139 Mortal Kombat

Shang Tsung's Throne Room

Day of the Mortal Kombat Tournament

The Mortal Kombat Tournament has gone just as Malphas had expected from what Kitana and Jade can see. Outworld had gotten a slow start, but eventually managed to whittle down Earthrealm's warriors until their champion, Liu Kang, currently remains undefeated. Every other Earthrealm warrior has been beaten but kept alive, making this the least bloody tournament in Mortal Kombat history, although Jade and Kitana know that soon it will become much more bloody. After all, just a few seconds ago Mileena returned with a satisfied smile on her face along with two bloody sais, and judging by the missing Skarlet, then this tournament has just had its first death with more coming.

Not long after Mileena's appearance next to Kitana and Jade, the fighters began to once again gather in the throne room for the final round of the tournament.

"Warriors, at this time the tournament is beginning to wind down with Earthrealm's champion and sole remaining warrior finally stepping up." says Shang Tsung as he stands up from his throne just as a portal opens in the center of the room a few feet to the left of his throne. However, Shang Tsung pays it no mind and continues on with the introductions. "Our final contestant is none other than Earthrealm's Champion, chosen by Raiden the Thunder God himself, Liu Kang!" exclaims Shang Tsung as Liu Kang steps forward. "Facing him, the sorcerer from the Netherrealm and ally of Outworld, Quan Chi!" calls out Shang Tsung as he points to the portal and two silhouettes can be seen coming out of the portal.

Unexpected to all, other than Jade, Kitana, and Mileena, it is not the sorcerer from the Netherrealm who walks out of the portal, but rather an unknown warrior garbed in black armor with gold accents over red garments escorting the Queen of Edenia, Sindel. A Queen that should not only be dead, but would also never be here of all places were she alive. Not only was said Queen alive however, but she also let herself be happily escorted to the Mortal Kombat tournament by a warrior that no one other than Outworld's generals recognise.

"I regret to inform you Shang Tsung, but Quan Chi is a bit occupied at the moment." says the warrior as he discreetly sends Scorpion a look that all but the Shirai Ryu warrior himself miss. "Since I see no reason to delay the end of this tournament any further, I have decided to step in." he tells Shang Tsung as the portal behind him and Sindel close.

"Malphas, what is the meaning of this?" questions Shang Tsung with a grave voice that lets everyone know that he too did not expect for this warrior to escort Sindel of all people here. "How is she alive, and why are you escorting her to this tournament?" he asks as he points a bony finger at the Edenian Queen.

"All will be answered soon, sorcerer. We have a tournament to finish, after all." replies Malphas as he leaves Sindel where she stands and makes his way to the center of the room, placing his right foot in the eye of the dragon motif on the floor where its size fits in perfectly. Soon he is joined by none other than Liu Kang, Earthrealm's champion.

"I am ready." claims the Shao Lin monk as he takes his fighting stance.

"No, you are not." replies Malphas as he remains standing in the same position without taking his fighting stance. "By yourself, you cannot hope to defeat me. Nor will it make this final round interesting. As such, I challenge Liu Kang, Johnny Cage, and Raiden." calls out the warrior, shocking every occupant in the room save for Sindel and Mileena.

"Do not look down on me!" exclaims Liu Kang as he prepares to attack his opponent.

"The challenge has been given and cannot be denied." says Shang Tsung before Liu Kang can attack. "The final battle for Earthrealm's fate, Liu Kang, Raiden, Johnny Cage versus, Outworld's champion and one of the sole remaining Edenians, Malphas!" calls out Shang Tsung, causing Johnny to excitedly join Liu Kang's side while Raiden merely shakes his head in disappointment.

"You should not have done this." says Raiden as he too joins Liu Kang and takes his fighting stance. "A warrior should know his limits." he advises.

"I know my limits, Thunderer, and this does not even come close to it. For all I see before me is a simple monk, an arrogant and washed out martial artist who uses his skill to film horrible movies, and a god who has as many restrictions to him as a slave has shackles." replies Malphas as he simply folds his hands behind his back as opposed to taking his fighting stance, an action that is very disrespectful and easily serves to irritate Johnny.

"FIGHT!" roars Shang Tsung.

Hearing the order to begin, Johnny Cage rushes his opponent only to be met with two roundhouse kicks to the sides that cracks his left rib cage and is followed up with another one to the head, fracturing his skull and giving Malphas time to front kick him right onto the path of Liu Kang, causing the two to collide against one another and fall to the ground. All of this happened in a split second and with barely enough time for Raiden to properly process what happened.

Unlike his comrades, Raiden had elected to stay back to observe his opponent before coming up with a strategy. Something he regrets as he looks at Liu Kang helping Johnny up as the latter wipes the blood leaking from his nose.

"Oh man, he hits hard." observes Johnny as he steadies himself back on his feet and sees Malphas standing in the same stance as when the fight started, causing his pride to take another hit and for him to become more irritated. "Still, that won't stop you from getting Caged!" exclaims Johnny as he once again rushes his opponent and ignores Raiden's warning for him to stop.

This time Johnny makes it close enough to attack and begins his assault with two roundhouse kicks aimed at Malphas' head, both of which are dodged by with a simple tilt of Malphas' body. Continuing his assault, Johnny aims a kick at his opponent's knee, only for him to raise his leg and change the target from his knee to his shin. A move that proves to be detrimental to Johnny as his opponent's body is much tougher than anything he has kicked before in his life. As he winces in pain, Ambrosius takes the opportunity to kick him in the knee, completely shattering it and causing him to kneel on his good leg. Before Johnny can recover Malphas launches a devastating roundhouse that decapitates Johnny, sending his head flying from his shoulders and landing at Shang Tsung's feet.

Stunned by the short yet brutal outcome of the battle, the room's occupants all fall silent as they watch Johnny's head roll towards Shang Tsung's feet. None of them had expected this. Most of Eathrealm's fighters, such as Sonya Blade and Jax, had expected the fight to be quick but with the outcome being favorable to them. After all the three fighters on their side are all reputable warriors in their own right. Raiden is the god of thunder and is perhaps their most powerful warrior. Liu Kang is not only a Shao Lin monk, but one trained by Raiden himself for this specific tournament. The last fighter, while not as respected or esteemed has proven himself to be a competent warrior when he delivered Earthrealm its first two victories by defeating Reptile and Barakka. While they did not expect them to win unscathed, after all Malphas is Outworld's champion and Shang Tsung did not seem worried about the match, the still expected for Raiden, Liu Kang, and Johnny Cage to win, even if one of the three is defeated. Now not only is one of the three defeated, but he is also dead at the hands of an opponent who did not even take his fighting stance nor did he move from his position. Throughout the battle he did not even move from his original position once.

While the spectating Earthrealm warriors are reevaluating this new opponent, the Outworld generals cannot help but feel excited, after all this man is the one who they pledged their loyalty to. Not only did he promise them what they wanted, but he also seems to be more powerful than even Shao Kahn. While they do not know exactly how powerful Shao Kahn is, they know that he has not never dared to challenge Raiden, nor any other god for that matter, to a Mortal Kombat. At first it did not mean anything to them, after all who would dare challenge a god. But seeing Malphas do the very act that Shao Kahn seems reluctant to do makes them wonder if Shao Kahn can even beat Raiden one-on-one, let alone three-on-one.

In addition to being powerful however, Malphas seems to also be able to resurrect the dead, making them feel secure that even death should not be something to fear with him as their leader. Yes they may have pledged to back Kitana, but in all honesty it's only because Malphas seems to be supporting Kitana and anyone who supports her. So while on the surface it may seem that they are loyal to Kitana, deep down they are all currently loyal to Malphas. Well, all except Skarlet who they all noticed is missing while a giddy Mileena cleans the blood from her sais. A coincidence it certainly is not, at least not to those who have lived long enough in Outworld to experience its treacherous life.

"Well? Are you going to stand there, or are we going to finish this tournament?" questions Malphas once he sees that Raiden and Liu Kang have not moved from their position.

Taking a deep breath, the duo calm themselves down and prepare to launch into the attack.

"Liu Kang, we must do this together." advises Raiden.

"I will follow your lead, Lord Raiden." replies Liu Kang with a nod.

"Then let's go." orders Raiden as he launches himself at Malphas with Liu Kang following close behind.

Their assault begins with Raiden seemingly launching a flying sidekick towards Malphas' head before he dissolves into lightning and appears behind him. Attempting to take advantage of being in his opponent's blindspot, Raiden flies towards him in order to tackle him right on Liu Kang's flame encased punch. At the last moment however, Malphas simply hops over Raiden with his legs tucked into his chest before extending them again once he is over Raiden's flying body, sending the god of thunder crashing down into the ground as Malphas lands on him and proceeds to smash his foot down on the god's head and fracturing his skull. Having not forgotten about his second opponent, Malphas tilts his head sideways and easily dodges Liu Kang's flaming fist before kneeing the Shao Lin warrior in the solar plexus, headbutting him, and finishing his assault by exhaling a stream of blue fire at the warrior as if he were a dragon and burning him alive. As the warrior catches on fire, the throne room is filled with his tortured screams as he feels the flames burn his flesh and melts the clothes onto his skin before further torching his skin.

"Liu Kang!" exclaims Raiden as he attempts to move from his position under Malphas' foot only for said warrior to increase the strength of hold, pushing him back to the ground and further cracking his skull. Before Raiden can attempt to teleport out of the position he is currently in, he sees Malphas grasp the empty air in front of him before clenching it into a fist. At the same time as he sees Malphas clench his fist, he hears Liu Kang's heart being crushed in his chest, cutting his screams short and killing him before he falls to the ground as his body turns to ash.

"No!" screams Raiden as he turns into lightning and teleports himself next to the ashes of his student. Kneeling down on the floor, the god of thunder gently picks up some of his student's ashes as a sorrowful look befalls his expression and a lone tear falls from his eyes. Taking his hat off, Raiden calmly places the ashes of his fallen student in it before getting up and handing the hat to Sonya.

"Take care of him." says Raiden before he returns to face his opponent. Without saying another word Raiden sends out bolts of lightning at his opponent only for them to be ineffective. With a frown on his face Raiden dissolves into a lightning bolt before appearing next to Malphas with a kick aimed at his opponent's neck. Dodging the kick by tilting backwards, Malphas grabs the offending limb, only for Raiden to once again dissolve into lightning and appear above Malphas with a kick aimed at his chest only to find that he is being held in place telekinetically. Before he can teleport away, Malphas pulls him down and grabs him by the throat and proceeds to plunge his hand through Raiden's chest. As his arm comes out from Raiden's back, every warrior present is able to see Raiden's heart being held by him before he removes his arm along with the heart from Raiden's chest. With a startled gasp Raiden exhales his last breath as Malphas turns his body to ash with another blue flame and crushes the heart in his grasp.

As the ashes of the dead god fall to the ground, the Earthrealm warriors begin to process the situation.

"He never moved." observes Jax, causing Sonya to look at him questioningly. "Outworld's champion, he never moved from his original position. He started the damn fight in the same place that he's standing on right now. The only time he even came close to moving was when he jumped, but then he landed right back in the exact same spot." explains Jax.

Having heard Jax's explanation, Sonya can't help but look at where Malphas stands to see that his right foot is in the exact same place and not an inch out of place.

"So what does that mean for us?" asks Sonya just as Shang Tsung regains his bearing and stands up from his throne.

"Malphas is victorious. The winner of the Mortal Kombat Tournament is Outworld!" proclaims Shang Tsung, causing the Outworld warriors to sheer while the Earthrealm warriors apprehensively look at them. With Outworld's victory they can now do whatever they want to Earthrealm and its people and not even the Elder Gods will intervene.

Before anyone can do anything Shang Tsung opens a portal that Shao Kahn steps through, causing every Earthrealm warrior to take their fighting stance.

"We are victorious my lord. Earthrealm is yours." says Shang Tsung as he bows to the Kahn.

"Well done Shang Tsung. You will be rewarded as deserved" compliments Shao Kahn before turning to Malphas. "And my champion, the one to deliver me this victory. I shall grant you one wish." he offers with a grin. "You seem to be close to my daughters, perhaps you wish to marry one of them. Or do you wish for both?" he asks as he gestures to Kitana and Mileena who barely hide their animosity from the Kahn.

"While your daughters are lovely, that will not be necessary." answers the champion. "Instead, I will be taking your throne and your head." claims Malphas before he disappears from everyone's sights and reappears in the exact same position a second later with the Kahn's head in his left hand. At first everyone believes that they are seeing things, but after a second look they all realise that he is in fact holding Shao Kahn's decapitated head in his hand while the body slowly sways before falling to the ground.

The first person to regain their bearing is none other than Shang Tsung who approaches Malphas.

"All Hail our new Kahn, Malphas!" exclaims the sorcerer with a bow.

"Shang Tsung, do me a favor?" asks Malphas.

"Anything my lord." replies Shang Tsung as he looks up into Malphas' eyes.

"Transfer your power and knowledge to Jade, then kill yourself." orders the new Kahn.

"Of course my lord." robotically answers Shang Tsung as his eyes glaze over and he follows Malphas' command by ejecting a green sphere from himself and transferring it to Jade before she can even protest, and proceeding to snap his own neck and shocking everyone in the throne room.

Paying no mind to anybody else, Malphas makes his way to Kitana and presents her Shao Kahn's head.

"A gift for the new Kahnum of Outworld. All Hail Kitana Kahn!" exclaims Malphas as he bows to Kitana while every general and warrior of Outworld follows suit as a forgotten Sindel watches it all from the sidelines with a smile on her face. Just as it seems that everything is settling down however, a bright multicolored beam of light strikes the middle of the room from the skies and transports three new arrivals.

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

AN: Here's the chapter and the end of the MK arc. As usual tell me what you guys think. The first chapter of my Campione fic should be out sometime this week, so look forward to that.