Johnny Cage and Liu walked into the small courtyard where the meeting for all the fighters was to begin. Eric had stayed behind because he had slept in late.

"Johnny, why are so passionate about finding Eric’s fiance, anyway?" Liu asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"I don’t know. I guess I just feel sorry for her. I mean isn’t that Kano guy supposed to be cruel or something like that? Could you imagine what he might do to her?" that answer satisfied Liu. The stood in the small courtyard, looking at the list of fights.

"Eric is going to fight Kano." Johnny said looking at the name. He looked for his name. "And I’m going to fight Sub Zero." He already knew who the guy was. But wasn’t he supposed to fight Scorpion.

"Do you have any clue who Scorpion is? That’s the guy I’m supposed to fight." Liu shook his head. "I have a bad feeling about this guy."

"Johnny, Liu!" they turned around to see Eric running towards them. "Any sign of Kano?"

"No, but you’re going to fight him today." Johnny told him. Eric looked happy.

"Good. I’ll get my revenge for poor Sonya." He sighed. "I wish I knew what’s happening to her. If she’s OK."

"I’m sure she is." Johnny tried to reassure Eric as well as himself. Shang Tsung stepped out in front of the crowd.

"Everybody follow me." He yelled. Everybody filed out of the courtyard into what looked like a small garden. Shang Tsung looked off to his side where two guards were leading Sonya into the garden. Eric'’ eyes bulged out of his head. The guards chained her to a wall next to Shang Tsung. He grinned at her, his eyes were full of lust.

"Eric." He said pointing at Sonya’s fiance. "You will fight Kano." Eric stepped into the small square which resembled a wrestling ring. Kano was already waiting for him.

"What a beautiful fiance you have. I have to say I greatly enjoyed the time we spent together…" Eric could not stand the sly grin on his face.

"Are you sure that was Sonya, or your own hand?" he asked. Kano’s red eye glowed as he grew angry.

"You think your so smart? Well you’re going to fail the world just like you failed Sonya when I captured her."

"FIGHT!" Shang Tsung yelled the words, and Eric grabbed a knife and ran at Kano, ready to kill. Kano kicked him in the stomach and grabbed the knife from him. Eric saw the knife coming at his throat and rolled out of the way. He stuck out his foot and tripped Kano. Kano glared up at him. Suddenly Eric felt a roaring pain in his stomach. Eric looked up at Kano and noticed that he had a gun in his hand. Eric fell to the ground. The pain surged through him and he couldn’t think of anything else but the pain.

"FINISH HIM!" Shang Tsung yelled. His lips curved up in an evil smile and he looked over at Sonya who was watching the fight in horror. Kano pulled out another knife, the same one he had killed the two agents with back when he captured Sonya. He picked Eric’s head off the floor and put the knife at his neck. Sonya shut her eyes and turned her head, she couldn’t watch.

"I DON’T THINK SO!" a voice boomed through the garden. The crowd parted and Rayden, the thundergod walked into the arena.

"Rayden, how nice of you to join us. May I ask why you interrupted my fight you know you have no say in this tournament." Shang Tsung spoke loudly enough so that the god could here him.

"It is my say when you are using treachery to win. You know that guns are against the sacred rules of Mortal Kombat." Shang Tsung rolled his eyes. But Rayden kept on speaking. "And so is capturing and imprisoning one of my chosen warriors." He nodded at Sonya, who by now was watching the scene before her.

"Sonya was sold to me, there is no law against purchasing a chosen warrior. She is mine now." Suddenly he got a look in his eyes like he had come up with an idea. "I will, on the other hand, give your warriors a chance to free her. In twenty-four hours these two will have a rematch." He motioned towards Kano and Eric. "And if Eric wins, then I will let Sonya go. But if Kano wins, then Sonya is mine forever." Johnny Cage stepped into the ring.

"You got yourself a deal, pal." Sonya looked at him almost as though she recognized him. Well if Jax and Eric are fans of mine she must’ve at least seen me before.

The evil sorcerer spoke in an amused voice. "Then it is settled." He looked over at Sonya then, who gave him a look with so much hatred her eyes were almost red. "And in twenty-four hours you, you, my dear, are MINE."

"I wouldn’t be so sure if I were you, sorcerer." Johnny Cage yelled, he could hardly contain his anger. "Sonya belongs to nobody!" Shang Tsung ignored his words. He turned to his two guards.

"Take her away." He then spoke directly to Sonya. "I’ll see you later tonight." Sonya flipped him off. He laughed in amusement at her bravery. The guards unchained her from the wall and led her back inside the castle. Johnny Cage could hardly contain himself from going after them and freeing Sonya. Just twenty-four hours and she’ll be freed he thought to himself just twenty-four hours But how and when is she gonna get killed? I need to know if I can prevent it.

"Earth to Johnny, Come in Johnny. Johnny! Could you please help us carry Eric inside?" Eric, by now, had passed out. Kano was standing nearby and fuming. Sonya and Shang Tsung were gone, and Rayden and Liu were trying to help Eric inside. He shook his head and went to help them.

Sonya was led to her room by Shang Tsung’s guards. They held her arms firmly and she knew there was no chance of escape. She was trapped.

"Let me go." She said angrily. The guards ignored her protests, but her defiant attitude was beginning to get to them. She struggled stubbornly with the guards. "Let me go!" She could feel one of the guard’s grip on her arm slipping. Realizing she had a chance to escape, she jumbed in the air and kicked out at both of the guards. She hit one in the neck and one in the head. One fell, knocked out on the floor. The other leaned against the wall, grabbing at his throat.

"See ya, wouldn’t wanna be ya." She said, and without a moments hesitation she ran back down the hall towards the exit. She reached the end of the hall and looked around at the mazes of passages branching out in every direction. Which way is the exit? She wondered to herself. She looked back at the guards. One was still on the ground, but the other one was standing up. Without thinking she just started running, not noticing where she was going. She could here the footsteps behind her. The guard was chasing her. But Sonya knew that he would be no match to her. She was a fast runner and had been on the track team in highschool.

The hall curved to the right and to the left so that she could not see where she was going. She just had to trust her own gut instincts. Finally she ended up in front of a huge door. One which she remembered coming in only a few moments ago. She threw open the door and saw the last door to the opening. She ran towards the door and she could see sunlight pouring in the cracks of the doorway. Just as she was a few inches from escape, she felt something grab onto her arm. The person who held her arms pinioned behind her back and held her there.

"Shang Tsung, look what I found!" Kano, the person who had grabbed her, yelled. The sorcerer appeared in the open doorway and saw him holding Sonya. She still struggled frantically Kano laughed in her ear.

"What’s going on here?" Shang Tsung asked, looking slightly stunned and confused.

"I’ll answer for you." The guard she had kicked in the neck appeared. He looked happy that he could get his revenge on Sonya. "She tried to escape." Shang Tsung looked infuriated. He grabbed her chin and roughly pulled her face in front of his, about three inches away.

"I told you that if you ceased to resist, no harm would come to you. Unfortunately you refused to listen. So now I’m gonna have to teach you a listen." He looked directly at Kano. "Kano, would you do me the honors."

"Gladly sir." Kano grabbed one of her arms. He held on to her upper arm with one hand and pulled on the lower arm with his other. But he pulled it back the way it wasn’t supposed to be pulled. The way her joint didn’t allow it to go. She knew the pain was coming. She squeezed her eyes shut and braced herself. There was a loud CRACK and Sonya screamed out in pain. The scream thundered down the halls and anyone on his island could here it. Sonya couldn’t concentrate on anything other then the pain, and then everything went black.

"Did you hear that?" Johnny Cage turned away from his lunch to look at Liu. The scream was loud and full of suffering. It slowly faded, but most of the other warriors looked around, trying to find the source of it.

"Yeah. It sounded horrible."

"Somebody must be being tortured in there." Eric fround worriedly. "I hope it’s not Sonya. She’s one of the most stubborn women I know. But sometimes she doesn’t know when to quit."

"Look I think we need to worry more on how you’re going to win her back tomorrow with your ankle in that condition." Johnny said, looking at Eric’s wrapped up ankle.

"Actually first we need to worry about the fact that Johnny and I only have five minutes until our next fights." Liu pointed at Johnny’s watch.

"Yeah your right. Maybe we should get going. Are you going to come watch, Eric?" Eric shook his head and pointed at his ankle.

"Nah I’ll just stay here and mentally imagine you guys kicking some ass." Johnny and Liu left the large dining room and walked down the halls.

"I spoke to Rayden and he wanted me to tell you that to beat your enemy, you’re going to need the element that brings life." Johnny groaned in mock confusion.

"OK so where am I going to get a woman and a man at a time like this?" Liu groaned at his joke.

"Just be careful okay? I hear that Sub Zero is a very talented fighter. One of the bests." The two split up, Liu walking out of the castle while Johnny walked down a long dark hall. H ended up in a large room, the courtyard he remembered. There was a chill in the air. It was beyond shivering, beyond freezing. It chilled him from the inside. Sub Zero must be around here somewhere he knew what the chill meant.

Something from behind kicked him in the back. He fell face-forward onto the ground. He stood up and turned around to see….. nothing. The blue ninja was hiding somewhere. Johnny spun around in circles, trying to spot a flash of blue or something that would show him where the ninja was.

"If you’re so great then why are you hiding?" he snapped. As if in reply, the ninja came flying at him. His fists hit Johnny’s face. Johnny stumbled backwards. He kicked the ninja in the stomach, who fell on his ass and flipped forward onto his feet. Johnny attempted to punch him. Sub Zero dodged it and rebounded of the wall, doing a flip in the air and landing, again on his feet. This ninja is hard to beat. I wonder how Liu would beat him he wondered to himself. He knew that Liu would need some kind of motivation, a reason for needing to live. Sonya the name flashed in his brain almost instantly I’m her only hope. If I beat this guy, maybe I should challenge Kano for the rematch tomorrow.

"This is for Sonya." He whispered. The blue ninja wasn’t expecting the shadow kick. He fell on his back, for once looking like he had been stunned. Johnny didn’t give him time. He rushed towards Sub Zero and instantly stunned him with a series of kicks and punched. Sub Zero backed up when Johnny stopped to take a breath. Smelling defeat, the blue ninja sent an ice-ball to him. Sub Zero ducked the ball, but was met with another one. Sub Zero grew impatient and suddenly he stood in a sort of squatted-down position. He raised his hands in the air so that he looked like he was being held at gun-point.

Slowly he bent his arms upwards so that his arms were making a circle around his head, and in one swift movement, brought his arms down and formed an ice-dome around his head. The ice dome began to grow, freezing everything in it’s path. Johnny Cage backed up, trying to figure out how to get to the ninja without becoming a human popsicle. He remembered Liu’s words. The element that brings life. Lets see, it’s not a stork. What the hell could It possibly be? The dome was growing larger. Johnny nervously dug through his pockets and came up with a water bottle. Water, can’t leave home without it. You can’t live without it either…. That’s it!

"So long, sucker." Johnny took the top off his water bottle and hurled it into the ice dome. Unfortunately, in his haste, he hadn’t realized the bottle was empty. It froze the minute it hit the ice, and the platic froze and shattered from the force of the crushing ice. "Damn it." The dome was almost covering the hole courtyard. Johnny looked around frantically. In the doorway was a bucket. He grabbed the bucket , praing that there was water in it. The bucket was only half full, and it smelled like black cherry kool-aid.

"Oh well. At least he won’t die thirsty." Johnny muttered. He flung the juice through the dome. It formed a blackish-red crystal shard and stabbed Sub Zero through the stomach. He layed dead on the ground. Johnny looked up at the sky, but there was silence. No "Johnny Cage Wins" or anything.. Oh well. I guess I better get out of here. Johnny ran up the stairs, leaving the corpse of Sub Zero behind.

The small arena was surrounded by warriors. Most Outworld warriors because many of the Earth warriors were already dead. That’s how Johnny found Liu. The Outworld warriors were booing, so Liu must’ve been winning. Johnny wasted no time in rushing to the arena. Liu was using his special bicycle kick on the unfortunate ninja in yellow. The ninja fell on the ground, a small shiver ran through his body.

"FINISH HIM." Shang Tsung siad in disgust. Liu leaned down and grabbed the ninja’s head. In one swift movement he broke the ninja’s neck. Shang Tsung practically growled. "Liu Kang wins. Flawless Victory." His eyes glowed in fury. Liu jumped out of the arena and was met by Johnny.

"You won! Did you use you use my advise?" Liu smiled, looking happy.

"Sort of. After all what would we do without kool-aid?" Liu’s eyes were full of questions.

"Long story. Come on I have an idea on how to save Sonya."