Mortal Kombat: Rudiment

Chapter 1 - Sparks

Johnny Cage POV

Everyone was stunned when Raiden introduced another tournament against Outworld. He had intended to get everyone to join his cause.

We had fought together as close allies, as close friends. And after it all, we realized that we wouldn't be fighting together for this.

We would be fighting against each other.

Ultimately, we were divided into two. Scorpion had been swayed by Raiden's offer of redeeming himself for the death of Quan Chi. Takeda was torn in between staying with his father or following his mentor, and he went with the person he had bonded with as a child. Jacqui was quick to join her boyfriend.

Sonya.

After all these years, she still has never listened to me. We argued in that room. She was saying that the only way to protect Earthrealm was to destroy all immediate threats. I disagreed, saying that we couldn't kill innocent lives. She didn't surprise me when she made her decision.

After the hassle, many of us were left broken. Why was Raiden so keen on attacking Outworld?

We have to ally with Outworld. Only together will we stand a chance.

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

We took a quick portal to Outworld, and were stunned by the casualties they had suffered.

Erron Black was nursing a broken arm and had an additional limp. Reptile had slash wounds on his face and torso. Ferra had major burns (no doubt from electricity), and her companion, Torr, was laying unconscious on a bed. Ermac himself was bleeding profusely from his stomach. The emperor, Ko'tal Kahn, had a black eye and bruised ribs. The sight in its entirety was miserable.

We were quick to help with their injuries, and discussed Raiden's sudden change of heart. In the end, it was agreed that all animosity had to be put aside. We had to join forces to take down Raiden.

Elsewhere

In an isolated cave, its location unknown to any man, was a tomb. There was a coffin made entirely from diamond. However, under closer examination, it is obvious that the material was not diamond. It was something much more ancient, something that shone brighter than the brightest stars. This alloy was starmetal, a precious gemstone that has of yet never been exposed to humankind. However, it was made of this.

And in this coffin was a young woman with blonde hair. Her heart-shaped face was almost pale, but this was because she was in a dead-like state. Her body was in perfect shape, and she looked fragile.

A tremor shook the cave. And then it stopped as soon as it began.

The lid of the coffin was raised by invisible forces, and landed on the cold floor. The woman's eyes opened. Her eyes were very peculiar; her right eye was a fiery hazel, the other a bright icy blue. But then, the color faded away to a light brown. She struggled to sit up, still weak from spending multiple centuries in a paralytic position. She fell to the ground and crawled her way to the crystalline pool of water in the center of the cave. She saw her reflection, brought up a hand to her face.

"Who am I?", she thought.

Looking around, she saw many more things. There was a wall with multiple weapons of all variations, and a single suit, set off in the corner.

She went to the suit first, examining it. It was traditional body armor, although it was surprisingly light, she noted. Exchanging her clothes, she put it on, and flexed her muscles. It felt natural, just doing that. She grinned for the first time.

Then, she went over to the weapons. There were so many, ranging from guns to whips to small knives, but what caught her eye was the single sword that was sitting in the front of this display.

This sword was not natural. With a narrow but long blade, it was tinted dark on one side, and bright on the other, and as she ran her hand across the blade, she realized that this was once again made of the same material as the coffin. The crossguard was simple but elaborate, and the handle was slim, made of a light-weight silver steel. It was decorated with a circular pommel of pure starmetal entwined by the silver steel that was holding it in place. Picking it up, she firmly  gripped the handle with two hands, and fell to the ground.

Everything came rushing back to her. Her memories. She lay there, processing everything she had seen.

She stood up and was about to leave when a figure appeared in front of her. She glared, wary.

"What do you want?" She recognized the figure to be a deity, but they were not the ones she knew when she was alive many years ago.

"You already know the answer. Your protection for this world has woken you up. It started slowly with the Mortal Kombat tournaments."

"Don't remind me." She was furious. "I know of the tournament and its cruel track history."

"The other Elder Gods and myself have agreed. So, we have decided to add an additional portion to the tournament."

The woman looked curious. "What did you do?"

"We added an additional slot. Fighters can now choose to fight in this section to attempt to put a stop to the Mortal Kombat tournament, ending any and all attempts of invading another realm. It comes at a price, however. You can only fight alone."

The woman scoffed. "Better that way. Don't have to worry about backstabbers. When does it start?"

"Why right now, Evangelina."

The woman, now identified as Evangelina Seraphina Emerilla smirked.

"Let's begin."