at freedom,” Rayden said. He started to walk off from the cell. He turned around and said, “You know, I would have welcomed the chance to fight alongside you again, brother. You gave me Johnny Cage back. For that, I am eternally grateful.” Kahn only sighed snobbishly and got back into bed.
Nightwolf paced up and down nervously in the Elders’ Main Hall. The five gods appeared and tried to console him. “Calm yourself, son,” Earth said. “Earth is right, Nightwolf,” Love said. “Lord Rayden has the situation well in hand.” “I sense a presence,” Wind said. “One I have not felt in thousands of years.” “As do I,” Water agreed. Black smoke began to collect in the great hall. The Elders made a circle around Nightwolf as the smoke took the form of a man. Out of the smoke, Shinook appeared with an evil smile on his face. “What are you doing here?” Fire demanded. “What?” Shinook asked sarcastically. “No kiss. Not one tear of happiness. Jeez, I’d think you guys would have at least missed me at all these years.” “Let’s skip the mis-manners, Shinook!” Earth demanded. “What do you want?” “What do I want?” Shinook repeated. “Oh, nothing much Earth, just my son…DEAD! This pathetic planet…DESTROYED! And you all…ELIMINATED!”
“Easier said than done, pal!” Water insisted. “What makes you think you can take all five of us out?” “Oh no!” Shinook exclaimed. “I may not be able to take you out, but this can!” The fallen Elder drew a black scepter with sparkling jewels all about it. “The Scepter of Gon Gou Lye!” Wind and Love shouted with fear. “Where did you get that?” Fire asked shockingly. “That is for me to know and you to find out!” Shinook answered raising the weapon high into the air. He was about to fire when a green arrow knocked it out of his hands. Shinook grew hot with anger as he saw Nightwolf standing in front of the Elders armed with his mystic bow and arrows. “You’re not taking us down without a fight, asshole,” Nightwolf insisted. “I have no time for little piss ants like you…BEGONE!” Shinook yelled as he used telekinesis to propel Nightwolf into a wall. The sadistic tyrant did not stop there. He used his awesome power to shoot Nightwolf in the chest and legs with his own arrows!
He then focused his attention to the Elders. Earth ran at him first but was downed when Shinook blocked his/her/its back kick and shot him/her/it in the face with the scepter. Shinook then used his own son’s Body Launch to take down Water and Love. Wind was next; he/she/it caught the receiving end of a Japanese arm drag. Fire attempted a jump kick but Shinook shot one of Liu’s air Dragon fireballs. With his enemies fallen before him, Shinook let out a hysterical laugh. He raised the scepter with authority and a powerful red beam shot out from it onto the fallen gods. Their bodies began to ascend into the red beam. They floated around for a couple of moments and then, along with the red beam, were sucked back into the scepter. Nightwolf managed to breathe these words before he passed out, “Y-You’ll never g-get away with this, you slime!”
“Why, shaman, I already have!” Shinook replied. “Farewell, worm!” He burst into maniacal laughter and teleported from the hall. He then proceeded into the weapons storage, vehicle bay, and Nightwolf’s Kombat Kommand Center and literally decimated them. When Shinook was through, there was little more than a foundation of the temple left standing. Lord Rayden and the Defenders arrived soon thereafter. They were shocked and appalled by what had happened to their headquarters. They searched the wreckage to salvage what they could but were hopeless. “This is like a stinking nightmare, man!” Kabal exclaimed. “Where are the Elders?” “Good question,” Kitana agreed. In what was left of the Kommand Center, Jax, Liu, and Sub-Zero tried to put together Nightwolf’s main computer to see if they could learn anything. “It’s h-hopeless,” Nightwolf said as he entered the dilapidated room with his chest and legs covered in bandages.
“What happened here?” Rayden asked. “Where are the Elders?” “Shinook took them,” Nightwolf began. “What do you mean, took them?” Jax asked demandingly. “Ain’t they supposed to be more powerful than this guy or something, man?” “Let him finish!” Rayden exclaimed. Nightwolf continued, “He enslaved them in something called the Scepter of Gon Gou Lye. All of our resources have been destroyed. Our weapons, our vehicles, are gone totally. My chi has left as well.” The others then tried at their own individual powers but had no success. “Why can’t we use our powers, man?” Liu asked. “Yeah, Rayden, what’s the deal?” Johnny asked determinedly. “With the Elders gone, the equilibrium the Earth once maintained has been disrupted,” Rayden began. “As a result, mortals everywhere have lost their chi. We must free the Elders and defeat Shinook in Mortal Kombat! But we cannot do this without some kind of power.”
“What is this Scepter of Gon Gou Lye?” Sonya asked. “At first I thought it was merely a myth,” Rayden answered. “I guess I was wrong. It was a special kind of prison designed by Satan himself. It’s used for the sole purpose of enslaving all minor gods in any realm.” “Funny how you failed to mention all of this before,” Sonya scoffed. “This is not about blame, Blade!” Rayden stated in a firm tone. “We are together in this. Not one of us saw this coming, so you can stop pointing fingers!” “Minor gods, huh,” Stryker said. “That means it can imprison you, too.” “Yes,” Rayden responded. “Since there is mortal blood in my body, I have lost my powers as well.” “So what are we going to do now?” Sub-Zero asked defiantly. “It is rumored in an old oracle I read recently that there is a awesome and unstoppable source of power in a planet called Lagron, which is 10,000 light-years away from the Earth.”
“The Dragon jets nor the Thunderbolt can make it there,” Nightwolf informed. “But I may be able to teleport all of us there with the very last Edenian energy crystal.” “So be it,” Lord Rayden said. “We don’t have a choice. The millennium is the day after tomorrow. If the Elders are not released by then, this planet will cease to exist.” Nightwolf set up a transport device in the dilapidated Kommand Center. The Defenders stood around unsure of themselves. They were about to enter unknown territory fully unprepared. “OK, everyone,” Nightwolf announced. “Get in that center square there and we’ll be ready to go. One thing, though, the Edenian crystal has enough energy to get us to Lagron but there will be none to get us back.” “We’ll just have to hope that the power source is there,” Liu Kang said. “You never know until you try.” Liu and the others got on the square while Nightwolf set the device. Once he was done, he joined the others. “All right everyone,” he said. “Here we go!”
He clicked a button on a small remote control and a blue beam shot from the transport device and engulfed them all. The blue ball floated to and through the ceiling of the temple and flew all the way off the planet. Hindpar was a realm of constant night. Like Outworld, it had been once beautiful but was destroyed by Shao Kahn after its inhabitants lost ten Mortal Kombats to him. With the defeat of Kahn and the return of Outworld to its former state, Shinook now used the realm as his base of operations. In the throne room of his vast castle, he sat bragging about his “victory” over the Elders. “All these years of being defeated by you, and now I have you all right in the palm of my hand,” he gloated as he picked up the scepter. “Not so big on lectures and disbanding your fellow gods now, are you, you godly geeks!” He then burst into laughter as one of his generals, Reiko, came into the throne room. “Sir, we have just received word that Rayden and his mortals have left Earth realm,” he said concerned.
"Left, how?” Shinok asked now angry. “I personally destroyed all of their means of travel and realm-hopping!” “We believe they had one more Edenian energy crystal left,” Reiko informed. “Our Shadow priests tell us that they are set for a course for a planet called Lagron.” “Lagron!” Shinook screamed. “No! If they obtain the powers of the Lagronites, my plan is doomed! Did the priests obtain the remains I asked for?” “Yes, sir,” Reiko answered. “Bring it in!” Two Shadow priests brought in the body of none other than Ermac and sat him up straight. Shinook collected some bright energy in his hands and held it high. “By the powers bestowed upon me, I now give you, Erogenous Ermac, LIFE!” he shouted as he blasted the corpse with the energy. The corpse came to life almost instantly and his first words were “What happened? Where am I? What is going on?” “Calm yourself, Ermac,” Shinook soothed. “You have been resurrected for a purpose. That is, to eliminate Lord Rayden and those mortal morons he commands!”
“Why me?” Ermac asked. “Why did you not get Sheeva, Motaro, or Kahn? They are all far better fighters than I am.” “Because they are useless!” Shinook answered. “They failed miserably. I see light in you because your defeat was not your fault. Someone jumped in your fight.” “I see,” Ermac said. “Well, I cannot defeat them all by myself.” “I have chosen some suitable help for you, Erogenous,” Shinook said as he waved his hand to the door. Twenty ninjas, all dressed in red and black as Ermac was, entered the throne room. “My guys!” Ermac exclaimed happily. “Thank you for this, oh great Shinook! I will not fail you!” “I know you won’t,” Shinook said. “Now go to Lagron, intercept Rayden and his pathetic fighters, and kill ‘em all!” The red ninjas and their leader let out a battle cry and left the throne room running. “Do you honestly believe they’ll succeed?” Reiko asked. “In case they do, why don’t you be a good general and summon Komodai and his Reptiles,” Shinook said as he sat in his throne. “Tell them to be on standby. I may need their services in the future.”
“Yes sir,” Reiko said accepting the command. He left the throne room and Shinook picked up the Scepter of Gon Gou Lye again. “Yes,” he whispered letting out a low chuckle. Lagron was a vast and heavily populated planet. It was similar to the earth in many ways, such as: the people all breathed oxygen as humans did, the animals were the same there as on Earth, and the people looked very human. The Defenders arrived in their blue energy field almost an hour after they had departed their home realm. After the bluish field disintegrated, the warriors looked around the unfamiliar planet. “Where do we go from here?” Johnny asked unknowingly. “Maybe we should head for that palace over there,” Kabal said pointing to a vast structure resembling the Taj Mahal in the distance. “I agree,” Rayden said. “We should make our presence known to these people and their leader or leaders before going and looking for their energy sources. Let’s go, people!”
Lord Rayden led the warriors as they started out towards the palace. Without their chi, the weather and the journey started taking its toll early on the fighters especially Sub-Zero, who could not survive long in hot, humid weather. “Water, water,” Liu cried. He then saw a pool in the heat. He smiled with approval and shouted, “Water!” He ran towards the pool when Kitana yelled, “Liu, wait!” It was too late; Liu had charged headfirst into a mirage and was virtually swimming in a pool of sand. “What a idiot!” Stryker exclaimed as he, Nightwolf, and Kabal burst into laughter. “Oh yeah go ahead you guys,” Liu said slightly embarrassed. “Laugh it up, laugh it up.” “Stop f-fooling around!” Rayden said nearly out of breath. “W-We have work to do!” Sonya fell on the sandy ground and Jax helped her up. Something heading towards them caught her eye and she screamed, “Incoming!”
Ermac and his squad of red ninjas leaped out of a craft and onto the ground. They wasted no time talking as they started their assault. Two red ninjas grabbed Rayden by the arms and a third tried to punch him but the Thunder god countered by kicking the ninja in the face and performing a double head-butt on the other two which took a lot of strength. Sonya went for her Leg Throw on a red ninja but he thwarted it by pushing her legs to the ground. Jax then attempted to cut the ninja low but four more red ninjas rushed him. A red ninja ran at Stryker with his sword drawn and Stryker held up his baton to block it but was astonished when the ninja sliced a half of it off. He then remembered that his chi allowed him to perform superhuman feats with the baton. “Don’t take it personal, OK, pal?” he said nervously. The red ninja chuckled briefly and then took him down with an air roundhouse kick to the chin.
Kitana swiped at one ninja with her fans repeatedly. With each swing, she grew tired and weaker. Finally, the red ninja somersault kicked the fans out of her hands and took her down at the same time. Liu ran to her side and said, “Are you all right?” “No, Liu Kang,” Kitana said sadly. “We have used our chi too much. Now without it, we can’t even defend ourselves from our enemy.” She fainted in his arms and Liu became enraged and charged at the red ninja. He kicked at the ninja first, but that was blocked. He then tried a jump kick but the ninja caught his leg and slammed him to the floor. Rayden tried to grab the ninja from behind but he was whacked upside the head with a bo staff from another red ninja. “Without some chi pumping in our blood, defeating these damn things is hopeless!” shouted Johnny as five ninjas rushed him. Sub-Zero managed to sweep one red ninja and down another with a palm strike but he was felled with a back kick to his back.
Defeat was almost imminent for the Earth realm warriors. Ermac grabbed Kabal by the throat and flung him into the arms of three red ninjas who dished out more punishment. As the Earth realm warriors were being decimated, an unusual battle cry was heard. Twelve armed warriors all dressed like royal guards and led by two figures in brown cloaks appeared out of nowhere and began to fight the evil guards. The first five red ninjas were taken out with a roundhouse from one of the figures in brown. The twelve warriors fought valiantly against the red menace, eventually taking them all out. Ermac then grabbed one of the cloaked figures and threw him to the ground. “Let’s see how you do against me!” he shouted as he got into a fighting stance. The warrior cloaked in brown rose and said, “Be careful, friend. If you ask for something you just might get it!” He removed the cloak to show his true features.
He was a tall tan-skinned young man with a light beard, no mustache, and a build very similar to Liu Kang’s. He ran towards the leader of the red ninjas and jump kicked him in the face. As the red ninja came down to Earth, the warrior swept him before he could land, making the fall even harder. Ermac then rose and shouted, “I can’t believe it! This sissy boy Liu Kang wannabe is kicking my ass!” “Hey, I resent that remark!” Liu yelled. “Whoever you are, FINISH HIM!” The warrior nodded his head in approval, ran towards the weakened Ermac, and finished him with a scissors kick. The fourteen fighters then approached the Defenders of the Realm. “We sure were getting our butts kicked,” Johnny said holding his hand out. “Whoever you all are, thanks a lot.” One of the warriors hit Johnny on the hand with his bo staff. The actor let out an agonizing cry and yelled, “Now what in the hell was that for?”
The second cloaked warrior removed her cloak to reveal her true features. She was an average-sized cinnamon-skinned young woman. “I am Tanya, this is Kai,” she said pointing to the warrior who defeated Ermac. “These are my Queen’s personal guards. We want to know what are you illegal aliens doing trespassing in our realm!” “We are not trespassing,” Kitana answered agitated. “We are fighters from a realm called Earth in search of an awesome source of energy to restore our chi.” “So, they have come in search of our Lagronitic resources, aye,” Kai said. “Well, we’re going to take you all before our beloved Queen and see what she has to say about this.” “What if we say no?” Sub-Zero said. Kai smiled and clicked his fingers and the twelve guards got their weapons at the ready. “We’ll have no choice but to kill you where you stand,” Tanya answered. “In your weakened conditions, you would not stand long in a fight.” “We have no choice then,” Lord Rayden said. “I hate to be repetitious but take us to your leader!”
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