Liu Kang looked all around him, and as far as his eyes could see, there lay the bodies of all his Shaolin family. Brothers, masters, all were dead. The only exception was a small group he now stood before, with looks of terror. These individuals were the dying. They were less fortunate than their Brothers, for while they died quickly, painlessly, and in battle. Those that were in this group were in anguish and pain beyond anything that could humanly be imagined.

This was due to the fact that their assailants were not human. They were from another realm. To be exact, they were from the same realm that spawned the demon Liu Kang had defeated, the malevolent Shang Tsung. Tsung was from a realm ruled by a supreme warlord, Shao Khan. Khan is the supreme ruler of what's called Outworld, although at first it was called Edenia.

Tsung had been banished to Earth in an attempt to bring Earth under Khan's control. He failed and was defeated by one of the Shaolin's greatest, Liu Kang. This outraged Tsung, but it also put a sense of humility for losing to "a mere mortal," as well as a sense of fear for the fate he knew his master, Khan, had in store for him. It was in this state of mind that had him decide to use the fierce Nomads of Outworld, lead by Baraka, to destroy the Shaolin temples and slaughter the people inside. No one and nothing was spared. All was broken, shattered, burned, or mutilated.

"How can this be! All of my friends, life, all...GONE!" cried Liu Kang.

He felt that he was dead too, with no one left. He then heard a noise, and as he turned, he saw both Baraka and a feeble Shang Tsung with a horde of Nomads ready to kill him and send him to his Brothers.

"Liu Kang, wake up! Are you ok?"

"What!? Oh, Kai, it's you. Have I been asleep long?"

"Long enough for them to send me to get you. Oh, they are all here."

"ALL?"

"Yes. Kung Lao, Sonya Blade, Jackson Briggs, Stryker, Nightwolf, Raiden, and Fujin."

"Even my friend, the god of thunder, and the god of wind have come? This is really going to be an event."

"There's also another whom I think you may want to see now."

"Hello, Liu Kang."

Liu Kang's heart soared, for it was the woman that no one could keep away from him, not even the mighty Shao Khan himself.

"Hello, Kitana."

"Kitana, I'm glad to see you."

"What's wrong, Liu Kang? Something is bothering you. Please tell me what it is."

"Well, you see..."

"I'm sorry lovebirds, but it will have to wait until later. There is business for us to attend to my friends," spoke a somewhat impatient Kai.

"Yes, of course, my friend. We will be right behind you. Lead the way."

"At once, Liu Kang."

As they started, Kitana started to ask Liu Kang a question, "Kai called us 'lovebirds,' Liu Kang. Is that another type of slang that seems to be abundant here on Earth?"

"Um...I'll explain later, when we have some time to be alone."

With that, they followed after Kai.

Liu Kang was not as uncomfortable as some when it came to his feelings. He loved Kitana, and she felt the same way for him. It made no difference that they were of two different races, or more exact, different realms. All that was important was that they would be willing to fight to the end for one another. This is what is so important about love. It's not just the immediate rush of things or just "falling in love;" it's when two souls have come together and will not let ANYTHING, NO MATTER WHAT, stand in the way of their love. They may have their problems, but they will work them out for they have both an understanding of how the other is, and how to incorporate that with their individual lifestyle.

They were in the council room, together with old and new friends, as they were getting ready for a rather desperate assault on Khan's fortress. Raiden was the first to speak, once all had settled down.

"Warriors of and for the Earth Realm, you all know why we are here. We face the Earth's destruction. I, and my loyal friend, Fujin, will accompany you to Outworld. Though our powers will be very weak, we cannot allow Khan or anyone from Outworld to destroy this world. We are aware of the risks we take, as well as our very immortality, but in the name of the Earth's survival, we will risk it all."

Following that, all in attendance applauded and cheered the god of thunder, Raiden, for his inspiring speech. The Earth was rapidly becoming a part of Outworld, and they had to take drastic measures to stop Khan from fulfilling his plans. The only one who was having doubt was Kitana.

"Kitana, are you all right? Something seems to be bothering you."

"Oh, Sonya. It's just that I'm worried about my mother, Queen Sindel. She does not yet realize who she was. I do not wish to have to confront my own mother; I simply cannot do such a thing."

"Hey, don't worry. I'm sure that by the time we arrive at Khan's fortress, we'll be able to think of some way of coping with this and in a way that won't lead to that conflict."

"I hope you are right Sonya. I hope to the gods that you are right."

As the warriors exited from the portal, they found themselves in one of the darkest parts of Outworld. It was dark for two reasons.

The first, and most obvious was that the nights were two and half times longer than the days.

The second was that this was an area where there was no law whatsoever. While it was in his domain, Khan paid it very little attention. There was hardly anything in this wasteland that would be of interest to him. There were no resources of value, water and food were scarce, and the land seemed like a sort of graveyard for as far as the eye could see. This land was home to the same race that had spawned the evil Baraka, the same being that led the slaughter of the Shaolin, and the being that the few survivors wanted to kill, Liu Kang having the greatest of desire for this.

"Welcome to Outworld, warriors of Earth," proclaimed the awesome voice of the god of thunder, Raiden, "Behold, that which we must cross to get to Khan's fortress."

"Raiden, the way you have taken us to is but a barren wasteland. How are we to confront Khan by taking this way?"

Fujin, however, responded, "Young mortal, do not be deceived by that which is before you. Before you, we venture out into The Wasteland, home of one of the most savage races in all of Outworld, the Nomads. This is the same race that slaughtered the Shaolin. This, however, is the path that will offer the least amount of obstacles. The way to Khan is filled with traps and death. Alone, your party would be lucky to reach him at all. With Raiden and myself, though weakened, you have a chance of at least reaching the fortress."

Raiden added, "You see, Kai, no matter which way we take, there will be danger. I have chosen the safest of the short paths. If we are lucky, we should be able to keep our battles down to scrimmages with bandits and not draw Khan's attention. ANY other way, and it will either be too late to stop him due to the distance we must travel, or from the assault of his extermination squads."

"Heads up kids. Here comes our first, um, 'scrimmage' of the day!" warned Jax.

As they turned, they saw a small group of Nomads charging them. Luckily, these were not Nomads in Khan's army. They were little more than murdering thieves. Within minutes, the Earth warriors were victorious, and the dead Nomads were left for whatever fate chose for them.

They reached the enormous battle fortress of the ruler of Outworld, Shao Khan, just a few hours before day would break. Their injuries were few and minor, mostly due to the aide of their companion gods, Raiden and Fujin. They helped keep their countless foes at a disadvantage. However, they had to keep their powers low so as to not harm their mortal companions. In addition, they had to be extra cautious so that they would not unwittingly reveal their presence, in one way or another, to Khan or one of his minions.

They approached the hut which had one of the secret exits of the fortress. As it was, this was the exact one Kitana had escaped through.

Odd, she thought. Now, she was going to break back into the very place she had spent what felt like eternity trying to escape from.

Khan had only four guards there, for he didn't want to make it seem as though they were guarding anything important, and wanted it to seem to be just an outpost at the edge of his fortress. Many passed it, assuming the same thing, never knowing that they may have had an easier path to Khan, only to learn about it as the angel of death came and took them away.

"Hey, no problem. I can handle them."

"Correction, Jax, we can handle them."

"Sure, why not Stryker. I'll try and save one for you."

"Jax, this ain't a game! You need to be serious about this!"

"Hey, Sonya, this is me you're talking too."

"That's why I want you to be careful and not bungle the job this time."

"Ouch! You didn't have to go there."

"Come Jax, let's do this!"

Just then, the door opened, and the guards came out, and went down by Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Kai, and Kitana.

"We didn't want to interrupt your conversation. But since you did get their attention, you did some good," said Kung Lao.

It was the first time in a while that they had heard him talk.

"Great, first time the dude talks, and he cracks jokes," mumbled Jax.

Inside, after a lengthy search, they found the secret they were looking for.

"Over here, everyone!" Nightwolf proudly announced as they came to where he was.

In seconds, the trap was shut behind Nightwolf as though it had never been opened.

Just as he turned, he smacked right in to Stryker's back.

"Hey, Stryker, what gives? Why did you just stop all of the sudden? Will you answer... me?"

Before their party stood Khan and his elite officers, waiting for them. Blocking their way was Sheeva, Motaro, Sindel, Baraka, Mileena, Jade, a small group of guards, and Khan himself.

"So, at last Raiden, you and your pitiful band of Earth Warriors arrive. I was wondering what was keeping you. I thought you had disappointed me and decided not too show up!" taunted Khan, for he knew that all of the advantages were his.

He also knew that they were relying on stealth and surprise. Even with Raiden and Fujin, they were still no match for him and his forces, which were fresh and had not spent most of the night fighting or evading nomads, thieves, and others.

"So, since I'm in a good mood, I'll let you know how I was able to know your every move."

With that, he grabbed Kitana, and spun her around, much to the displeasure of Liu Kang. Hidden under the headband Sonya had given her from the last time they were together, he pulled a spy device, capable of transmitting everything that was within its range, both sound and picture. He then let out his trademark laugh before preparing to speak. However, he was interrupted by a staff that had been hurled into his back, staggering him.

"Who dares assault the master of Outworld, Shao Khan? Who wishes to join these foolish mortals?"

In response, Jade tossed a few stars at him, causing Khan to fume.

"Traitorous BITCH! For your defiance, I shall personally kill you myself!"

"GO TO HELL, FALSE RULER!" retorted Jade.

Motaro was nearly upon Jade, when Sheeva intervened.

"Out of my way, four-arm!"

"When Hell freezes, four-leg!"

"Sheeva, what is the meaning of this?" demanded Khan.

"You betray yourself, Khan. It was bad enough that you put him in charge, but to help his race exterminate mine--I will do anything to bring you down!"

Things quickly fell into chaos. While not what Raiden had planned, as long as Khan's troops were fighting amongst themselves, that would narrow the number that they had to face, though not by much.

Soon however, all of this would be over, with neither side gaining anything. Upon the horizon hung a fate with more power than all of the warriors here put together could stop. What would it be like to confront that which is truly all powerful?

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