Mortal Kombat: Manga

[[[Warning warning there are a few warnings at the beginning of this
fic.]]]
[[[Language warning. Some naughty language]]]
[[[Dark Warning.. The story is Dark as a whole.{Hey its Mortal Kombat
what do you expect?}]]]
[[[Lime warning. Not quite lemon. You'll understand when you see it.]]]
[[[Warning really long explanation Rant.]]] Don't worry there is a fic
after it.

	Ohaiyo! Fellow Otaku, I know what many of you are thinking.
"Mortal Kombat?! What the hell is this doing here?" Well allow me to
explain.
	The story behind Mortal Kombat is pretty good if you've ever
played the game, It is like an old Chinese kung fu movie. [Actually many
of its ideas were stolen from such films. Enter the Dragon gave us the
tournament, Jhonny Cage, Liu Kang, and allot of the background. Big
trouble in Little China gave us Raiden, Shang Tsung and the Ninja. There
are quite a few others but I'll let you figure them out on your own.] But
the story has never been told properly. This is true Manga material
folks, blood violence, twisted relationships, the whole shebang. It even
has a cool theme song.
	For years I have waited for someone to do this right. In comics I
was disappointed. Characters were way off and the actual tournament was
never really shown. It started right, but went way off. I won't even go
into the cartoons. I'm still trying to forget that nightmare that gave
meaning to 'The American crap' I hear about from some of my Anime purist
friends. 
	Then there was the movie. This was as close to cool as it got,
and it was pretty darn good. The only real beef I had was the crappy
version of Goro. A Computer generated more intimidating monster would
have been better. [His arms are the same size as his body in the game,
they made the movie Goro look stumpy in comparison. Game Goro also had a
vacant stare that made him look more intimidating and vacant. Movie Goro
had eyes that made him look smarter and more aware, it sort of ruined the
effect he should have had.] Also the poor telling of Sub-zero and
Scorpion's tale. Which was accepted due to time constraints. They still
kicked ass. 
	Anyone who ever brings up the second movie in my presence will be
shot.
	Well, I decided to tell the story right. I hope you get the manga
feel of it because I would love to do a comic version of this one day.
That would rule. It shouldn't be too long and I've decided to leave in
the Sub-zero Mythologies story. Although I won't be going into it much. I
pretty much decided to just use it for background when writing dialog for
the ninja [Ninjas?]. You may notice some of the relationship changes
later on and allot of the stories change from what your used to in the
regular movies/comics/TV continuities. Particularly in Raiden and Sonja's
case. [But that's not all my friends!] I'm using game only reference for
this and not even touching anything else.
	I've ranted long enough. Here ya go! Part one of MK Manga!

P.S. Continuation of this depends on feed back! Give me C&C and tell me
what you think! Send to Catbert25@juno.com
[[[[Rant end, fic start]]]]

Mortal Kombat!: Ch.1 The gathering.

	Liu kang sat on the steps of the temple and frowned as he felt
the presence of something that did not belong. He looked at the gates
which stood open and glared at what had entered. It was a mockery for all
those present. A monk in dirty brown rags with his eyes and mouth sewn
shut walked towards the temple with a small scroll held dutifully in his
hands. He walked slowly and methodically never pausing in the slightest
as he walked by. Lui kang stood and walked away from the temple in
disgust as the poor soul walked inside.

	The head priest stood and his jaw clenched in sympathy as the man
entered. With each tournament Shang Tsung grew more arrogant and
disrespectful. The blind and mute man stood and bowed his head as he
walked through the gathering of monks in the middle of their prayer. The
man held the scroll out forcefully and the monk took it respectfully. It
was worn and old looking with a golden seal holding it closed. Burned
into the wax was a serpent like dragon within a circle. He bowed and the
tired looking man simply crumbled to dust before him. 
	"So, Ki Fu has returned to us." said the head monk as he looked
at the pile. "Take the remains and place them in the shrine erected for
him in the garden. We will give a proper burial to our lost brother even
if he no longer exist." Those gathered gasped in horror at the senseless
display. "So I must send another to his death." sighed the head priest.
"Has the warrior been chosen?" he inquired.
	One of the monks nearby nodded. "Liu Kang defeated Kung lao in
the last tournament, he will represent us. I pity his soul." 
	"Brother we must have faith, even if it is unfounded. Liu Kang is
a warrior unlike any we have had in generations. I am confident he will
succeed." said the head priest as he returned to his prayer.
	"I wish I could hold your confidence, even our great ancestor
Kung lao could not face what he must. I would feel safer with sending his
name sake..." said the other priest with a small sad frown.
	"Silence I will not have such insolence. It has been decided."
said the head monk quietly.
	 With that the prayers within the temple resumed.

	Hollywood California...

	Jhonny Cage stood against impossible odds, He had an empty gun
holster at his side and was backed into a corner of a dark, old, and
musty waterside and conveniently abandoned warehouse. Fortunately none of
his opponents had guns. One had a sword another wielded a Bo and one of
the smaller ones had a pair of nunchaku but no guns. The seven men stood
around him and twirled their weapons around themselves with expert skill.
"Great." he sighed as they closed in. 
	"Lets go." he said with a small grin.
	"Side kick, High punch, Low kick, Back hand, Crescent kick, Jump
dodge, Roll, Uppercut, Side kick, Splits, Punch, Spinning back kick,
Turn, and Shadow Kick. Turn again put on sunglasses." he thought as he
performed the moves. He sighed as he finished.
	"You guys should practice more." He hated the line, it didn't
sound right.

	"Cut!" cried a voice as lights appeared all around him. Jhonny
shielded his eyes from the sudden lights and was blinded for a moment.
"Jhonny baby what's wrong?" cried the director.
	"Nothin' just get it set up again OK?" said a fat man near to the
camera. He was wearing a cheap suit and tie and looked very smug.
	"Shut up Lou." said Jhonny to his agent.
	"But, Jhonny I thought..." stammered the man as the look
disappeared for a moment.
	"I don't pay you to think. I pay you to get me work." said Jhonny
as he walked off. "I'm takin a break."
	"Sure thing babe." said the fat man.
	"I'm not doing that line again it sounds stupid, change it." he
said as he walked out of the sound stage. 
	"But my vision!" cried the director.
	"Fuck your vision." Cage muttered as he kept walking.

	Jhonny stood against the wall of his trailer with a towel and a
bottle of water. He wished it was gin but it wasn't safe to make movies
like this with alcohol in your system. He hated the taste of that crap
they made him drink in bar scenes. "I'm sick of being safe." he muttered
as he looked up at the clouds. He wasn't allowed to compete in
competitions because of his contract and he didn't mind that. Those
things weren't much of a challenge. Besides, he had an image to uphold.
He was beginning to tire of the coriographed dancing they called martial
arts in the film industry. This wasn't what he learned his skills for. He
wanted to do something. Be a hero in some way. Save the world or
something, not this. He was one of the worlds greatest martial artist and
all he was doing was glorified dancing.
	"I've got to do something stupid or I'll go nuts." he muttered to
himself as a few of the extras walked by and waved cheerfully. He waved
back politely. "Pansies."
	He never heard him coming. A man covered by a heavy dirty brown
cloak stood next to him and thrust his hands forward. Jhonny looked at
him dumbly and backed away. The stench of the man was unbelievable. "How
the hell did you get here?" he cried in disgust. Apparently security was
slacking if a bum could get onto the lot. The man trust his hands at him
again with a scroll in them. Jhonny smiled and took it, he pulled out a
pen and smiled. "Who should I make it out to?" he asked as he moved up
wind of the man. The man looked up and Jhonny froze, his eyes and mouth
were sewn shut and he began to crumble to dust before him.
	"Holy Shit!" cried Jhonny as he jumped back in shock.
	A voice came to the back of his head. It was raspy and labored
but spoke clearly. "You wanted something crazy did you not?" it said
sounding amused. Jhonny looked at the scroll and frowned. On the seal was
a dragon within a circle.

	Near the U.S/Mexican boarder...

	"Here he comes." said a voice in her ear. Sonja Blade reached
down and adjusted the volume on her radio idly. She didn't hear the
voice. All her concentration was on the figure approaching on the
highway. He was wearing a dirty black leather jacket and riding a Harley
Davidson down the highway. The sun gleaming off his face told her all she
needed to know. 
	"Kano." she muttered.

	"Oh shit. Commander we have a problem. Lt. Blade has gone off
again." said the young soldier as he listened to the radio. 
	"What was that son?" asked the man dressed in a well pressed
camouflage uniform. He was in his forties and had an air of authority
about him. 
	"Its him sir. She's gone Awol on us." said the boy.
	The man stood silently for a moment and glared out the window. "I
wasn't expecting them to send him for such a small smuggling operation.
Damn." he thought.
	"Sir?" asked the young soldier.
	"Let her be. She'll deal with this." said the commander. 
	"Yes sir." said the boy.

	Kano growled as he rode through the dust of southern Texas. He
hated this part of his job. He was in the middle of nowhere and eating
dust for some petty concern of his superiors in the black dragon. He
liked the city life, more people, not so much open space. It was easy to
hide. Out here if he ran into the law he was in trouble. He'd have to
kill and no one else could be blamed for it. He'd have another task force
assigned to him. Some band of gun happy hicks. He snorted in amusement.
They were more dangerous that the real 'law'. The weak fools with their
"Stop or I'll shoot." those morons were dead before they finished the
sentence most of the time and he had lots of others around to pin it on.
Life was good.
	But right now it wasn't. Some petty smuggler was skimming off the
profits and some big name decided to take care of the problem using him
to get the message across to everyone else. Because it was him killing
them the news would spread faster. He planned to make the deaths very
painful for making him come out in this hell hole. The message would
indeed be clear. He turned off onto the back road that would lead him to
the dock.

	Liu Kang stood at the old dock and awaited the small craft that
would take him to civilization. He looked around at the Temple and the
river flowing peacefully before him. He was alone and no one saw him off.
To them he was already dead. But he would prove them wrong, all of them.
The sorcerer Shang Tsung would pay for his insults. He had made a mockery
of a once great tradition and never lost the opportunity to show it to
the peaceful monks. He smiled as the small boat arrived and he greeted
the old man inside. He knew that his destiny would lie at the tournament,
he was sure that he would succeed. He had to.

	Jhonny Cage stood on the deck of his private yacht and smiled as
he met the open ocean and steered south. He breathed the fresh air and
relaxed at the wheel. It would take three days to reach the place
indicated on the scroll. He wasn't sure why he felt so compelled to go
but something seemed to draw him. He had hoped to relax during the trip
and the weather seemed fair as he sailed. It was perfect. "Then why do I
feel so uneasy?" he asked himself.

	Sonja Blade kicked open the door to the shack that served as an
office to the small and worn out old docks. The place was obviously an
old smuggling port in the middle of the desert. The smell hit her as soon
as she entered the room. She surveyed the carnage and looked over the
bodies in the room passively. It was definitely Kano's handy work. Blood
covered nearly every thing the walls and the floor were dripping with it.
It appeared to be what was once a small and well kept business. Even if
it was smuggling that was impressive for the conditions around them. All
of the men were carved up neatly, the slashes were precise and very
painful. A pretty young girl of about nineteen was bent back across a
desk in a disgustingly lurid position with her lifeless eyes staring out
a window. It had obviously taken several minutes for them to die as many
of them were obviously trying to crawl for help or in a vain attempt to
escape. She bent down to touch some of the blood on the ground. "I missed
him by no more than an hour." she muttered as she stood. She walked
outside and frowned  as she noticed the Bike sitting against one of the
walls. "If he didn't take the bike, then how did he leave?" she thought
as she looked around the vehicle cautiously. 
	She instinctively reached for her radio and stopped as she
realized that her unit could not help her. They had been ordered to
retrieve an experimental weapon that had been stolen from the government.
Kano's capture was second priority to them. She had probably screwed up
the operation just being here. "Good going girl." she muttered as she
slumped against the bike in disgust. She looked at the pier and smiled.
One of the boats they had seen on reconnaissance was missing. She stood
and walked over to the remaining craft.
	
	Six hours later...
	
	Kano frowned as he held his jaw. "I got sloppy." he muttered as
he rubbed at the growing red mark. One of the larger dock hands had
gotten in a good punch while he was 'taking care' of the pretty
secretary. To bad she had to die. He had rather enjoyed that one. "Twenty
million more where she came from." he laughed as he steered the boat
slightly. He wiped the blood off the polished metal on his face and began
to scrub his face and torso with a small bucket of water he had next to
the wheel. He frowned as he thought about the smaller craft he had left
behind at the docks. It would have suited his need much better than the
fishing boat if he had not had to retrieve the weapon as well. He glanced
back at the large tarp that was covering a bulge in the back of the beat
up looking fishing boat. Then he saw something on the horizon. He left
the wheel and grabbed a pair of binoculars. He held it on its side over
his good eye and cursed as he saw the speck on the water. "Did one of
those bastards live?" he grumbled as he adjusted the focus. The green
uniform could barely be made out. "Shit!" he yelled in frustration. Off
to the west a small speck appeared, for a moment he thought he had been
surrounded. Then he recognized it as a small island. 
	The weapon was lost if the military had found him but he might be
able to get to cover in the jungle. He turned towards it and felt a chill
run down his side. He ignored all his instincts that screamed to turn
back and pushed onwards through the water.

	On a mountain somewhere in Japan...

	A dark figure surrounded by cloaked guards walked up the path
towards the temple at the peak of the steep mountain. Dark clouds boomed
and sparked with the sounds of thunder and the flash of lightening around
it.  At the top the figure stopped and walked towards the gates of the
temple. A large bolt of lightening exploded on the ground before the
figure and the cloaked beings writhed in agony before crumbling to dust
around him.
	A great being appeared before the figure who removed his hood to
reveal a delicate looking old man.  The monster stood twenty feet tall
and had great horns thrusting from its head, in its clawed hands it held
a great drum. In appearance it looked rather like a large demon. It
pointed at the old man and in a large booming voice it said. "Shang
Tsung, you may not enter here sorcerer."
	"As you wish. I have come to give an invitation. I understand
that even gods may compete if they take the form of mortals." said the
sorcerer in a tired and raspy voice.
	"Do not pretend to be weak before me old one. I could easily do
to you what I did you your used souls." said the beast.
	"Apologies lord Raiden, I did not mean to intrude on your sacred
ground. I only wished to deliver the invitation personally as befits one
of your standing." said the sorcerer.
	"Why?" asked the God.
	"Because I know even you may lose. I grow tired of easily
defeating the warriors of this planet. Goro grows impatient and I wish to
give him a challenge." The sorcerer was obviously lying but showed no
attempt to mask it.
	Raiden narrowed its eyes and thought for a moment before raising
its clawed hand and allowing it to charge full of power. "Very well I
accept. Leave this place and never return." said the god as he vanished
in another bolt of lightening.
	"Excellent." said Shang Tsung as he walked away.

	At the foot of the mountain a few hours later. 
	Shang Tsung stood impatiently. "So you have returned. Did you
succeed?" he said to the shadows. A small crystal appeared on the ground
at the sorcerers feet, he bent down and picked it up carefully.
"Excellent work Reptile, If I can contain the soul of a God not even Shao
Kahn could match my power." he said as he gripped the crystal tightly.
"Prepaid yourselves warriors of earth. The final battle has begun!" he
said as he continued down the path. His laughter echoed through the
mountains only to be drowned out by the angry lightening in the clouds.
TBC.....
Continuation of this depends on Feed back! Tell me what you think! C&C to
Catbert25@juno.com

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